By Unknown Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., generally is vocal in support of GOP positions, but partisan disputes didn't stop him from voting for the belated federal budget that finally became law last December. It wasn't everything anybody wanted, but Zinke reasoned that it was better than another stopgap measure that would further underfund the U.S. military. In his first term, Zinke has demonstrated that kind of pragmatism in getting things done for Montana. In his 21 months as a U.S. representative, Zinke has voted generally in favor of public lands and public access despite his party's platform supporting transfer of federal lands to states. (He resigned as a voting delegate to the GOP national convention in protest of the lands plank, but still gave a speech praising Donald Trump.) Zinke joined with Montana U.S. Sens. Jon Tester and Steve Daines to support designating East Rosebud Creek a Wild and Scenic river, to protect that beautiful Beartooth Mountains waterway for area residents and visitors. Zinke joined Tester in publicly endorsing the idea of putting public lands in Park County's Paradise Valley permanently off limits to mining. A coalition of local businesses and residents are seeking legislation to preserve their way of life while two companies with foreign investors begin to pursue permits for possible gold mine development. "I strongly support private property rights and responsible mineral development but Montana is the Last Best Place for a reason," Zinke said earlier this year when asked about protecting Paradise Valley. "There are some places that are great to mine and other places that are just too precious." Zinke recognizes that the Affordable Care Act desperately needs work. We call on him to also recognize the good this federal law does in extending health coverage to many thousands of Montanans who otherwise would have no coverage. Rather than his "repeal and replace" mantra, Montana a needs an ACA fix that saves the beneficial parts and makes improvements to sustain a health care system that can serve all Americans while controlling costs. Our biggest concern with Zinke is his loyalty to Donald Trump. He should publicly condemn Trump's attacks on women, U.S. war heroes and minorities. But Zinke is not Trump, he is a Montanan, a U.S. veteran and a former state lawmaker. He has become a more polished speaker during his first U.S. House term. Montana needs a strong voice in the House, especially because we have only one representative. The House is likely to remain under GOP control in January, and then it will be even more helpful to have our lone representative in the majority party. As Zinke told us: "You need a strong voice to make up for 55 voices from California." Democrat Denise Juneau has led successful efforts to help local schools boost statewide high school graduation rates. She improved the K-16 collaboration essential for preparing students to be ready for college and careers. She has in-depth understanding of education policy. But on the campaign trail she has repeatedly seemed to be running for a state office, rather than for Congress. She just doesn't seem as well-prepared as Zinke to make decisions on the array of issues the House must tackle. Zinke certainly is the better informed candidate on foreign policy and national security issues. He has learned a lot in his first term. We are counting on him to keep learning and recommend that voters give Zinke a second term as Montana's U.S. representative. Zinke also will need to help rebuild the Republican Party from the rubble of the divisive Trump campaign.

By Tom Lutey Democratic congressional candidate Denise Juneau has been called out for a false attack on her opponent U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke. At issue is Juneau's criticism of Zinke's public lands record. In a June 15, website posting, Juneau said "Congressman Zinke votes to sell off America's public lands." She followed up with a letter to editors of several Montana newspapers in which she said "Zinke voted to allow the transfer of Montana's public land." Zinke had done neither, according to a fact check by Ballotpedia, as well as a reading of the bill cited by Juneau. At issue is the Self-Sufficient Community Lands Act, a bill by Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, "to generate dependable economic activity for counties and local governments containing National Forest System land by establishing a demonstration program for local, sustainable forest management, and for other purposes." The bill would allow governors to appoint advisory committees, which would identify national forest land for local management with production in mind. The committee would consist of local elected office holders from any county within the demonstration area, a timber industry person, a federal grazing permit holder and a representative of recreational users. When demonstration area is over, management of the land returns to the federal government. What the bill doesn't do is sell federal land or transfer ownership. Nor does the bill concern Montana land, or land owned by any state. The bill also preserves public access and recreation on the land. Requests to interview Juneau made by The Gazette over two days were unsuccessful. She issued a statement, along with highlighted excerpts from attacks in which she objected to management of federal lands by "politically appointed boards." She didn't address her statements about sales or transfers of federal and Montana lands. "H.R. 2316 would transfer management of our public lands to politically-appointed boards in each state," Juneau said. "That's why I stand with Montana sportsmen and conservation groups in opposition to this bill, and any other wholesale efforts to transfer, sell, or restrict access to our public lands." Friday, Juneau was emailing a push poll on "keeping public lands in public hands," that suggested Zinke "voted for a bill that would put millions of acres of Montana lands under the control of politically appointed boards." Public lands are the political playing card that Democrats are putting on the table often this election. The majority of Montanans identify strongly with the outdoor life. Two different polls this spring, one by the left-leaning Center for Western Priorities and one by the University of Montana, indicated that a majority of Montanans opposed state control of federal land. "The way the bill is written, it doesn't call for an outright transfer of the land, but it does call for a transfer of management with an emphasis on production," said Neal Ullman, Montana Conservation Voter's