If we had to pick three things that best describe us, they would be: women, small business owners, and river lovers. These are our identities, and they’re all critical to Montana’s future. We are Alice Owsley, fly fishing outfitter in West Yellowstone, KynsLee Scott, fly fishing guide in Missoula, and Hilary Hutcheson, fly fishing guide and fly shop owner in Columbia Falls. We are just three of the estimated 37,000 women business owners here in Montana, and we support the Montana Headwaters Legacy Act (MHLA).
And this holiday season we’re grateful for the protections this bill would bestow on Montana’s rivers and our livelihoods and for Senator Jon Tester’s stalwart support.
The MHLA is a community-driven bill that would protect the very waters that our small businesses, and many others, rely upon every season as we introduce locals and tourists to Montana’s exceptional fisheries. The MHLA would protect 20 key rivers and streams in the upper Missouri and Yellowstone river systems. The Gallatin, Smith, Stillwater, and Yellowstone rivers are all fishing destinations that would be protected by the MHLA.
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A love of rivers and fishing is what drove each of us to start successful river-based businesses here in Montana. Rivers are the foundation upon which we have grown our small businesses, careers, and supported our families.
Alice first visited the Yellowstone region when she was 12 and knew back then she would return to the clear air, big mountains, and beautiful rivers. She started her own business, Riverside Anglers, Inc. in 2001.
Protecting rivers preserves Montana’s fishing heritage, sustains its thriving outdoor recreation and tourism economies, and secures the livelihoods of small business owners. KynsLee is grateful that rivers are the lifeblood of Montana, her life, and her career.
Rivers provide us with clean drinking water, water for crops and livestock, and healthy ecosystems. And we’re not alone in wanting to protect the rivers we cherish. More than 1,300 businesses support the MHLA including nearly 140 outdoor recreation and tourism businesses from flyfishing outfitters and rafting companies to destination lodges, well-known gear brands, and brick-and-mortar outdoor gear shops.
When Hilary’s daughters were growing up, the outdoors supported their mental and emotional health and satiated their hunger for adventure. Today they are adults, and while they still look to the outdoors to fill those same needs, they now also recognize the importance of the outdoor recreation economy.
They are employed as river guides and fly fishing instructors. So, rivers that had been central to their lives are now central to their livelihoods. They are both voters and are keen on choosing leaders who value the economic necessity of clean waterways.
Currently, passage of the MHLA requires bipartisan support and we are shocked that Senator Steve Daines opposes this bill. Hard-working Montana families, women, and business owners need Sen. Daines to join the over 1,300 businesses, more than 3,000 individual Montanans, the Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council representing 11 Tribes, three chambers of commerce, and four county commissions that have endorsed the Montana Headwaters Legacy Act.
As members of Montana’s outdoor recreation economy, we fully support the Montana Headwaters Legacy Act. This bill, and securing Sen. Daines’ endorsement, remains on our wish list this holiday season since it safeguards our rivers, our incomes, and our fishing legacy.
Alice Owsley, fly fishing outfitter and guide, West Yellowstone; KynsLee Scott, fly fishing guide and conservation communications consultant, Missoula; Hilary Hutcheson, fly fishing guide and fly shop owner, Columbia Falls.
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