Tester Announces Opposition to Public Lands Sale
U.S. Senate candidate criticized the U.S. House for voting to authorize a measure to open the door to public land privatization and his opponent Senator Conrad Burns for indicating that the measure is acceptable.
“Here in Montana, we treasure our public lands and access to them,� said Senator Jon Tester. “These are the lands where we hunt, fish, camp and hike with our families. Public lands are one of those values that all Montanans basically agree on.
“For Conrad Burns to say that he needs to be careful in walking the line on privatization is just dead wrong. Conrad Burns isn’t Johnny Cash. He doesn’t need to be careful walking the line. He needs to make sure he doesn’t cross that line.
“As a U.S. Senator, I will vote against any bill that threatens to sell off Montana’s public treasures. And I’ll take aggressive steps to make sure we work harder to protect our public lands and make sure those lands are open to the public.�
BACKGROUND
U.S. HOUSE AUTHORIZED SALE OF UP TO 20 MILLION ACRES. “The House agreed to reinstate sales of mining lands at cheap prices as part of its budget cut plan approved Friday, a move that could transfer into private hands up to 20 million acres of public lands on Western ranges, national forests and even national parks.� [Associated Press, 11/20/2005]
CONRAD BURNS SAID HE NEEDED TO “WALK A CAREFUL LINE.� “ ‘One must walk a careful line when selling public lands,’ said Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont. ‘There are potential negative impacts on recreational opportunities in the state of Montana, and we must ensure that any sale mitigates those impacts.’� [Associated Press, 11/20/2005]
JON TESTER STANDS UP FOR PUBLIC ACCESS. “No matter how irritated some out-of-state landowners get at the way we’ve always done things in Montana, our state laws protect our right to access our waters. That’s a principle I’m committed to. If we own it, we should be able to access it.� [Jon Tester, 9/15/05]
Posted on Monday, November 21st, 2005 at 8:54 pm.
