TROY - Facing skepticism from both ends of the environmental spectrum, Sen. Jon Tester has taken his job - and his wilderness pitch - on the road, meeting with all comers at a series of open house-style gatherings.
The next, scheduled for Saturday in Troy, promises to generate considerable conversation regarding the future of forests near Yaak, which is central to Tester's large forest bill.
The regionwide proposal was borne of several local efforts, and includes provisions for both more logging and more designated wilderness. The collaborative process, as well as the compromise nature of the legislation, is necessary to generate sufficient political support for passage, the senator has said.
The Forest Jobs and Recreation Act mandates some logging on Forest Service lands, and also adds about 600,000 acres of new wilderness.
The loudest criticism, according to Tester staffer Aaron Murphy, has come from the far ends of the spectrum - "those who just don't like wilderness, and those who don't like logging. Frankly, it's a lot of stuff that we've all heard before."
Still, much of the middle remains unconvinced as well, and Tester believes the informational meetings will help "sort out the reality on the ground," Murphy said. "There's been a lot of inaccurate information out there about what this bill does and doesn't do."
The format for the Troy meeting will be the same as earlier meetings in Dillon and Bozeman. Tester will open the event with a 35-minute presentation, starting at 10 a.m.
Then he and three staffers will be available to meet one-on-one with locals, answering questions and responding to concerns.
Those who do not wish to wait in line, or who would rather not make their views known in public, can fill out comment cards provided at the event.
The crowd in Dillon numbered perhaps 400, Murphy said, with perhaps one-third as many visiting with the Democrat senator in Bozeman.
The consensus nature of the bill and its compromise elements have garnered general support, Murphy said, with criticisms coming mostly from specific forest-use groups that feel the compromises go too far.
The Troy meeting runs from 10 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. at the high school auditorium, and is open to all.
- Reporter Michael Jamison, mjamison@missoulian.com