Legislators must protect state's legacy

 

December 27, 2018



Dear Senator Fielder,

Congratulations on your position as Chairperson of the Fish and Game Committee during this upcoming legislative session. I met you many years ago as you came door to door talking to folks in Plains and wanted to wish you well this session.

Our big family has property in Plains, Noxon, Trout Creek, and Swamp Creek, Lakeside, Lolo, Billings, Bozeman and Fairview. We are a family of long hunting and fishing traditions exploring all of Montana. We rely on these natural resources for our food. We have grown gardens and eaten wild game for generations. It is an important part of our lives. It is not only through hunting and fishing that we obtain our food, but it is also the way that we bond and live as a family. We make memories that sustain us. Grandpa is now 96 — a World War II Veteran. He relishes the memories he made hunting and fishing and also caring for his tree farms, the soil and the water. He passed down to all of us the importance of caring for the land. He believed in hard work and leaving things better than you found them in this world. I write this letter to you in his honor.

I urge you to protect the legacy of caring for the land in Montana. We all depend upon it in so very many ways. Montana has been increasingly “ discovered” and those with greed in their hearts will do everything they can to exploit our resources. Having lived and worked in Anaconda with senior citizens, the stories they have told are etched in my mind. They witnessed decades of “companies” profiting from the resources, then leaving behind a mess - one that often leaves contaminated water and soil and clean up for the taxpayers. It is hard to grow a garden in soil that has been ruined by toxic waste. These issues impact the quality and joy of our everyday lives as well as our fish and game survival.

There is chronic wasting disease spreading in Montana as well as aquatic invaders… you will have much on your plate this session. I implore you to help our family through legislation to leave this state, it’s precious wildlife and land even better than when you started. It is a good legacy to create and it helps all Montanans.

Sincerely yours,

Nona Chambers, Bozeman

 

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