Letter to the Editor by Wendy Whitehorn, Dutton, MT
Great Falls Tribune - Sunday, November 11, 2001

Surprising claims

In several recent area newspaper interviews Congressman Dennis Rehberg has made some surprising claims. In the Lewistown News Argus of Oct. 3 he said people in Congress are "shocked" when he tells them private property is included in the Missouri Breaks Monument.

How can they be shocked? Having private inholdings within a National Monument, or other federally-managed land, is nothing new or unusual. For many years a number of National Parks, National Forests, and even Wild and Scenic Rivers have contained private lands within their boundaries.

Rehberg further claimed there is a need to "fix what they did to us" when the Monument was designated. What exactly have "they" done to "us"? How has anyone been harmed? Private property rights are already protected. No one has lost property rights because private property is not affected by the designation. Hunting, fishing, and grazing privileges are protected. Access to private property is guaranteed by law. Congressman Rehberg must be aware of this, but still continues his grandstanding.

In the Judith Basin Press of Oct. 4, Rehberg said, " I get ten letters in favor of the Monument to one against. Agriculture is losing its voice." Now that's shocking. Finally Rehberg admits that Montanans support this Monument.

However, as a third generation Montanan following in the footsteps of my agrarian ancestors, I take exception to Rehberg's assumption that all of us involved in Montana agriculture are against this Monument. It's just not true, Congressman, and the sooner you stop trying to pit one Montanan against another, the better off Montana will be.