Montana House Bill 676 - This could sell off 1.25M acres of State Trust Lands - that's almost 25%!!! This is not the Homesteading Bill

[Meteetse Trail]

Sent letters to local papers and to Senator. Made calls to media outlets. Call your outdoor editor at your local paper..show a spotlight on this!
And by the way, there are state sections within short distance of where I live that could be considered "isolated," but are easy to get to. And are any "isolated" sections adjacent to or checkerboarded with BLM land? Corner crossing anyone? As Charlie Russell's character Rawhide Rawlins put it in Trails Plowed Under..." I ain't no land hog. All I want is what's next to mine."

 

[Ben Lamb]

HB 676 has been assigned to Senate Judiciary. Bills are being scheduled pretty fast. It could be up this week at the earliest.

Start sending texts and calls to the committee members. Be polite and courteous, but ask them to please vote no on HB 676.

Committee Explorer

Explore, track, and stay informed on committee activity in Montana with the Montana Legislature Committee Explorer application. Access detailed information, monitor committee progress, and engage with the legislative process easily from your desktop or mobile device.

committees.legmt.gov

 

[Meteetse Trail]

Sent comment to the committee. I have contacted some media outlets (Gazette, Montana Free Press, KTVQ). If members can make a few calls to media across the state, it can help, especially TV and daily newspapers. Contact the outdoor editor. This needs to be exposed. Politicians in Montana (even in GOP) are sensitive to public land issues for hunters/fishermen and all who like to get outside. A little pressure is necessary. I wrote letters to the editors in Red Lodge and Columbus, but they don't carry much weight. Even Steve Daines before the legislature last week was touting public lands in public hands. Time to be a squeaky wheel.

 

[Meteetse Trail]

If its an issue of $$ for education from state lands, I for one will be happy to pay $10 or more for a conservation tag to use state lands. Just don't sell/give them away. This was slipped in behind closed doors to benefit a few.

 

[Southern Elk]

HB 676 has been assigned to Senate Judiciary. Bills are being scheduled pretty fast. It could be up this week at the earliest.

Start sending texts and calls to the committee members. Be polite and courteous, but ask them to please vote no on HB 676.

Committee Explorer

Explore, track, and stay informed on committee activity in Montana with the Montana Legislature Committee Explorer application. Access detailed information, monitor committee progress, and engage with the legislative process easily from your desktop or mobile device.

committees.legmt.gov

Can we text the numbers listed in their contact info?

 

[bigsky2]

Can we text the numbers listed in their contact info?

Yes. A few of them will be land lines but most are cell numbers.

 

[Ben Lamb]

Yes. A few of them will be land lines but most are cell numbers.

Yes, this.

or you can call the central switchboard at : (406) 444-4800

Legislators get hundreds if not thousands of emails a day. Yours will likely get lost in the shuffle. Texts and slips on the desk tend to get more attention.

Hit 'em.

 

[Ben Lamb]

The bill has been scheduled for Friday, March 21st at 8 am. That's this Friday.

 

[mmw194287]

 

[DP_PublicLands]

The bill has been scheduled for Friday, March 21st at 8 am. That's this Friday.

Thanks Ben - I was just coming here to post the same thing.

 

[VMHunter]

Is there a website that tracks and updates legislation like this?

 

[Forkyfinder]

Is there a website that tracks and updates legislation like this?

Youre on it

 

[Ben Lamb]

Is there a website that tracks and updates legislation like this?

Legmt.gov

They have a bill tracker that you can select fish & wildlife issues, public land issues, etc. the main page has a daily calendar on it as well where you can see what committees are scheduled & what bills are coming up.

It's a bit clunky but play around with it for a bit and you can generally get a feel for it inside an hour.

 

[VMHunter]

Legmt.gov

They have a bill tracker that you can select fish & wildlife issues, public land issues, etc. the main page has a daily calendar on it as well where you can see what committees are scheduled & what bills are coming up.

It's a bit clunky but play around with it for a bit and you can generally get a feel for it

Legmt.gov

They have a bill tracker that you can select fish & wildlife issues, public land issues, etc. the main page has a daily calendar on it as well where you can see what committees are scheduled & what bills are coming up.

It's a bit clunky but play around with it for a bit and you can generally get a feel for it inside an hour.

There’s gotta be a better way! Lol

 

[cgasner1]

There’s gotta be a better way! Lol

This is how we have always done it

 

[MColemanMT]

Comment submitted. Glad I checked out the forum because I haven't heard anything on this one. Thanks folks!

 

[VMHunter]

for my info, where did we find out the amount of land it could affect?

 

[Ben Lamb]

for my info, where did we find out the amount of land it could affect?

It could be around 1.25 million acres.

 

[Forkyfinder]

There’s gotta be a better way! Lol

Yup. Thats my point. Theres not a lot of news/info about all of this really anywhere. Until its typically too late and its near being signed into law.

 

[Ben Lamb]

Hearing that legislators are starting to get a lot of comments on this in the negative.

Keep it up & get your friends & family to send in texts, calls.