An Honest Vote for Protecting Public Land

Note: Superintendent Juneau will debate Congressman Ryan Zinke at Frazer School on Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. The event is open to the public.

There is no greater beauty than the unspoiled view of Montana’s open spaces. From the Bears Paw Mountains to the clean and clear Blackfoot River, our prairies, forests and streams stretch from one edge of the horizon to the other.

Montana is home to the last best places on Earth. It’s what sets Big Sky country apart from anywhere else. But beyond their breathtaking beauty, Montana’s public lands are a source of recreation, and economic opportunity, as well as clean air and water. Public lands are where parents introduce their children to fishing, hunting and camping. They are in our DNA. 

Public lands offer a promise to every hardworking Montana family that they can access and enjoy the best our state has to offer. A promise that says these places are for all of us, not just for the wealthy or the privileged. That is a promise I will keep to the people of Montana. I will always fight to protect access to our public lands and will never vote to transfer or sell them off.

[J]ust this week I mapped out my priorities for protecting access to our public lands, growing our resource and recreation economies, and protecting our clean water and air.

Transferring management or ownership of our public lands is a dangerous distraction from other important policy goals, like ending the practice of fire borrowing, cutting red tape for businesses that depend on public lands, and properly funding our forests to support our $6 billion recreation economy and neighboring communities. I will never vote for a bill like H.R. 2316, that begins to dismantle our public lands.

Our public lands are priceless and we must pass them on to our children, to be used and enjoyed.

I will never forget when my parents introduced me to the beauty of Montana’s great open spaces. It’s the same memory so many of us cherish and pass on to the next generation. Escaping to our public lands to hunt, fish, explore and camp under the Big Sky is something no one can take away from us.

For all of Montana’s grandeur, we only have one vote in the U.S. House of Representatives to protect it. This November it’ll be up to the people of Montana to decide how who will look out for our public lands in Congress. As your voice in Congress, I will make sure that Montanans always have a representative who ensures our public lands remain in public hands.

Denise Juneau is Montana’s Superintendent of Public Instruction and a member of the state’s Land Board. Juneau is running for Montana’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.