Sunday, November 24, 2024
28.0°F

Saving the Serengeti of North America

| January 13, 2015 7:41 AM

We did it! After a long hard battle, with the help of Sen. Jon Tester and Sen.-elect Steve Daines, we finally saved the North Fork.

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the celebration, mainly due to the fact that I didn’t know the North Fork was in danger. The sad fact is federal land in the North Fork and surrounding areas are already being managed as de facto wilderness.

This was a solution without a problem. The only thing this legislation does is give Tester and Daines false progress to show the voters in the next election.

We are living in a nation where our elected leaders refuse to take a stand and make the hard choices. Instead, they are passing off policy-making to unelected bureaucrats and appointed judges.

I recently contacted both Tester and Daines about burdensome over regulation on commercial trucking. These regulations are being enacted by overzealous bureaucrats who can validate their jobs and expand their power by coming up with ever increasing regulation.

I wish I could say that Tester or Daines bothered to respond to my concerns, but I guess that between the election and saving the North Fork they were just too busy.

So I urge the voters of Montana, the next time you feel the sting of the federal regulatory juggernaut, take a moment to silently thank Sens. Tester and Daines and sleep easy with the knowledge that the North Fork is safe.

Neil Creighton

Kalispell