The Definition of a Sportsman (4 of 7)

A Sportsman is an Environmentalist

This statement presents a conflict to many Westerners who consider themselves sportsmen. They share a mindset that “environmentalists” are a fringe group out to ruin the livelihoods of blue and white-collar Western workers. Brent from the Corvallis area provides evidence of this mindset in the following quote.

“While environmentalists would like to take credit for protecting everything good on earth, sportsmen do more than their share.”

Brent is correct that sportsmen do a lot for maintaining the areas where they recreate. A National Geographic article entitled “Hunters: For Love of the Land” (Nov. 2007) estimated that “hunters contributed 280 million dollars in 2006 to dozens of groups that devote most of their revenue to conservation,” groups like Ducks Unlimited, National Wild Turkey Federation, and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. In fact, the article also surmises, “that many species might not survive at all were it not for hunters trying to kill them,” and that “The nation’s 12.5 million hunters have become essentially partners in wildlife management.” So whether Western sportsmen like the title of Environmentalist or not, the proof is in the money; sportsmen are big softies for Mother Nature and that is essentially what an environmentalist is.

Greg Lemon puts it best in quote from, “Blue Man in a Red State”.

“Out here, environmentalists are people who still hunt and fish. They may chain themselves to a tree to keep loggers from cutting it down, but check their freezer and you’ll find steaks from last year’s deer.”

Here are a few of the local issues of environmental consequence that should concern sportsmen.

Drilling on the Rocky Mountain Front
There will be an increased call to allow more coal-bed methane, natural gas, and oil exploration along the Rocky Mountain Front of the United States as the cost of energy continues to rise and with the Bush Administration on its way out. Here are a few questions that need answering: At what point does drilling for fossil fuel trump wildlife and the environment? Is the land only worth what you can extract from it? Who benefits from drilling in the areas where Americans hunt, fish, and hike?

Streamside Setbacks
Streamside development, where structures are built within a few feet of a mountain stream, is an example of an environmentally unfriendly and unsportsman-like activity. A mountain stream naturally moves and changes course from year to year with the spring runoff. Building structures next to a stream leads to eventual streamside stabilization projects like rip-rap which artificially redirect the flow of the river and change the river’s natural local ecology. Montana’s rivers are property of the state and thus every Montanan owns a piece. The sportsmen of Montana have a responsibility to protect this precious resource by installing setbacks in county streamside building permits.

All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs)
Operating an ATV in a non-motorized area is not only illegal, but it denudes the land, leaving ruts that increase the extent of erosion during rainstorms or spring runoff. They are also an unnecessary source of noise pollution that can ruin the experience for law-abiding recreationists. ATVs will always be an important part of recreation and hunting in Western States and there will always be places where riding is permitted, but illegal riding and damage to the environment only adds to the call for further restrictions.

In conclusion, a sportsman is an environmentalist. He never disrespects Mother Nature or fouls another man’s experience when entering the realm of the elk and trout. A sportsman understands the value of leaving a small footprint in life because his actions can have a profound effect on the surroundings and the future. Sportsmen are stewards of this planet. We have a responsibility to maintain the health of its animals and land because as Brent puts it, “If we abuse the resources we have, then we also lose what we enjoy most.”

Greg Lemon on Schweitzer's Convention Speech

Greg Lemon has updated his blog (finally) over at In Lemon's World. In an interesting post, he shares his reaction to Schweitzer's DNC speech and adds links from other perspectives. Lemon the prognosticator "predict[s]... a cabinet position for Schweitzer should Obama get elected." While it may be bold, it is not an unrealistic prediction if you understand Schweitzer's forward thinking energy policies and experience in the Middle East. He could come in handy in an Obama administration.

It seems Lemon had as much trouble catching the speech in its entirety as me. So, for those who missed it... (link)

On a more personal note, Lemon, local reporter and now local celebrity after the publishing of "Blue Man in a Red State," has moved on to bigger and better things as editor of the Bozeman paper, The Sun. The Bitterroot's loss is Bozeman's gain. Enjoy your new waters. Best of luck Greg!

Interview with Greg Lemon, Author of "Blue Man in a Red State"

Greg, you authored an impressive biography of Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer. It is informative, entertaining, and well organized. It is an important book. With Schweitzer in the middle of a reelection campaign and in the national spotlight as a possible VP candidate for the Democratic ticket, “Blue Man in a Red State” will be an important tool to judge the man by come November.

Did you realize the possible importance of this biography when you started researching it?

I did. This book proposal came to me from the publisher. They had an idea and went looking for an author. We all knew the timing of this book would be important.

Was there something that you were surprised to learn about Brian Schweitzer while you were researching the book?

I think there were a lot of things that surprised me along the way. Mostly little stuff, like that he always carried hand sanitizer with him. Bigger stuff … I was surprised by his description of being a middle child and a negotiator. I guess I never thought of him in that sort of way but it makes sense. I was also surprised by the way he spoke about his children, Ben in particular. I think the whole conversation about his kids was really humanizing and poignant. We so seldom think of Schweitzer as a father.

The book is broken into 34 short chapters. Each segment could stand alone, but together there is a comfortable flow to the story. How did you decide to organize the book the way you did?

