Caitlin Thompson / Sunday, November 16, 2014 / Categories: Media Protect and Manage Federal BLM Land Conserve public land I read with interest Karl Puckett’s Sept. 14 story, “Sportsmen seek protections for BLM backcountry,” about the Bureau of Land Management’s new efforts to protect Montana’s undeveloped backcountry lands. It’s welcome news at a time when many pressures are coming to bear on the kind of hunting opportunities that most of us have grown up with and have taken for granted. As resident sportsmen, we’re witnessing what has been long the norm in more crowded states — loss of access to private lands, less public opportunity and less wildlife. We’re living in a fast-changing world and a challenging economy. We Montanans are fortunate to have the lands managed by the BLM. They are some of the last best opportunities for people of average means to get out and hunt, fish and camp on a Montana-sized scale and Montana-sized budget.http://gftrib.com/1uCJA0RGet GFTribune on your mobile device:https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gannett.local.library.news.greatfallstribune Previous Article Fish Creek Aquisition Next Article 2014 Highlights from Oregon BHA Print 2 Rate this article: No rating Caitlin ThompsonCaitlin Thompson Other posts by Caitlin Thompson Contact author