By Kathleen Shannon - Producer, Contact - News
Big Sky Connection - Public land advocates tallied a win in the Montana Statehouse this session, but an amendment to the federal Republican reconciliation bill, OK’ed by the House Committee on Natural Resources last week, adds a new challenge. This as U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, R- Mont., and others launch a bipartisan Public Lands Caucus. Comments by Alex Blackmer, senior communications manager, Wild Montana.
Click on the image above for the audio. Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., is one of 14 lawmakers on the new bipartisan Congressional Public Lands Caucus, launched last week. (Adobe Stock)
Kathleen Shannon
May 12, 2025 - Montana lawmakers this session voted down a bill supporting the transfer of federal public lands to states but a similar conversation is growing on the national stage.
Last year, Utah sued the United States, claiming the state is deprived of "sovereign powers" because the federal government owns public lands there. Rep. Tom Millett, R-Marion, brought a resolution to fellow lawmakers in support of Utah. It failed 66-34 and received no public comments in support.
Alex Blackmer, senior communications manager for the advocacy group Wild Montana, said such efforts point to a larger trend.
"All of this really goes hand-in-hand with what we're seeing at the federal level," Blackmer observed. "Which is this attempt to dismantle regulations, to dismantle the agencies, dismantle all of these things that have been the foundation of our way of life."
In Congress, the House Committee on Natural Resources has passed a Republican budget package including an amendment to authorize the sale of thousands of acres of public land in Nevada and Utah. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., chair of the committee, said the package would "save billions and deliver American energy dominance." Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., called it "breathtakingly reckless."
Also last week, Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., and more than a dozen other lawmakers launched the bipartisan Congressional Public Lands Caucus to help conserve and maintain access to public lands.
Blackmer noted Zinke has been "pretty outspoken" in support of public lands.
"We certainly appreciate any efforts of elected officials to take a stand to keep public lands in public hands," Zinke acknowledged. "But I think time will tell how that actually shakes out."
Zinke served as U.S. Interior Secretary during the first Trump administration before stepping down amid allegations of misconduct. At a news conference launching the caucus, Zinke said land sales should not be in the federal reconciliation bill.
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