....maybe time to stop drinking the kool-aid, dust off your suckers, and figure out if we do not work together as a group that all we hold near and dear may one day soon be gone.
Eric - Your post is rather condescending. Maybe even more than condescending.
Most of us feel the same way as those NE Montana Sportsmen you talk about. We aren't drinking any Kool-aid. It is NOT a function of resident hunters outside your area knowing more than hunters in your area, or vice-versa. Whether you believe it or not, most hunters in other parts of the state are also conservative, including me. But, the continued assualt on hunting, fishing, and public land access by those representing the ag interests in this state are doing all they can to chase many hunters away from the conservative ideas.
You say we all need to work together. Sounds good.
When are these 63 landowners going to start doing that?
When are the most vocal and radical legislators from Eastern and Northeastern Montana going to start doing that?
What does closing property to hunting because you are pissed at the Governor have to do with working together.? Nothing.
What does passing legislative bills that hammer resident hunters and access have to do with working together? Nothing.
What does your neighbor(s) selling to a group such as APF/APR have to do with working together like you say? Nothing.
What does putting DU in the crosshairs and making them some sort of new punching bag for doing their mission work have to do with that? Nothing.
What does ..........
You call for us to join together. Sounds good.
Who in this landowner group is going to take some leadership on that and speak up against the vocal fringes?
Who of the conservative legislators is going to convince the likes of Barrett, Harris, Brenden, and other fringe legislators to start doing that?
Who in the landowner group is going to convince UPOM to remove themselves from the lawsuit to overturn the Montana Stream Access Law?
Who in the landowner group is .............
Lots of opportunities have come up to work together; bison, brucellosis, game management, increase public access, change the Republican "no net increase in public land" stance, etc. Yet, I have never heard a call from you or the landowners of joining together on the issues resident hunters might get some benefit from. Rather, those opportunities have been used by the far legislative fringe to take another whack at hunters.
And now, they come and ask us to join together.
I am one of the more landowner friendly hunters I know. I get taken to task at times for my supposed coziness with landowners. In spite of that, your comment in this post is hard to take seriously.
If you put yourself in the shoes of resident hunters it is pretty easy to see why they have lost a lot of concern on this and other issues where we could be a powerful ally with landowners. You talk about 63 ranches being closed to public hunting. You admit that it is because of the Governor and his bison policy.
Then you say this is supposedly "not aimed at sportsmen." Really?
The ditch bill to overturn Montana's Stream Access Law was supposedly "not aimed at sportsmen."
Everytime a punch is taken at hunters and anglers, we hear the same thing, "This is not aimed at sportsmen."
Reminds me of the guy in my hometown who used to beat the crap out of his dogs when the Vikings would lose a football game. Then he wondered why the dog never turned out to be much of a hunting partner. Go figure.
As far as I am concerned you guys can go it alone on this one. I detest how it happened; in the dark of night, against a court order, with the aid of Defenders, and all the things you mention.
That said, the response by landowners being the new paradigm for landowner tantrums these days, pisses me off. Until the more reasonable voices start representing the landowner community, I don't see too many conservative hunters like myself getting their panties in a bind on topics like this.
The landowner-sportsmen wedge has been there for a long time. I am just as pissed when some fringe hunting elements take whacks to drive the wedge deeper.
We all know landowners hold the trump card as owners of the land controlling access. Their most radical fringe elements are given the maul to take as many and as hard of whacks at the wedge as they want, with not a word spoken by the majority of the landowner community who from my experience, are some of the best folks you could ever meet.
Sorry to say it, but the response landowners gave on this one does nothing to get me up in arms on their behalf. You can count this potential ally as a non-combatant in this one.
Good luck. As long as your neighbors continue to grab the money that is being offerred to sell out, you are going to need all the luck you can get.
Just got back from elk hunting today in an area that some Welfare Rancher has been running his range maggots. Couldn't even smell the elk as the stink from the range maggots just hangs in that country. 
