Public lands: promises and peril

Throughout 2020, political contenders of all stripes made the same straightforward promise, one that's now as familiar to Montana voters as spring runoff or November snowstorms: to be a champion for public lands. This election-year refrain arrived in the form of television ads, campaign mailers and stump speeches. It drove debate responses, spawned attacks and spurred outside groups to sift through voting records in an attempt to glean how sincere the promise might or might not be.

Now, with a slate of newly elected executives and lawmakers preparing to take office in January, that promise wil...