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Where Sen. Jennifer Fielder saw protesters, we saw supporters.

Where Fielder, the CEO of the American Lands Council and champion of the effort to steal our American public lands, saw “radical environmentalists,” we saw proud Montana citizens gathering at the state Capitol to celebrate one of the best ideas we have had as a nation: Lands owned and enjoyed by all.

This is the American advantage, this land ownership by ALL — hunters and anglers, horse packers, hikers, runners, bikers and the lovers of freedom to roam, explore and discover so doggone free that it makes you wonder how one could ever live in a place without this vast inheritance.

How heart wrenching and limiting a thought. How criminal to sell out the birthright of every single American to special interests.

But land grabbers are primed and ready to abandon Montana’s and this nation’s heritage. They’ve been harping on this painfully faulty “states do it better” line for years, and I guess they aren’t yet tired of being reminded that transferring lands that belong to ALL Americans to the states is wildly unpopular and more important, the same as selling all those public lands.

Consider a few facts: