Montana’s political environment appears to be developing a new litmus test and dividing line between those of us who are “damned” or “saved” based on what we think. The test: Do you support public ownership of our public lands, or do you support “transfer”?

Take the group Montanans for Multiple Use. They now seem adrift both from their mission of “multiple use” of public lands and their populist, founding roots. They seem to want Montana to become more like Texas.

This year at the Flathead County Fair, MMFU sold raffle tickets in their usual spot and continued to bemoan national forest management.

But new this year was a flier they handed out from the American Lands Council, advocating the “transfer” of public lands. The Lands Council is operated by a Salt-Lake City based legal shop that advocates getting rid of national forests and other public lands.

American Lands Council is ideologically opposed to national forests, like the Flathead and the Kootenai, our backyard. They argue that I — as an American — would be better off without them.

That’s a pretty radical stance for a group like MFMU, whose own website advocates “balanced” multiple use of public lands. Transferring public lands would by definition end multiple use on those lands.

Out-of-state companies and wealthy individuals would love to get their hands on public lands, and then either keep them for themselves or charge people to lay a foot on them.

If Montana goes like Texas — that has no public lands — then we will hunt, fish and hike only when we pay the trespass fee. So much for “multiple use” and America’s unique public land legacy.

Does MMFU get any funds from American Lands Council to promote their bad ideas or is it just a favor between friends?

Either way, MMFU should think first about the radical ideas they adopt. And beware what they wish for. It could mean a whole lot less “multiple use” for all of us.

— Roger Sherman lives in Whitefish