Dear Editor: We Must Manage Our Public Lands Better

Dear Editor,

Hunting, angling, and ranching are the cornerstones of our communities in Southwest Montana. As such, our public lands should be managed to support these activities, which are significant economic drivers for our local economy.

However, most of the public lands in Beaverhead and Madison Counties are still available for oil and gas leasing. This is surprising, given that there's very little history of drilling in our counties.

According to BLM, the industry has never drilled "a successful producible oil and gas well" in Beaverhead County. And, for this reason, our county government...