At times, the Montana Legislative Body as a whole is out of touch with the citizens of Montana. House Joint Resolution 24 (HJ 24) does not reflect public opinion concerning public lands and waterways, as the bill purports. The bill supports Utah politician’s failed lawsuit seeking to find that federal public land ownership in Utah is unconstitutional. The courts have found that federal public land ownership is constitutionally legal.
Whether you’re a MAGA, liberal, conservative or moderate, most Montanans value our multi-use public lands and waterways. It is one of the few issues most of us can agree on. The Legislature wasted its time and our tax dollars catering to the wants and needs of out-of-state interests. Time and money would have been better spent on legislation that promotes public lands, and access to those lands. For example, since the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit recently found that corner crossing is legal, a bill codifying corner crossing as legal in Montana would have been more appropriate.
In my view, HJ 24 is setting up the groundwork for future public land sell-offs to select private sector individuals and entities, in which average Montanans would be excluded. HJ 24 is a lose-lose scenario for the average Montanan.
