Galt-Vinton-Knudsen Reply Lte

 Galt-Vinton-Knudsen Reply
    This paper recently ran an opinion piece by politicians Galt, Vinson, and Knudsen that cannot go unchallenged. No matter how hard they try to spin the facts, the last legislative session hurt Montana’s resident hunters, anglers, and other outdoor enthusiasts more than any in memory. While they correctly note that Montana would not be Montana without the ability to live, work, and play outside, their own legislative agenda took dangerous steps toward making this impossible.
    Providing landowners with big game tags to do with as they please and drastically increasing the number of tags reserved for outfitters and their wealthy out-of-state clients is but the first step in the move toward the complete Texas style commercialization of our wildlife resources, which properly belong to everyone.
    I’m not sure who the “environmental groups” making these allegedly false claims are (probably the same ones whose finances Galt and company sought to “investigate”) but the people I know who were left dismayed by this agenda are hard-working Montanans of ordinary means who are tired of seeing their outdoor heritage wrested away and sold to the highest bidder. We don’t need “shooting ranges and fish cleaning stations.” We need reasonable public access to public lands and waters in accordance with the Montana constitution. We don’t need commercially exploited wildlife and more “no trespassing” signs as Montana continues to be bought up by wealthy out of state interests who will never pay their fair share of our tax burden—the real beneficiaries of the legislation Galt and company have touted.
    I am an independent voter with no partisan agenda, but as these writers acknowledge in their piece, these legislative insults originated from one side of the aisle. Personally, I look forward to a day when I can once again vote for Republican candidates based on issues and qualifications, without knowing that I’m voting to destroy my way of life by doing so.
    Do Galt and company really think Montana hunters and anglers are naive enough to swallow the nonsense presented in their recent letter? If so, I feel insulted. So do a lot of my friends, all of whom plan to vote in the next election.
                            Don Thomas
                            Lewistown, MT
                            thomasdon@me.com
                            406-366-6401