MEMO: Congressman Hill's eerie silence on controversial sportsmen's issues
On the campaign trail Congressman Rick Hill has paid plenty of lip service to sportsmen's issues, but he's been silent on specific plans that matter to Montana's influential "hook and bullet" constituency.
If Congressman Hill wants Montana sportsmen to take him seriously on their issues, then he needs to say if he would sign or veto these controversial bills from the 2011 legislative session:
The "Ditch Bill" -- This plan would have rolled back Montana's first in the nation Stream Access Law, which gives anglers the right to access rivers through public bridges. One sportsmen's advocate said that under the plan, "The whole Bitterroot would be considered an irrigation ditch," effectively ending public access to Montana's rivers and streams. The bill spurred one of the biggest protests of the 2011 legislative session (HB 309)."Moratorium" on Public Land -- This legislation would have stopped the creation of new state public access sites for hunting and fishing. The bill was included in the Public Land/Water Access Association's "Sordid Six" (HB 301).
Montana Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee:
