What's the Best Place To Live In Montana? (Billings, Great Falls: mcmansion, universities)

[lorelei2873]

Originally Posted by G&G

IDAHOMAMA-I am simply stating a fact, I have a business and do not have time to stand around all day picketing against...lets say, the christmas tree at the state capitol, I have a business to run, These people that picket for their cause day in and day out make me wonder how they have time to work .also....chain yourself to a tree for months on end....how is that person paying their way????? Leads me to believe they are either independently wealthy ( limosene rich and maybe a liberal?)or living on assistance. Just MY VIEW, THAT'S ALL.

Hello, I am a native Montana "liberal" who works three jobs (1 full-time professional 40-50 hrs and two side jobs to total about 20-30 more hours a week). I take the time to get involved with causes because my ideals are more important to me than money. I take my vacation days. Actually, while I don't support folks chaining themselves to trees, I do believe in other causes not related to tree-chaining. Thus, I contribute to charities and political action committees to allow funding for educational outreach. I've known some people who were really into their causes and lived a cause-oriented life, but they were usually right out of college, working tip jobs at night, and fighting for their causes during the day. So, it might be the hard worker down the street who is funding the folks you resent. The more irritated I get about people who seem uniformed, the more I contribute!

[Montanamomb]

I don't even know where to start this rant..... but here goes.....

I live in the Kootenai National Forest...in the region known as the Cabinets. My property is surrounded by Forest land, which I fight to keep my rights to utilize when I go riding on my horse. I back country ride, and have seen, first hand, how unhealthy our forest's are. It is over run with underbrush (fuels) and unmanaged. The bark beetles are getting more and more trees every year and nothing is done about it...why??? Glad you asked!

There is a group called the "Cabinet Resource Group"...nothing but enviro-nazi's! Every time there is a timber sale on the Kootenai, they lock it up in lengthy legislation and lawsuits. Right now, the Kootenai National Forest is sitting on over 90 million board feet of timber sales that we can't start on because of these enviro-whacks. These timber sales are for "selective" logging...taking the smaller, unhealthy, but usable timber and leaving the "old growth". One of the small timber sales went through just beyond my property and they did an amazing job...the sunlight coming into the selectively logged area brought up much needed growth for the animals in the area...we even spotted some big horn sheep in the area after it was done...which we haven't seen in years! I was happy that they cleaned that part of the forest that was so close to my home...believe me, I feel a bazillion times safer! But across the other side of my property I look at a gorgeous mountain...overgrown, full of dead "beetle trees"...and it just makes my heart sink to think that there is no help to make that part of the forest healthy again....because some bureaucrat, liberal, greenie, enviro-nazi in some city thinks HE knows how to take care of the Kootenai better than the people who live here...(I really need to start learning to speak my mind and not hold things back, huh?)

We need to stand up as Montanian's and make OUR voice heard! I spend countless hours attending meetings, reading over the forest management plans..etc..to keep informed about what's going on. Unfortunately, the enviro-whacks that are filing the injunctions and lawsuits are backed by VERY big out of State money...and the sad part is that we will probably lose a great deal of the Kootenai to summer fires long before it can be responsibly logged and managed using "commmon sense"

M

~*Liberals aren't good people with bad ideas...they're bad people with evil ideas - Unknown*~

[MontanaGuy]

I don't even know where to start this rant..... but here goes.....

I'm pretty liberal but I agreed with much of your rant. For some reason there are certain parts of the environmental movement that are completely irrational and are destroying what they say they're trying to conserve. I would consider myself to be an environmentalist if that means I really want to safeguard and protect the environment. Unfortunately, many young people who are probably well intentioned don't have a clue about the workings of nature. Forests have existed for millions of years and didn't need the intervention of man to keep them healthy. Trees are adapted to the natural cycle of forest fires but we've changed that cycle by putting out every forest fire so homes wouldn't be destroyed. As a result there is dense underbrush and insect activity that is out of control. Now when a forest fire gets going it has much more ignitable material and is more likely to destoy the trees instead of quickly flashing through the forest and leaving only scorchmarks on the trees which normally would survive a forest fire.
I sympathize with your feelings and I just wish that after the last several years of catastrophic fires across the western US that have wiped out entire forests that environmental extremists would finally become educated.