program director. Ullman sees distinct differences in the way federal and state lands are managed. State trust lands, for example, are managed to make money. That kind of management is a concern to Ullman, who supports Juneau. There's also the issue of who repairs the damage if the advisory board mismanages the land and hands it back to the federal government. State environmental laws aren't always as hardy as federal law. Taxpayers could end up paying for poor advisory board decisions. There have been a House bills calling for advisory committees of the federal lands with the encouragement of logging, ranching or mining as an objective. Ullman said he suspects the trend is somehow related to Utah, home of House Natural Resource Committee Chairman Republican Rob Bishop. Utah is the home ground of the American Lands Council, a group committed to transferring ownership of federal lands to the states. Ullman suspects a connection. But there's also a push for the local input on federal land management in Montana communities with struggling mining and logging economies. Dana Wilson, vice chairman of the Crow Tribe, gives low marks to the federal government for its treatment of the coal mining projects on Crow land in southeast Montana. The Crow Tribe is rich in coal but poor in sources of other revenue. It's last big development project, the Big Metal Coal mine was to deliver more than $10 million in royalty payments to the Crow, in addition to mining jobs paying $60,000 a year or more. The tribe signed a mining contract with Cloud Peak in 2013, after years of federal process, Wilson said. The contract came during the height of the coal boom. Now coal prices have crashed, driven downward by natural gas, a cheaper energy competitor. Wilson said the Crow missed the boom and are just now cutting core samples for approval during the bust. "We got good coal here. Let's develop a new mine. Let's say, 'We got coal here, it's been tested. It's good quality. It's compliant coal,' " Wilson said. "Any power plant could burn it with no issues. We know we have the product. And yet we can't say, "Let's do this.' We can't because there are so many rules and red tape." A coal advisory committee of local elected officials, tribal members, and mine stakeholders sounds pretty good to Wilson. Earlier this year, Zinke introduced a bill to end a federal ban on new coal leases and direct the Secretary of Interior to re-establish a royalty policy committee from which state, tribal and energy interests consult the department. The idea of the bill was to increase coal production on lands regulated by the federal government, including Indian land. Emilie Ritter Saunders, a Juneau spokeswoman, said this week that the best manager of federal lands is the federal government. But there are several instances in which the state of Montana has been allowed to call the shots on federal land. Monday, Gov. Steve Bullock, a Democrat, signed a "Good Neighbor Agreement" with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, allowing the state to manage some federal land. The agreement will result in 100 million board feet of federal forest timber for Montana sawmills, Bullock said at the signing ceremony. The logging would take place to reduce fire risk. There have been similar agreements in recent years. In 2014, Bullock selected 5 million national forest acres as priority landscapes for forest management. The result was 50 million board feet for Montana sawmills. The theme of Monday's agreement of state involvement in federal lands management was "work in the woods."

By ASHLEY NERBOVIG After the death of Roylynn Rides Horse, U.S. senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester, as well as U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, have called for more awareness regarding crimes against Native American women. On Tuesday, the Montana politicians introduced a resolution in the U.S. Senate to designate May 5, 2017, as a National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls. Zinke plans to introduce a companion resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives. The date was chosen to honor the birthday of Hanna Harris, a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe who was murdered in July 2013. Her decomposing body was found near the rodeo grounds on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. The resolution was introduced to call attention to cases that often go unnoticed by the public, due in part to a lack of information coming from investigating agencies. "I am heartbroken by the recent murder of RoyLynn Rides Horse," Daines said. "We are ringing the alarm to this devastating epidemic." Tester, who sits on the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, this year sponsored a bill to extend tribal criminal jurisdiction over domestic violence committed by people with ties to reservations. The bill was approved by the committee and is waiting to be taken up by the U.S. Senate. "It is critical that we shed more light on the hardships that Native women and their families often face," Tester said. "But words must be followed up with actions." Zinke said there must be more awareness of murdered and missing women and children in Native communities. "Raising awareness will help save lives and prevent another heartbreaking outcome," Zinke said. He said the "attack and murder of RoyLynn Rides Horse shook my soul as a husband, father, Montanan," and he offered his deepest condolences to her family and community. American Indian women are killed at a rate more than 10 times the national average. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, homicide was the third leading cause of death among American Indian and Alaska Native women between ages 10 and 24, and the fifth leading cause of death between ages 25 and 34. Lucy Simpson, executive director of the National Indigenous Women's Resource Center, and the National Congress of American Indians both "applauded" the resolution. When asked about the attack against Rides Horse, BIA press contact with the Department of the Interior, Nedra Darling, directed all questions to the FBI. The FBI released this statement: "The victim is being treated for her injuries" and added the incident was under investigation. When Tester contacted the Department of the Interior regarding their perceived lack of response to inquires about public safety threats on Montana Native American reservations, the department said it follows the U.S. attorney for the District of Montana's media policy. State and Crow legislators have all called for more transparency regarding crimes on Native American reservations.