For Senator Steve Daines (R-MT), conservation is in his blood.
A stewardship ethos is deeply ingrained in him—one that influences his legislative priorities like balancing natural resources development with public lands advocacy.
Fresh off his re-election victory, the second-term lawmaker is a leading conservative voice on issues relating to conservation, energy, and the environment.
Last year, Senator Daines joined former Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) in introducing and sponsoring the bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act—the most consequential public lands bill in 50 years. President Donald Trump later signed the bill into law. In 2019, Daines and his fellow Republicans launched the bicameral Roosevelt Conservation Caucus. It’s no surprise the Flathead Beacon dubbed Daines a “conservative conservationist.” He certainly is one, through and through.
Senator Daines recently chatted with me how he’s promoting true conservation policies in the U.S. Senate, his thoughts on new Interior Secretary Haaland, and the value of introducing more Americans to fishing and hunting.
Channeling the Montana Way of Life in Washington
Senator Daines said Montana values greatly influence his public policy work.
“I was very thankful that I got to grow up in Montana,” Daines remarked.
The gun owner embraced the shooting sports lifestyle early in life after receiving a Winchester 22, a pellet gun, and Daisy BB gun.
He acknowledged he was an early adopter of fly fishing before the film adaptation of "A River Runs Through It," starring actor Brad Pitt, made the sport popular.
“I had a fly rod in my hand in the early 70s before fly fishing was cool,” he quipped. “My grandpa had a Browning Silaflex rod with an automatic reel [and] a wicker creel. If you’ve seen the movie A River Runs Through It, that was filmed on the Gallatin River...I grew up fishing on [that river] before it was found and discovered probably by so many now.”
“I realized what I grew up with [was] something really unique and really special. And it's part of our legacy that we need to continue to protect and preserve in Montana.”
Conservatives Are Conservationists Too
I asked the avowed sportsman why Democrats are keen on weaponizing conservation against Republicans.
“I think it's unfortunate that conservation has gotten so politicized,” the senator observed. “That somehow if you are conservative—if you're Republican—you can't be pro-environment, pro-outdoors, pro-public lands. Because I am.”
If supporting multiple-use management of public lands is a “conservative” position, it’s the Montana position in Daines’ eyes.
The senator is concerned national Democrats, including President Joe Biden, want to shift Western states away from this public lands philosophy. He warned if they succeed, the Treasure State will transform into a playground solely for the rich and wealthy—not regular working Montanans.
“The average working men and women will have to leave because they don't have a job,” he declared. “As we've seen, some of these radical environmental groups shut down mining, shut down timber management, you know, shut down oil, gas, and our coal industries. Well, what do you have if you shut all those down? You basically just have a state that only people who are wealthy can afford to live in.”
Rating Secretary Deb Haaland’s Performance So Far
Senator Daines recently garnered attention for grilling Interior Secretary Deb Haaland during her confirmation hearing. Critics accused him of being biased against her—an accusation he resoundly rejects.
Daines revealed to me he could be open to working with Haaland, but remains pessimistic about his prospects. He is concerned she’s taking the Interior Department in a radical preservationist direction.
“She has taken some very, very radical positions prior to her nomination: shutting down all pipelines, shutting down natural resource development, [being] opposed to public lands trapping...,” he noted.
The self-described conservationist also felt she displayed weakness while answering a question about being guided by science on grizzly bear management. The science, Daines said, supports delisting the fully-recovered Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) grizzly bear—a position she vociferously opposed as a congresswoman.
“Of course, we got into a bit of a debate on the Endangered Species Act,” the avid sportsman admitted, citing her non-answer.
Daines, however, hopes the Interior Secretary will consider new Chao 2 numbers from the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC)—not politics—when her agency decides the species’ fate.
“We look at what's happening with the grizzly bears in a place like Montana. Today, there's over 1,000 grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem,” said Daines. “Tragically, just last week—an hour and a half from my home in southwest Montana—a 40-year-old man from West Hills, Montana, was tragically mauled and killed by a grizzly bear.”
“It's in the best interest of the people of Montana and the bears to delist them, and allow the state of Montana to manage the species.”
Conclusion
Before concluding our conversation, I couldn’t resist asking Senator Daines what his advice for new anglers and hunters is given renewed interest in these pastimes.
“Go for it,” he offered. “We keep the next generation going forward here by buying a fishing license—buying hunting licenses—because it funds conservation. It funds the Great Outdoors.”
Listen to Senator Daines on the District of Conservation podcast or watch the interview here. Make sure to follow Senator Daines on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and bookmark his official website.