[j2342]

i am going to go with outside the state lines ?? ok if you like abusive cold and animals i suppose your heaed to the right place it could be worse, you could be going to wyoming. i kid i have seen pretty pics of wyoming , i can say what i saw while there was ugly and pretty horrible tumbleweeds and land that seemed hard to think up something it was good for, seems no one else had either, but if you like watching tumble weeds burst on your front grill of your car while hoping nothing punctures you radiator , the place cant be beat, but unless you been there i sugeest you go check it out ,liek you should anyhere, i dont think that place is or everyone. laramie incident might indicate they dont like the less masculine kind of guy? i would assume you can pack a gun there with little problems. good luck

[j2342]

oh its a anti liberal rant, well no one knows anymore what a liberal is, so i am not even sure if I am one, foresty diservice let the forrest get undergrowth and unhealthy comditiond built up for last 50 years , some cost saving move long before tree huggers dscended in mass. then the forrestry dept trie dtha controled burn in new mexico on a nice windy day and almost burned down half the state, now they have no idea what to do and fear a law suit from hell if they screw up. I dont know the solution but clearly we need some people who need to actually be educated and knowledgeable, ok i know but stay with me. then we need both side to sit down and everyone says what they think is absolutely critical to fix the problem, any stupid ass remark liberal or conservative gets one smack with a large stick in he head. he is told not to get stupid again or he gets 2 whacks next time. oh and send all the lawyers home, they do nothing but suck up air and money if they ate trees they would be the insects ) some humor may have been incorporated into this post. lol ps i dont see why they are fighting over dead trees while bush is working on WW3 anyway. but i guess thats why some label me liberal, oh you lock the suckers in a room until a plan of action is agreed upon. no trips home or any other crap. your own employess and should be treated as such!

[G&G]

Montanamomb, I totally agree with you. As we do not yet live in your fine state, I do not know much about the forest issues....only what I read here, so I claim to be no expert. The fact I keep stating is that we all need to get involved and it is the first thing I will do when I get there, educate myself and fight the extremists with the big money that are taking over.

[NativeMontanan]

Originally Posted by Montanamomb

VERY big out of State money...and the sad part is that we will probably lose a great deal of the Kootenai to summer fires long before it can be responsibly logged and managed using "commmon sense"

M

~*Liberals aren't good people with bad ideas...they're bad people with evil ideas - Unknown*~

You go girl !!! I had really great comments in amongst your post and something happened with internet and I lost them. Just wanted to let you know....very nice blog.

People wondered where the "protesters" found the time. They are paid protestors...If you had time, which I know alot of you can't afford...the faces are the same in different parts of the country. They are PAID...they don't believe in what they are protesting....they are PAID by big money.....The faces don't change from one town to the next. They figure you are "reading" their placards and not looking at their faces....Do that some time when you have the ability to follow a particular issue. Its the same people moved by bus from place to place.

Anyway, B, I am so sorry to hear this is going on in the Koot. Very sorry. It is a lovely place. I thought because of its geographic locale and type of conifer it may have been spared the ravages of "conservation." Sounds like someone is hacking my computer...got to go.

[Reziac]

Go to activistcash.com and read lots of dirt about the money behind some of these "activist" groups. The money trail is often very, uh, interesting.

[grizzfan]

For some reason there are certain parts of the environmental movement that are completely irrational and are destroying what they say they're trying to conserve.

I don't want to shock you but the radical environmental movement is lead by old communists with nothing now to do. And if you think I'm a McCarthyite nut case for mentioning this, I was told the very same thing by a senior Democat Montana State Senator. (Fortunately there are still a couple of good old-time Democrats left!!) After all, these people have no desire to 'conserve' anything. Like their Soviet mentors and American fellow-travelers before them, all they want to do is destroy this nation. That young well-meaning college students and ne'er-do-well granolas follow their line of crap speaks volumes about our educational system and those that lecture them as well.

[jenzebel]

I just have to put in my two cents for forest management.

Yes we need to manage our forests in Montana but like previous posters have said, we aren't allowed to do it.

I would much rather see some responsible forestry--even clearcuts if they happen to make the most sense for an area, than to see one more McMansion come into this state. At least it would still be wildlife habitat and not some rich person's playground.