Senator sounds off on access

Montana's junior U.S. senator, Jon Tester, weighed in in support of stream access for hunters and anglers in a recent widely circulated column this week. Tester's support for mainstream Montana values — which includes vigorous support for public access to rivers and public lands — is one of the key reasons he upset incumbent Republican Conrad Burns last fall.

Stream access has become a major problem for Montana's GOP. Their allegence to the afluent has left them siding with a few wealthy landowners against rank-and-file Montanans who regard stream access as a sacred trust. It's kind of become a jump-the-shark moment for "anti-regulation" Republicans. They'd rather defend their philosophy of opposing government actions (such as enforcing its Stream Access Law) than defend the interests of the citizens they are supposed to represent. That's not all members of the GOP mind you, but enough to foul the waters for the entire party.