Here's a letter I got from a candidate looking to be the next Attorney General of Montana:
Dear Ben,
I was kayaking the Ruby River in Southwestern Montana, when I dropped my legs in the water to cool off. Instantly, I felt a searing pain. Someone had illegally strung barbed wire just under the waterline in an attempt to stop lawfully wading anglers from accessing the river.
I still have the scar from that barbed wire.
That scar is a constant reminder to me that unless we elect officials who are willing to fight for our rights to access public lands and public waters, Montanans lose a large part of what makes our state great.
My record is crystal clear; I am the candidate that fights for Montanans' access.
Access to public lands and waters is vital to passing on our hunting and angling heritage. We all have examples of access denied, closed roads that were long held as public and as resident hunters and anglers, we struggle to maintain what access we have left.
The role of the Attorney General in fighting for access is critical.
As Attorney General, I will work to pass legislation that makes it harder to close long established county roads in favor of exclusive access for the few.
Make no mistake, what is private must remain private, and I am a strong proponent for private property rights. But what is public must be protected as well. I will fight to ensure that no one abuses their position to lock out Montana's resident hunters and anglers.
While representing the Department of Justice as Mike McGrath's Chief Deputy Attorney General at the Legislature, I fought the legal and legislative battle on behalf of Montana's hunters and anglers.
As a key member of the major litigation unit at the Department of Justice, I successfully defended I-143, Montana's game farm ban, all the way to the Montana Supreme Court.
As a kid learning to hunt with my sisters and brother, my father taught us that a hunt isn't a hunt without a fair chase, and penned shooting of any species is wrong. This, combined with the threat of disease to our free-roaming and wild elk, deer and moose, necessitated the end of game farms in Montana
I have been a strong defender of the Roadless Area Conservation rule. While at the Attorney General's office I coauthored the brief used by Attorney General Mike McGrath to defend Montana's prime big game habitat. My work, and Montana's dedication to conserving the best of the best, has kept Montana's big game habitat and blue-ribbon trout rivers and streams productive and wild. As Attorney General, I will continue to support the conservation of critical big game habitat.
As one of my main initiatives as Attorney General, I will hold corporations accountable to Montana citizens through the creation of an Environmental Crimes Unit specifically assigned to monitor and prosecute those who exploit our resources and pollute our lands and waterways.
As your Attorney General, I will continue to advocate for the protection of Montana's landscapes, our rights to access them, and defend the North American Model of Fish and Wildlife Conservation.
The conservation and habitat issues we face in Montana are complex. We have a long history of getting together to talk about local issues and find a consensus and compromise. It's how we do it in Townsend, and it's how, as Attorney General, I will approach land use policy with Montanans.
Sincerely
Pam Bucy
P.S. I would be honored to have you join Hunters and Anglers for Pam Bucy, and I am looking forward to working with you to stand up for public access all across our state.
Dear Ben,
I was kayaking the Ruby River in Southwestern Montana, when I dropped my legs in the water to cool off. Instantly, I felt a searing pain. Someone had illegally strung barbed wire just under the waterline in an attempt to stop lawfully wading anglers from accessing the river.
I still have the scar from that barbed wire.
That scar is a constant reminder to me that unless we elect officials who are willing to fight for our rights to access public lands and public waters, Montanans lose a large part of what makes our state great.
My record is crystal clear; I am the candidate that fights for Montanans' access.
Access to public lands and waters is vital to passing on our hunting and angling heritage. We all have examples of access denied, closed roads that were long held as public and as resident hunters and anglers, we struggle to maintain what access we have left.
The role of the Attorney General in fighting for access is critical.
As Attorney General, I will work to pass legislation that makes it harder to close long established county roads in favor of exclusive access for the few.
Make no mistake, what is private must remain private, and I am a strong proponent for private property rights. But what is public must be protected as well. I will fight to ensure that no one abuses their position to lock out Montana's resident hunters and anglers.
While representing the Department of Justice as Mike McGrath's Chief Deputy Attorney General at the Legislature, I fought the legal and legislative battle on behalf of Montana's hunters and anglers.
As a key member of the major litigation unit at the Department of Justice, I successfully defended I-143, Montana's game farm ban, all the way to the Montana Supreme Court.
As a kid learning to hunt with my sisters and brother, my father taught us that a hunt isn't a hunt without a fair chase, and penned shooting of any species is wrong. This, combined with the threat of disease to our free-roaming and wild elk, deer and moose, necessitated the end of game farms in Montana
I have been a strong defender of the Roadless Area Conservation rule. While at the Attorney General's office I coauthored the brief used by Attorney General Mike McGrath to defend Montana's prime big game habitat. My work, and Montana's dedication to conserving the best of the best, has kept Montana's big game habitat and blue-ribbon trout rivers and streams productive and wild. As Attorney General, I will continue to support the conservation of critical big game habitat.
As one of my main initiatives as Attorney General, I will hold corporations accountable to Montana citizens through the creation of an Environmental Crimes Unit specifically assigned to monitor and prosecute those who exploit our resources and pollute our lands and waterways.
As your Attorney General, I will continue to advocate for the protection of Montana's landscapes, our rights to access them, and defend the North American Model of Fish and Wildlife Conservation.
The conservation and habitat issues we face in Montana are complex. We have a long history of getting together to talk about local issues and find a consensus and compromise. It's how we do it in Townsend, and it's how, as Attorney General, I will approach land use policy with Montanans.
Sincerely
Pam Bucy
P.S. I would be honored to have you join Hunters and Anglers for Pam Bucy, and I am looking forward to working with you to stand up for public access all across our state.
