In Tuesday’s Great Falls Tribune, reporter John S. Adams uncovered the mysteries surrounding the latest attempt by the Democrats (this time the Obama Administration) to tie up some more Montana land (2.5 million acres) with a National Monument designation.

It seems what some Republicans have been crying about is true, and that’s too bad.

The Republicans (and probably most Montanans) don’t want a repeat of 2001 when President Clinton created the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument during the last few days of his presidency.

I’m all for protecting our land – as long as it is done openly and with input from the local folks.

Private property rights must be protected – and the government should not be allowed to come in and take or designate someone’s land because some buffoons in Washington, D.C. thought it was a neat idea. Most of the time when the bureaucrats in Washington decide something is a good idea – we should have our guard up.

I do commend Congressman Denny Rehberg for jumping on this and getting it some attention in the media. It’s too bad that Senator Jon Tester (who owns a little land in Montana) and Senator Max Baucus (who owns part of his mother’s home here in Montana) don’t jump on board with Rehberg. But, there’s a reason for that. If one examines the history of Tester and Baucus and the current Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, one would find that Salazar campaigned here in Montana for Tester and Baucus. As Forrest Gump would say, Tester, Baucus and Salazar go “together like peas and carrots.”

So it was not surprising to read in the article that Tester sided with Salazar’s claim that nothing was going on. It’s sad to see a Montana Senator siding with a Washington, D.C. bureaucrat instead of his constituents.

Salazar is under a lot of heat for his handling of the oil spill in the gulf, so he may not be around much longer. It would be nice if his department would be a little more candid about their plans. A good start would be to release the whole document. Allow the public to review it and then comment on it. Bring in the elected officials (local commissioners, state legislators, etc.) and get their input. Most importantly, the owners of any land on or near these places must have a front row seat at the table.

At least now with the help of Rehberg and some media attention, there’s a little more light shining on this plan. More light is always a good thing in government.