GOVERNOR MARTZ NAMES UPPER MISSOURI RIVER TASK FORCE
Group to Address Secretary Norton's Request for Input

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 28, 2001
CONTACT: Shane M. Hedges
Governor’s Office
406-444-5522

HELENA, MONTANA -- Governor Judy Martz on Thursday announced the formation of the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument Task Force to address questions posed by Secretary of Interior Gale Norton.

"Recognizing the extreme difficulty of appointing a task force of individuals that represent all the various interest groups, I decided to appoint a task force of elected officials with direct ties to the recent monument designation," said Martz. "These are individuals trusted by the local communities and are elected to represent no one special interest group."

Governor Martz appointed Senator Jon Tester, Representative Bill Thomas, Fort Belknap Chairman Joe McConnell, Blaine County Commissioner Art Kleinjan, Chouteau County Commissioner Harvey Worall, Fergus County Commissioner Carl Seilstad, and Phillips County Commissioner Carol Kienenberger. The respective county commissioners were allowed to choose their own representatives to the task force.

The monument designation along the Missouri River has been a controversial subject since former Secretary Bruce Babbitt first visited the area in 1999. It is no less controversial today as questions remain to the impact of the designation on the nearly 80,000 acres of private land and the nearly 40,000 acres of State land. The overall size of the monument is close to half a million acres.

"No one disputes the importance the scenic and environmental qualities this area plays to Montana," said Martz. "The disagreement comes to how best manage and protect this area. I believe in local control and local input from inception to implementation. And that is why I have chosen a group of elected officials to answer the questions posed to me by Secretary Norton."

While the Central Montana Resource Advisory Council (RAC) worked diligently on this issue, there were some items that they could not reach consensus on. These items included some of the more contentious issues such as: boundary size, oil and gas development, timber and mining issues, increases in federal land ownership and the mix of federal, state and private property.

Martz will instruct the group to provide her with a preliminary report by August 15, 2001. She also indicated that if the task force is making meaningful progress in answering the questions posed by the Secretary and they need more time, she will consider granting them additional time.

"I expect the Task Force to conduct all meetings in an open and public manner and to solicit comments, suggestions and recommendations from all sides of this issue. I have informed them that I will not accept recommendations that will seriously harm the values we Montanans treasure about the Upper Missouri River Breaks," said Martz. "I will present the recommendations of this report to the Secretary of Interior and work with Montana's congressional delegation and the Bush Administration to implement the recommendations.

"As Governor, I search for meaningful solutions to problems. I hope the formation of this Task Force, a task force of individuals who have followed this process since the day Secretary Babbitt told us of his intentions, will produce meaningful compromise that all Montanans can be proud of," said Martz. "Montana solutions are the best solutions for Montana. Secretary Norton has given Montana one more chance to find solutions to the unaddressed, thorny issues."

ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION: EXECUTIVE ORDER 14-01, LETTER FROM SECRETARY GALE NORTON TO GOVERNOR MARTZ.

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