A deal's a deal.
That's the message Montana Sen. Jon Tester has for the U.S. Senate
Energy and Natural Resources Committee. And, in reality, he has
little choice.
Tester's forest bill came out of a delicate compromise among
diverse forest user groups. It would create some 600,000 acres of
wilderness - mostly here in Southwest Montana. But it would also
set aside areas for motorized recreation and require the logging of
10,000 acres of forest in each of the next 10 years.
The diverse bill was crafted by representatives of wilderness
advocates, motorized recreationists and timber industry
representatives. And that mix has made for widespread - if fragile
- support for the bill.
But now members of the Senate committee are proposing to strip the
logging and motorized recreation out of the bill and just establish
the wilderness areas.
Senate memories are apparently not all that long. It's been more
than 20 years since the Montana congressional delegation came close
to passing wilderness-protection legislation. That measure
designated wilderness and wilderness only - more than 5 million
acres around the state - and made it through the
Democrat-controlled House and Senate only to be vetoed by
then-Republican President Ronald Reagan, who had absolutely no
stake in the Montana wilderness politics.
Such is the divisive nature of Montana wilderness politics. Even an
act of Congress is not enough to resolve the issue. The veto
essentially stalled any progress on the issue for more than two
decades.
Tester's bill is an experiment of sorts. It only deals with a
portion of the state, and it does a whole lot more than just
designate wilderness. It includes something meaningful for a range
of forest users - not just wilderness advocates. And that is what
has created a consensus of support that rises above the politics of
Washington.
If the Senate committee strips out all but the wilderness
designations, as it is proposing to do, it will self-destruct.
Support for the bill will crumble and it is doomed. It's that
simple.
Tester has said he will come up with a counter-offer to the
committee's proposal this week, but he will not be able to stray
far from the original bill, or opposition will begin lining up -
and it will be formidable.
If Tester can hold this measure together and move the Montana
wilderness debate off the dime, it may offer a template for
resolving this decades-old conundrum for the entire state.