Tourists are welcome, but please leave Montana just as you found it

One advantage to being a local reporter is having the unique opportunity to travel throughout the community and, not only meet new people, but learn the details and stories of topics that interest them and affect the community. This week I learned all about the Great Outdoors.

Tuesday night was the Anaconda Trail Society’s annual meeting, which I always enjoy. The people are consistently entertaining. They don’t hesitate to crack jokes while intermingling between important topics. 

But one thing that caught my attention in particular was a comment made during the following night’s Anaconda Sportsman’s Club meeting. Jim Vojahosky, who is the AIS Southwest Area Supervisor with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, was discussing watercraft coming into Montana from other states. He was explaining how much of the problem was caused by out-of-state recreators when a voice from the audience said, “this seems like a simple problem to me. Isn’t our fisheries more important than an out-of-stater bringing his boat in here?”

“Well,” Jim said, and was quickly interrupted. “No ‘well’ about it,” the audience member said. “That’s how it should be. They don’t need that kind of money to ruin our fisheries.”

Jim responded, “I’m going to take the easy way out on that one and say it’s beyond my paygrade.”

Immediately, my journalist spidey senses went off and I had a feeling his avoidance meant something, and here we are talking about it. I wondered if that could actually be an option. Could the governor implement a bill or pass a law prohibiting out-of-staters to transport watercraft into the state? After discussing it with my wise editor, he informed me that it would violate the Interstate Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, and he was right. 

But, the situation prompted another thought, which is, how far does the issue of discrimination to out-of-staters go? It’s tricky because I see both sides of this coin. I think the conservationists and outdoor enthusiasts have a valid point. They’re watching people coming in and, for lack of a better word, invading their home. On the other hand, this is a free country and literally every American has the right to come here if they please. Furthermore, new people often equals new ideas, cultural exposure, diversity, and yes, money. 

It’s tricky because it boils down to respect. You would hope that someone bringing a watercraft in from another state would clean it prior. You would hope that outdoor recreationists would pick up their trash. The list goes on. So, how do you enforce respect? You don’t, you fine them. I’m serious. If new residents, or old complacent ones for that matter, feed urban deer: fine them. If people are littering in the parks: fine them. And if out-of-staters knowingly bring invasive species in on their boats: fine them.

That’s just my opinion, but this is an opinion column so it feels appropriate. My target audience for this article are folks who are new to the state. Please leave Montana how you found it and respect the communities you’re inhabiting. I have a sneaking suspicion that locals will be much more inviting if they see people as an asset instead of a hindrance to their community. But my best advice would be to talk to each other. It’s almost become a fad to hate out-of-staters, but that is still discrimination, and I’m confident that if we open those lines of communication there’s an opportunity to learn something on both sides.