The danger of commercialization and privatization is a shift away from the average hunter and angler toward hunting and angling for certain segments of the society only. For example, officials may decide to grant hunting licenses to landowners to use how they please, including selling them to the highest bidder.

With a new administration and legislature taking the helm, sportsmen and women are asking what might be in store for Montana’s cherished outdoor way of life. Posts are spiking in online forums, sporting coalitions are convening on Zoom, and op-eds are filling daily papers — all speculating what might lie ahead. There’s a shared concern that things may not be as good as they have been. What is really at stake here? Why are so many hunters and anglers concerned?

By Thomas Baumeister