| I learned how to fly fish at a young age on the banks of the BigHorn River while living in Saint Xavier and continued to develop my passion and expertise while growing up in Lewistown. Learning to fly fish with my mother and father not only taught me how to cast and what a mayfly looked like but it instilled in me a deep rooted set of values about the power of nature and the importance of stewardship. Now as an adult, fly fishing remains my outlet for creative expression and my means for mental well being. It is the access to clean cold water where I continue to discover and connect with my community.
We all know Montana is wide open spaces, working lands, and pristine rivers. We know we are lucky to have a vast system of public lands and progressive stream access laws. These luxuries are a result of standing up and fighting. It is critical that we invest in our outdoor spaces so that the next generations are able to experience and learn from them in the same way that I did. The Montana Outdoor Heritage Project is the right step for our communities as we continue to fight to protect our home. |