Good Cop, Bad Cop

A field guide to deciphering who’s really fighting for Montana’s public lands—and who’s selling them out.

Montanans and most of the people who hunt and fish here love our public lands, water, and wildlife. So much so that it would be political suicide for a candidate to run on a ticket that advocates otherwise. But there are more than a few bad apples amongst us—all with deep pockets and greedy eyes—who’d rather see access closed and wildlife privatized. Being that the right to access and hunt public land has such bipartisan support in our state, the ones who want it all for themselves are getting clever with their messaging. It can be hard to discern who’s really for the people and who’s playing with smoke and mirrors. Here’s a brief guide for the public landowner of groups to listen to and those to stay away from.

Allies

Montana Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA)
The champion when it comes to preserving Montana’s hunting heritage, getting the word out, and truly keeping public land in public hands. Each legislative session, they manage a statewide policy spotter that directs public attention toward bills that will hinder or help the common man’s ability to get out and recreate in the wild. They even ponied up the legal fees to help a group of public-land hunters defend themselves against bogus trespassing charges—now that’s putting your money where your mouth is. Get involved at backcountryhunters.org.

Public Land & Water Access Association (PLWA)
You might not know it driving around, but there are loads of landowners currently trying to shut off public access via roads and streams—illegally. PLWA does the tireless work of finding these cases, bringing them to light, and seeing through that they are vindicated. As far as being a leader in restoring public access, nobody does it better. Report an issue, become a member, and learn more at plwa.org.

Montana Sportsmen Alliance (MSA)
A group of regular, working-class Montanans who care about stewardship, conservation, and effective sportsmen representation when it comes to public policy. They believe in the North American Model and advocate that we govern by its philosophies. We’ll admit, their website could use some updating, but check ’em out at msapac.com.

Enemies

United Property Owners of Montana (UPOM)
UPOM was born as a small group of central-Montana ranchers who believed that Fish, Wildlife & Parks was threatening their private-property rights. Now, their primary effort appears to be staving off American Prairie, an organization aimed at restoring Montana’s native grassland and providing free public access to wild prairie landscapes—including hunting.

Property & Environment Research Center (PERC)
Now we’re getting into deception territory. PERC presents itself as an innovative think-tank that celebrates the idea of conservation through incentivized markets. Sure, “free-market environmentalism” sounds nice, but it’s also a guise for land grabs and public exclusion. Servants of the super-rich, they’ve supported efforts to unravel stream access and have advocated for the sell-off of public lands. Don’t buy the B.S.

Montana Conservation Society (MCS)
Another attractive and polished nonprofit that advocates for finding “lasting, equitable solutions for wildlife management issues on private and public land.” But don’t be fooled, there is some sleight of hand going on here. MCS is indeed all about hunting but public beneficiaries are not their top priority. They’re one of the strongest advocates for Montana’s nonresident landowner preference program, which provides up to five deer and elk combo licenses per nonresident landowner. Does that sound like the North American Model to you? Us neither.