Lewistown News-Argus, 1/27/02
One year after designation, monument debate has quieted down, but strong feelings remain, by Jacques Rutten, Staff Writer

A year ago at this time, it appeared a long and often bitter feud had finally reached a conclusion.

On Jan. 17, 2001, after many months of debate, then-President Bill Clinton used the Antiquities Act to designate the Upper Missouri River Breaks a national monument. The move came just one day after the Montana Senate had passed a resolution introduced by Ed Butcher of Winifred opposing any further federal designation of the Breaks.

The new monument spanned 149 miles of the Upper Missouri River from Fort Benton to the Fred Robinson Bridge, and the adjacent uplands. Officially, it consisted of 374,976 acres of federal land. But the boundaries were drawn to include 495,451 acres, 81,715 of which was privately owned and another 38,760 acres of state land.

Clinton's actions were applauded by environmental groups like the Montana Wilderness Association (MWA), which had lobbied hard for the monument. But the designation received sharp criticism from many local and state legislators, including Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) and Rep. Dennis Rehberg (R-Mont.), And it was seen as a slap in the face to river-area ranchers, who had banded together under a group known as the Missouri River Stewards to oppose the designation.

The Stewards sought the help of incoming President George W. Bush and vowed a fight to overturn the designation, or at the very least, significantly reduce the boundaries.

Since then, protests have been staged, the Winifred City Council has passed a resolution opposing the monument, legislators have tried to help reduce the boundaries, letters have been written, a task force has been formed by the governor and many, many meetings have been held.

The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 may have changed the focus of the nation, but monument opponents like Winifred's Ron Poertner say they are still as determined as ever to reduce the size of the monument and make it something river-area landowners can live with.

"It's an uphill battle, but we're not about to throw in the towel," said Poertner. "It's been a little quiet lately, but the powder's still dry and it's not going away."

Topping the list of concerns, said Poertner, are the boundaries of the monument.

"We think private land has no business being in the monument," he said.

The task force created by Gov. Judy Martz at the request of Interior Secretary Gale Norton this summer agreed with him. The group was made up of elected officials from areas surrounding the monument. After a series of public hearings, the task force recommended to Gov. Martz the boundaries be slashed to the size of the 131,838-acre Upper Missouri Wild and Scenic River.

But Norton said her office did not have the authority to reduce the boundaries, and after the events of Sept. 11, the monument was no longer a high priority for the Bush administration.

Poertner and others now hope Rehberg will help. Although many rumors have been circulating about what type of legislation Rehberg will introduce, as of Wednesday, his press secretary April Gentry said nothing has been done.

"Right now, he's still working with stakeholders formulating legislation that will stir interest among both environmentalists and landowners. But right now, nothing is set in stone. Legislation has not been drafted," said Gentry. "We're still exploring our options and no timeline has been set. We just need to work with people and decide what would be best. That's what Denny told people last fall. We want to get it right."

Poertner said if Rehberg's legislation will give landowners the option of removing their property from the monument, he will back it.

"We're looking to support Rehberg's efforts for congressional legislation that would take private land out of the monument," he said.

Like those opposed to the monument, supporters remain steadfast

Opposition to the monument has grown and become more organized and vocal since its designation last January. But the same can also be said for its supporters.

In July, author and historian Stephen Ambrose introduced a new group named the Friends of the Missouri Breaks Monument. Hugo Tureck, a Coffee Creek rancher and former chairman of the BLM's Central Montana Resource Advisory Council (RAC), was one of the group's founding members.

He said the most important thing that has happened during the last year regarding the monument is that it has remained intact.

"The Friends took a very aggressive stand with those who wanted to alter the monument, simply by making them defend their position," said Tureck. "With regard to private property, we just said, 'Show us, and we'll be the first ones helping protect your private property rights.'

"And when the governor put together a task force loaded to one side, the Friends showed up and pointed that out. The task force simply had no credibility."

Tureck said another significant event during the last year was the summit held in June by Rehberg in Lewistown.

"Rehberg found out there were more people in favor of the monument than opposed to it."

