Daines undeserving of conservation recognition

Recently, I canceled a trip to fish for steelhead in Washington because that state closed the Hoh River over historically low returns. This is nothing new to any angler who has followed the trajectory of sea-run fish throughout the Northwest. A deadly cocktail of irresponsible development, climate change, and dams have decimated salmon and steelhead in the lower 48.   

Fortunately, Montana anglers who dream of taking a trip to chase these species have a critical ally in a Republican member of Congress. Idaho’s Mike Simpson launched a bold effort to remove dams that block the passage of these fish in the Columbia River basin — a courageous move from a politician who may upset valued constituencies by doing the right thing. 

If only the sportsmen organizations who claim to represent us were willing to award that kind of courage. The Teddy Roosevelt Conservation Partnership — TRCP — has instead given Montana’s junior Sen. Steve Daines its conservation hero of the year award.  

Sen. Daines has repeatedly opposed clean air and water standards that protect wildlife habitat, to say nothing about his complete lack of action on climate change — the gravest threat to thriving ecosystems. He’s done this all with significant monetary backing from special interests that would recklessly drill and mine the public lands Montanans cherish for hunting and fishing.  

Perhaps worst of all, Sen. Daines tried to block the confirmation of Tracy Stone-Manning, a well-qualified Montana conservationist, to run the Bureau of Land Management.  He used the worst kind of Washington, D.C. character assassination in his failed bid to defeat someone with whom he believed he had a political bone to pick.  

These kinds of divisive smear tactics are what TRCP purports to rise above in promising bipartisan conservation victories to their members and donors. They should sign up for Sen. Daines’ text message fundraising lists: He willfully spread lies about the 2020 elections that incited a violent insurrection at our nation’s capital.  

Providing cover to an extremist like Sen. Daines runs counter to the values of civility and decency our democracy needs to work. If TRCP wants to credibly claim to operate on these principles they should employ a higher ethical standard when choosing politicians to support.  

Why would an ostensibly centrist group make such a divisive endorsement when other conservatives were more deserving? Perhaps they believe Sen. Daines will at some point attempt meaningful conservation reforms.  

That’s like handing out medals at a race before it’s been run. The irony of this transaction is that Sen. Daines will almost certainly fail to deliver results for Montana sportsmen and sportswomen.  Every time he has been given a choice between taking the kind of bold position Congressman Simpson did and Sen. Daines’s actual record on conservation and democracy are worth of accountability, not recognition. Now that TRCP stands with one of the most divisive members of Congress, they are worthy of accountability, too. 

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Chris Saeger is an independent consultant who advises conservation and other organizations on their communications strategies. He has held various positions in politics, government and for advocacy organizations in Montana over the last decade. He writes from Whitefish.