Letter to the Editor - Daines should stop holding BSCA hostage

Editor,

Sen. Steve Daines is holding the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act — BSCA — hostage.

The BCSA, a bill introduced by Sen. Jon Tester, intends to strengthen public land protection while ensuring public access to outdoor recreation and the economic advantages to the Montana economy that follow from it. The BCSA is an outstanding example of what can happen when Montanans work together, because the act stems from collaborative conversations between recreationists, timber companies and conservation advocates that began in 2005.

According to the Missoula Current, Daines refuses to support the BCSA without his corresponding legislation that seeks to remove wilderness study status from approximately 300,000 acres of land being considered in tandem. Wilderness study status protects our lands from rampant development activities, such as logging and motorized vehicle use, that will disrupt our natural ecosystems.

Daines’ upcoming legislation serves as a tactic to undermine the BCSA, considering only 8% of Montanans support Daines’ proposed legislation according to a 2020 UM survey. Self-serving actions have no place at the table with BCSA legislation that focuses on the greater good of Montana, which keeps current and future generations in mind and shies away from placing political gain over the wellbeing of our ecosystems and our people.

Though the BCSA is gaining momentum through committee hearings, Daines’ stall tactics pose a threat to the success of the BCSA and highlight his dangerous philosophy of serving the self over serving those who need strong and public-facing leadership more now than ever before. I hope that Sen. Daines can put his failed legislation aside and do what is right for Montana by passing the BCSA.

Alexandra Berna

Missoula