Blog Archives - Page 6 of 11

Elections Matter, Ep. 1 – Legislative attempts to seize your property

April 1, 2016

Elections Matter is a series of articles about issues from the 2015 Montana Legislature that were decided by only a few votes. The objective of the Elections Matter series is to underscore why it’s so vitally important to elect officeholders who support our rights to own, use, and enjoy our property. Should landowners in Montana have to apply for permission from their county governments before placing a new gate on their property? Of course not, such a scenario seems nonsensical. But that’s exactly what would have resulted had legislation by a pair of Great Falls lawmakers been enacted last year. House Bill 286, sponsored by Rep. Tom Jacobson (D), would have required a landowner to file a notice of intent with the county commission for any planned “fence, barrier, or...

BLM’s refusal to work with Wilks bros. is part of a disappointing trend

March 22, 2016

Last year, the Wilks brothers opened access across their property to allow the public access to the Upper Missouri River Breaks Monument. It was a good-faith effort as part of a land exchange they were proposing to the BLM. Their proposal was a generous one—they were offering more acreage to the BLM, and property that had better public access (the public land they proposed to exchange for is only accessible by aircraft). BLM has refused to negotiate this land exchange amid opposition from environmental groups. So in response, in an oped appearing today in the Great Falls Tribune, Farris Wilks has announced they will no longer allow access through their property to the Upper Missouri River Breaks. Mr. Wilks writes: While we will close our gates in the coming days, we continue to stand...

Lieutenant Governor candidate Lesley Robinson an advocate for property rights

March 8, 2016

The addition of Phillips County Commissioner Lesley Robinson to Greg Gianforte’s ticket for governor is a welcome one for Montana ranchers. Robinson has been a lead advocate for property rights and local control in Northeastern Montana where several NGOs have been collaborating with Montana FWP to establish a free-roaming bison herd. Gianforte’s pick could bring more attention to the issue, which would be welcome as the vast majority of Montanans oppose establishing free-roaming bison herds when they learn that private landowners would be forced to host the animals on their property and absorb the cost of any damage they cause. We want to extend a big Thank You to Greg Gianforte for showing genuine concern for agriculture and property rights. And good luck in the race Le...

A heartfelt thank you from one of our members

February 25, 2016

We received the following thank you note in response to Mark Robbins’ recent opinion piece in the Billings Gazette, shared in its entirety below: Dear Mark: I want to offer a big, heart-felt thank you for your well-written article in the Billings Gazette re: “Don’t transport bison out of Yellowstone Park”, Feb. 18, 2016. And of course, in true Billings Gazette/’Pravda’ fashion, it was followed by a Gazette opinion on Feb. 20th, ‘Fort Peck ready to quarantine Yellowstone bison’. Yes, sometimes it seems it never will end, but anyone who can THINK, sees the truth in what you say, and the utter fallacies proposed by the Gazette. As landowners/farmers in that area of Fort Peck, the bison issue has been a constant presence for more years than I...

UPOM Oped: Don’t transport bison out of Yellowstone Park

February 19, 2016

UPOM’s Mark Robbins responds to the Billings Gazette’s call for transferring YNP bison to Eastern Montana. Here’s an excerpt: The Billings Gazette editorialized in support of creating a brucellosis testing facility on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. (“An Alternative to Yellowstone Bison slaughter” Feb. 14). Rather than addressing the root problem —poor federal management practices that has led to a severe overpopulation of bison in the park — the Gazette advocates simply moving the problem somewhere else. It’s a ludicrous proposition. It won’t fix what’s wrong at Yellowstone National Park. And worse, it will create the exact same problem in northeastern Montana. And let’s correct one big point the Gazette got wrong. These are not animals that have been proven brucellosis...

UPOM comments to NPS on proposal to establish brucellosis testing facility on Fort Peck Reservation

February 16, 2016

Under a new proposal from the National Park Service, Yellowstone Park bison that have been exposed to brucellosis could be transferred to testing facilities at locations across Montana. The first proposed location is on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. To be clear, these are animals that have not been ruled brucellosis free. The proposal is to quarantine and test the animals for the disease for a period of time, after which they would be released as wild, free-roaming bison on the Reservation. Rule 1 in preventing a disease’s proliferation is to isolate the disease to one area. It makes no sense to transfer brucellosis-exposed bison to other parts of Montana. UPOM has strongly objected to this proposal for the obvious dangers it presents to Montana’s agriculture economy. ...