FACT CHECK: Rosendale Would Pave The Way to Sell Off Our Public Lands

1. Rosendale repeatedly pushed for the transfer of federal public lands to the state — which could force the sale of public land to private owners.
2. Rosendale voted to create a task force that sportsmen, and conservation groups called “anti-public lands” and a “backdoor to talks of transferring or selling off public lands.”
3. Selling off land would undermine Montana’s $7.1 billion outdoor economy, increase grazing rates, and close off land to hunters and anglers

Background:

MATT ROSENDALE WAS A LONGTIME SUPPORTER OF TRANSFERRING FEDERAL PUBLIC LANDS TO THE STATE, WHICH COULD LEAD TO THEIR SALE TO PRIVATE ENTITIES

HEADLINE: “Rosendale Calls For Transferring Federal Lands To State.” [Billings Gazette, 4/18/14]

Billings Gazette: Matt Rosendale Considered Transfer Of U.S. Forest Service And Bureau Of Land Management Lands To The State A “Top Priority.” [Billings Gazette, 4/22/14]

• Matt Rosendale Touted That He Was Working With The American Lands Council “To Try And Have The Control And Management Of [Federal Public] Lands Turned Over To Their Respective States.” [46:43, U.S. House Republican Primary Debate, 3/24/14] (VIDEO)
• Matt Rosendale: “We Need To Get Back To The Place Where We Have The Management And Control Of Those [Federal Public] Lands.” [Matt Rosendale, Northwest Liberty News, 2/21/14] (VIDEO)
• Matt Rosendale: “We’ve Got 35% Of Our State That’s Tied Up In Federal Public Lands. And If We Had The Control And Management Of Those Lands, Then We’d Be Able To Generate Tremendous Economic Development Opportunity And Divert A Lot Of Those Revenues Into The Roads.” [29:37, AFP U.S. House Republican Primary Debate, 5/28/14] (VIDEO)

Matt Rosendale Introduced Legislation To Transfer Management Of Some Federal Public Lands To The State And Restrict Future Federal Land Acquisitions In Montana. [Montana State Senate Journal, 2/11/11; Havre Daily News, 1/16/11]

HEADLINE: “Public Lands Transfers Threaten Sportsmen’s Access.” [Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, 6/18/15]

Matt Rosendale Dismissed The Possibility That Federal Lands Transferred To States Would Be Sold To Private Owners: “If The State Did Believe [In Selling Lands], That Would (Be) The Citizens Of Montana Doing It, Not Someone 2,200 Miles Away.” [Billings Gazette, 4/18/14]

• Montana Wildlife Federation’s Nick Gevock Warned That Matt Rosendale’s Proposal To Transfer Federal Lands To The State Would Undermine Montana’s Outdoor Economy And Force Their Sale To Private Landowners. [Billings Gazette, 4/18/14]
• Teddy Roosevelt Conservation Partnership: “State Ownership Of Lands Presently Owned And Managed By The Federal Government Would Result In Only One Likely Outcome: The Sale Of Any Lands Not Producing Significant Quantities Of Timber, Minerals Or Energy To Private Interests.” [Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, 6/18/15]
• Helena Independent Record Editorial: “The State Would Quickly Incur Massive Management Expense If Federal Lands Were Transferred To State Control…As The State’s Fiscal Hole Got Deeper And Deeper It Could And Very Likely Would Move To Change The Law To Allow Sales.” [Editorial, Helena Independent Record, 6/28/15]

MATT ROSENDALE SUPPORTED TRANSFERRING NATIONAL FOREST LAND TO THE STATES

HEADLINE: “U.S. House Candidate Rosendale: Transfer USFS, BLM Lands To State.” [Missoulian, 4/19/14]

Matt Rosendale: “There Is No Call In The Constitution For The Federal Government To Own National Forests Or BLM Land And Just To Manage Those Additional Lands.” [Billings Gazette, 4/18/14; 47:13, Republican U.S. House Primary Debate, 3/24/14] (VIDEO)

• Matt Rosendale: “The Primary Thing We Have To Focus On Is Get The Return Of Federal Public Land Into The Control And Management Of The Citizens Of Montana. 35% Of Our State Is Federal Public Lands. That’s Forest Service And BLM.” [59:14, AFP U.S. House Republican Primary Debate, 5/28/14] (VIDEO)

MATT ROSENDALE VOTED TO CREATE A TASK FORCE BLASTED BY SPORSTMEN AND CONSERVATIONISTS AS A “BACKDOOR” TO TRANSFER OR SALE OF PUBLIC LANDS

HEADLINE: “Montana Sportsmen Praise Bullock’s Veto Of Anti-Public Lands Bill.” [News Release, Montana Wildlife Federation, 5/1/15]

Matt Rosendale Voted To Create A Public Lands Task Force To Study Federal Public Lands Management, Including National Wildlife Refuges And Department Of Defense Lands Such As Malmstrom AFB, Blasted As “A Backdoor To Talks Of…Selling Off Public Lands.” [Vote 1728, HB 496, 4/20/15; 2015 Montana State Legislative Scorecard, Montana Conservation Voters, accessed 4/23/17]

• Public Lands Task Force Was Opposed By Groups Including The Montana Sportsmen Alliance, Montana Bow Hunters Association, And The Greater Yellowstone Coalition. [2015 Montana State Legislative Scorecard, Montana Conservation Voters, accessed 4/23/17]