An update from Rep. Schwaderer

Well, folks, we have a tremendous amount to cover this week and not long to get there- so pardon the brevity and I’ll jump right in.

1. I’m running for re-election to be your Representative in House District 14. I filed on filing day, January 9, and am excited to get out there and keep meeting with folks. The district boundaries are slightly adjusted this time as happens every 10 years, so House District 14 will “lose” Frenchtown and Huson and “gain” Plains and Hot Springs. 

2. I am pleased to see that our Senator, Jon Tester made the trip down to Mineral County to look at our timber operations. What would have made the trip nicer is if his newly-touted Forest Jobs and Recreation Act included even a single acre of Mineral County timber management - which it does not. The local gladhanding is great for publicity, but when the majority of the county is federal we expect our federal delegation to at least make an attempt to look out for us.

3. Comment on the Fish Creek State Park Draft Plan deadline has been extended to February 7. You can mail comments here:

Fish Creek SP Draft Plan Comments, P.O. Box 200701, Helena, MT 59620-0701

Or email them here:

http://stateparks.mt.gov/news/publicNotices/board/pn_0004.html

You can check out the plan here:

http://stateparks.mt.gov/fish-creek

This park has a tremendous potential to be a partner with the local community in building our economic development and bringing more wealth into Mineral County - but that can only happen if the plan comes out right in the end. If the park ends up being a “primitive” park (like 80% of the rest of Mineral County already is), like many out of state groups are commenting that it should be, it will not serve the community well. With the right amount of development and focus on access, hunting, sustenance berry picking and firewood harvesting, motorized access, this park could become a local economic boon. Please do comment!

4. I spent a good chunk of last week 457 miles east of here at Crow Agency on the Crow Reservation with the State Tribal Relations Interim Committee. This committee meets with various tribal councils every several months to discuss local issues impacting their communities. With almost 30 presenters traveling from all around the state, I was extremely disappointed that our committee did not have a quorum, as only three legislators out of the eight attended. 

I believe a basic tenant of the job of being a legislators is at *least* showing up to your meetings!

However the three of us in attendance picked up the slack and asked many questions and learned a lot. Senator Stewart, along with Vice Chair Backbone and Vice Chair Wilson, articulated to the committee that “environmentalists are trying to drive tribe against tribe” in stopping the Crow coal development. They also shared that they want to be self supportive and not federally dependent, and that the vast coal reserves under their feet show that potential. 

Rep. Nick Schwaderer can be reached at:

nick.schwadererhd14@gmail.com.