Lewistown's City Commission voting to support the monument, was another significant event, said Tureck, along with the city of Fort Benton taking a "very aggressive stand in getting a visitor center.

"I would like to see Lewistown taking advantage of it, too," he said. "But the key thing that has happened is that the monument is still intact."

Both Tureck and Mark Good, a representative of the Montana Wilderness Association, said the events of Sept. 11 strengthened the support for the monument.

"Given the conditions, I think it would have been hard for the secretary to take away the national monument," said Good. "It would not have been fitting with the mood of the country. These are things people all across the country can take pride in."

Although things have quieted in recent months, Good said the monument remains one of the major focuses of the MWA.

"There is this whole public process for developing the management plan for the monument that will be starting very soon," he said. "And there are still potential threats from Rehberg.

"He has said many times he plans to introduce a bill that would effect the monument and we have asked him several times to meet with us and tell us what is going to be in the bill.

"He said he'd bend over backwards to meet with us in the near future, but he just doesn't have time. So we don't know what or when it's going to be. We do know it's something about removing private property from the monument, but since the monument doesn't apply to private property, we're not sure how that will be done.

"It's difficult to know whether he's serious or just pandering to monument opponents. But certainly we're concerned he wants to undermine the monument in some way, and we assume that's coming out of the request from the governor."

After a year of debate, BLM's marching orders remain the same

As the agency charged with managing the new monument, BLM officials have had to deal with plenty of criticism from both sides.

Craig Flentie, at the Lewistown BLM office, said he feels his agency and the RAC have done a commendable job, both before the monument's creation and in the months that followed.

"I think Montana BLM made a real effort to involve the public and embrace the public's concerns about this designation through the interim management plan," said Flentie. "I also think the RAC did a very admirable job. They listened to a lot of comments and spent a lot of time looking through management plans before making their recommendations. And I think the secretary's office did an excellent job of protecting traditional uses in the monument.

"We consistently hear about concerns of boundaries and the use of the Antiquities Act, but those are beyond the scope of what we can do here."

Flentie has not been surprised by the strong feelings of support for and opposition to the monument.

"We knew there would be interested people from all perspectives and that they would be organized and knowledgeable," he said. "The biggest challenge for us during the past year has been the continuous effort to present adequate information.

"Occasionally, it's tough to keep up with the rumor mill."

Although rumors continue circulating that the monument's size may someday be reduced, Flentie said the BLM's marching orders remain the same, which is to manage the monument in accordance with the interim guidance for the area, which is consistent with the President's proclamation.

"As far as some type of legislation that might change the boundaries, those are congressional privileges that we have no control over," he said. "I believe congressman Rehberg has mentioned he has drafted legislation that would revise the boundaries to exclude perimeter private lands. But right now, I am not aware of any congressional energy being spent on that."

However, since the designation applies only to public land, the BLM plans to continue moving forward. Lewistown's Gary Slagel was named monument manager in September, and in May of this year, the BLM hopes begin holding public scoping meetings as one of the initial phases of completing the long-term resource management plan for the monument. Slagel said he has heard rumors about legislation that may alter the monument, but until something becomes official, the BLM will continue managing the monument as they were instructed by the President's proclamation.

"I'm anxious to get started with the resource management plan," said Slagel. "We're proceeding along with the assumption the existing boundary will remain as it is. That's the direction we need to take."

Slagel said that while discussions have calmed down in recent months regarding the monument, he knows there are still strong emotions on both sides.

"Some segments of the public are real happy and others still concerned," said Slagel. "I think most people involved know what the interim management plan says, now they're waiting to see what happens."

Strong feelings for and against the monument will certainly continue for many years, and maybe indefinitely. Poertner said they will continue working to remove the private land from the monument and make it something everyone can live with.

But Tureck thinks the emotionally charged meetings that have been the norm during the last year are a thing of the past.

"I think the type of meetings held by Gov. Martz' task force this summer are done," said Tureck. "From now on, I think the public input will be about how to best manage the monument, and I think those meetings will be guided by reason instead of emotion."