FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

July 21, 2022

The MCV Education Fund: ‘Senator Steve Daines voted against Montana’

Conservation group calls out Senator Daines for voting against collaborative conservation and delivers petition from hundreds of Montanans 

(HELENA, Mont.) – Today the Montana Conservation Voters Education Fund released the following statement from Executive Director Whitney Tawney in response to U.S. Senator Steve Daines’ vote against the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act (S. 1493) in the U.S Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: 

“Today, Junior Senator Steve Daines voted against  Montana. Given the opportunity to advance Montana-made and Montana-approved legislation to protect public lands, he chose partisan politics and put Montana’s best interests aside. It’s apparent he’s not listening or considering what Montanans want when he votes against the will of 83 percent of his constituents. His priorities are misplaced and irresponsible.”

The vote comes a day after the MCV Education Fund hand delivered a petition with more than 400 Montana signatures to Senator Steve Daines’ Helena office urging the Senator to support the Montana-made legislation. The bill, championed by U.S. Senator Jon Tester, has the support of 83 percent of Montanans, according to the 2022 University of Montana Voter Survey on Public Lands. The legislation is the culmination of a years-long collaborative effort involving people up and down the Blackfoot and Clearwater valleys who represent a broad spectrum of interests – conservation, timber, ranching, outfitting, local business and conservation. 

Senator Daines, who sits on the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, voted against advancing the bill and is instead pushing his own legislation to strip 100,000 acres of wilderness study areas of their protections. Since BCSA received a tie vote of 10-10 in Committee, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer must call the bill  to the Senate floor for a full vote, which is unlikely to happen any time soon.