CHINOOK, Mont. (NMB) – In a 2-1 vote, the Blaine County Commission has approved a resolution opposing the federal government’s 30 x 30 land preservation goal.
Commissioners Miles Hutton and Frank DePriest were in favor, while Dolores Plumage provided the dissenting vote.
The 30 x 30 Land Preservation goal came from an executive order from President Joe Biden in his first week in office. It is a goal to conserve 30 percent of all land and water in the U.S. by 2030.
In casting their votes opposing the plan, DePriest said he was concerned about the impact it could have on water rights, and Hutton said he would like more cooperation with the federal government.
“What concerns me is the control of the water,” said DePriest. “That’s my number one concern. That the government will come in and strip the water rights or whatever of others. That’s my main concern about it.”
“They are overstepping,” said Hutton. “That’s what this is basically about. Rein it in and get some comments and listen to the people on the ground. And especially pay attention to how it affects the people and the economy.”
Plumage said her vote in opposition was due to the fact that similar resolutions passed in other counties did not address the impact of climate change.
“The wording of other resolutions in counties, it (seemed) that they were not totally embracing climate change. And I would like to see more of a positive concern in the wording of that, because I think that’s paramount to all of these other concerns concerning the water and the land. And then also, for the economics. Usually, with the economics goes the drilling or advancement of economic ways to develop the land. But I think there has to be consideration of the climate change. That’s mainly why I voted this way today.”
Plumage said that it could be beneficial to host local meetings on the matter.
“Blaine County could initiate local meetings. When you talk to people on the street, sometimes they really aren’t fully informed or they have not had a forum to discuss the issues. And there are so many issues out there today that to be focused and fully informed…I believe with the coming year in Blaine County, or you could have a group of counties coming together, to present a forum to the public. I think that would not only be affective for BLM, for these agencies, but it would also benefit your local citizens. As far as water is concerned, so many issues with all types of water management for the state of Montana. So there’s a lot of work to be done and sometimes we look to the federal government. But on the local level, I think it would be great if we initiated our own meetings with our own people and have a good base of people that are informed. And also the right to agree or disagree. You won’t know that until the meetings happen. So I think this is a good start by having this resolution. Every time it’s discussed from my fellow commissioners, I learn more.”
The 30 x 30 plan is now part of the federal government’s ‘America The Beautiful‘ Initiative. It is strongly opposed by Republicans in Congress, and Senator Steve Daines has introduced an alternative plan.
According to the resolution passed by the Commission, approximately 24 percent of land within Blaine County is already owned by the federal government, and the Bureau of Land Management is responsible for managing the majority of that land.
