Author: Becky Edwards
For the past 15 years, I’ve had the delight of working closely with Sen. Jon Tester, and his staff both past and present. We will miss him greatly in Congress, bravely representing ALL of Montana.
Montanans who enjoy our public lands, abundant wildlife, clean waters and parks owe him a great deal of gratitude.
Lots of folks believe the rumors about how slowly Congress moves, and how our local politicians somehow get brainwashed into national, partisan politics once leaving Montana for the Capital Beltway. I’m certain you saw political ads this fall juxtaposing Sen. Tester’s face with President Biden’s or Nancy Pelosi’s, taking away from the authentic, tried-and-true, public servant who started out serving his community at the local Big Sandy school board.
I hate to break it to folks who bought into those slick ads, but Sen. Tester is the same fella who fixes his own farm implements when they break, takes his Montana-raised beef to D.C. in his carry-on luggage, and has remembered my youngest’s name and grade in school for the past 14 years.
He sticks up for Montanans just as much today as he did when he was elected to the Senate in 2007.
Montana couldn’t have asked for a better champion for conservation in Congress. He has continually worked across the political aisle with Sen. Steve Daines, passing vital legislation such as the North Fork Protection Act, Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act, and the Yellowstone Gateway Protection Act — all of which protect some of Montana’s wildest lands and waters … from Gardiner to Choteau to Polebridge.
For a decade, I was lucky enough to lead the Land and Water Conservation Fund campaign in Montana, and thus worked closely with Sen. Tester and his staff. We traipsed to event after event, town hall after town hall, one stakeholder meeting after another, slowly finding consensus for vital legislation that, as Sen. Tester said, “you can’t help but touch every time you walk out your front door.”
From ball fields to playgrounds, swimming pools to fishing access sites, hunting grounds to generational agricultural ranches, LWCF impacts Montana greatly.
Again, Sen. Tester worked tirelessly both in Montana and in Washington, D.C., along with Sen. Daines the final few years of the campaign, to pass full funding and permanent reauthorization of arguably the most impactful program for conservation across the nation.
If you’ve been to Peet’s Hill, Beall Park, the sports complex off Baxter, or any one of the local fishing access sites in Gallatin County, Sen. Tester deserves a tip of your hat.
And with a mere few weeks left on the job, Sen. Tester isn’t done yet.
The Montana Headwaters Act just recently passed out of Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, joining the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act awaiting a Senate floor vote. Until the very end, Sen. Tester is working for the hard-working folks of Montana.
We are grateful to him for it.
As Montana’s decision makers change in Washington, D.C., we hope they continue the mantle of cherishing and protecting Montana’s public lands and waters for ALL, not just the rich, entitled few. What has made Montana such a great state, attracting folks from all corners of the earth, is that we can all have those “Yellowstone” moments, thanks to the 30 million acres of public land owned by every single Montana resident.
Montana families thank you, Sen. Tester. You had a great run, and we are the better for it.
Becky Edwards is the executive director of the Mountain Mamas and is Representative-elect for HD61 in the university district of Bozeman.
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