Montana Republican U.S. Reps. Ryan Zinke and Troy Downing have joined a new bipartisan caucus dedicated to protecting the country’s public lands. The lawmakers announced the initiative in Washington D.C. on May 7.
Around a third of land in Montana is owned by the federal government, and the Congressional Public Lands Caucus is geared toward discussing and finding consensus on issues affecting public lands across the West. Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke spearheaded the initiative with Gabe Vasquez, a Democrat from New Mexico.
"Our public lands is not a Republican or a Democrat issue. It’s an American issue," Zinke said.
Before first-term Rep. Troy Downing was elected to Congress, he served on the Montana Board of Land Commissioners, helping to manage about 5.5 million acres of state public land.
"Just to show how important this is to Montana, you right here have 100 percent of the Montana House delegation standing up for this," Downing said.
Some Republican lawmakers and Trump Administration officials are considering selling or developing some federal public land near urban centers to increase the supply of affordable housing. Zinke, who served as Secretary of the Interior during part of the first Trump Administration, introduced a bill in February aimed at prohibiting the transfer of federal public lands to private entities.
However, lawmakers made clear this caucus wasn’t focusing on any single issue alone, but rather taking a holistic approach to how public land is managed and protected.