The organization of the book came about because I’m essentially a newspaper/magazine journalist. I write relatively short pieces. On this project I was really learning about narrative flow to the book – a way to lace all the chapters together. So my editor, Allen Jones, and I decided to go to the shorter chapters and I think it worked well.

In your book, former gubernatorial candidate Bob Brown gave an interesting description of Montana environmentalists. He said, “…environmentalists are people who still hunt and fish. They may chain themselves to a tree to keep loggers from cutting it down, but check their freezer and you’ll find steaks from last year’s deer.” Having lived in Montana and been around Montana politics for some time now, did this description of environmentalists surprise you?

I don’t want to be misleading here. Bob and I talked at length about the Montana persona. But I also felt like that was something I could speak to. So that description of environmentalists is more mine than Bob’s. However, I think it’s accurate. I’m not too comfortable with the term environmentalist. I don’t really know to whom that is referring. But I know several people who are labeled environmentalists and they hunt, fish, drink beer, tell jokes and even cut down a few trees each year to keep them warm over the winter.

One of my favorite passages from the book (referring to Schweitzer) was “Given that he had zero name recognition around Montana, he just decided to campaign like he was killing snakes.” Where did the phrase “like killing snakes” come from? I like it. I might have to use it.

I’m glad you liked that. I got it from my late grandfather, John Lemon. He was a great teller of stories and used these old sayings all the time. I’ve held on to as many as I could. He would smile if he knew I’d put it in a book. Interesting you never heard it. We’ve used it in my family as long as I could remember. Maybe it’s a colloquial thing.

I had to read Jim Shockley’s quote ten times before I got the gist. Shockley was praising Schweitzer’s involvement on Mitchell Slough when he said, “He helped us on the Mitchell Slough. He’s going to be dead and gone and his kids are going to be gone, and that’s still going to be a good deal with the state.” I understand what he meant, but it sounds like it’ll be a good deal with the state when Schweitzer is gone. Any reservations about including this quote the way it was stated?

No. I really like and respect Jim. He’s a guy that will basically tell you what he thinks and shoots as straight as a preacher. He believes fervently that the Mitchell Slough is open to the public and Schweitzer did sportsmen a favor by pushing for the Supreme Court appeal. I think that’s reflected in the quote.

As a reporter, you try to write without lending personal bias to the story. I think you did a masterful job of this through most of the biography. I was a little surprised when at the end of the book you included a chapter on your relationship and personal view of the governor. Why did you find it necessary to include Chapter 33?

On this project, I felt that it was important my voice and views come through. My editor felt the same way. I had this unique opportunity to spend a lot of time with the governor and in the end my relationship with him and how we interacted and how he treated me would feed into the book. It would have been dishonest, I think, to leave out my feelings or impressions of Schweitzer because it would have left the reader without the essential information on which to judge the honesty and quality of my book.

Your friend, a pastor from Helena, got the final word on Brian Schweitzer. Explain why you decided to end the book with the observation, “He just doesn’t seem to be at peace.”

I had some heartburn over the way the book ended, but Steve captured what I felt about Schweitzer and what I wanted to say. So why not let him say it. I think as a journalist, you have to be open to the truth whenever it comes and in whatever form it takes.

The Governor is a talker, a storyteller. Do you ever catch him telling you the same story twice?

You bet. Schweitzer told that football story from the beginning of the book three times that I heard and then I talked to someone else who told me he’d heard him tell it as well. I have to admit to the same tendency myself. I love talking and have been known to tell the same story over and over, even to my wife.

What is more difficult, being a beat reporter writing for a daily or writing a biography on the Governor of Montana?

Writing a book, but not by much. The difficulty in the book was getting my head and heart around the size and the scope of the project. But being a daily reporter and being a good one, means you have to have an eye on the bigger picture as well. You can’t just cover the news everyday without some sense of context and where the issues are heading. As a journalist, my job is, in part, to give people information to make decisions on. If I can’t put that information into the bigger context of their lives, then I’m not doing my job well.

I have an upcoming post on what is to be a sportsman. What is Greg Lemon’s definition of what it is to be a sportsman?

The definition for me has changed over the years. I used to think it was anyone who was outside hunting, fishing, hiking, etc. But now, after living in Montana for 10 years, my thoughts about what it means to be a sportsmen is much more complicated than that. You hear people talk about how the outdoors is their church, their religion. Some even say they find God there. I do. But so many people treat the woods, the rivers, the mountains as if it were only a playground – something created simply for their pleasure. Yet it’s so much more than that. A sportsmen recognizes this value of creation and knows his or her interaction with nature is important not only to their soul, but to the natural world as well.

Final question: Did you ever find out if the Governor can throw some line (can he fly fish)?

I fished with Schweitzer up at Georgetown Lake. Yes, he can fly fish. I won’t analyze his technique or ability too much though. I need some more time on the water with him.
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Greg Lemon is a freelance journalist and writer for the Bitterroot Star. He is also the Politics Editor for NewWest.net, an online news journal covering the Rocky Mountain West. You can check out Lemon's blog at www.greglemonmt.blogspot.com.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer and Greg Lemon will hold two readings of "Blue Man in a Red State" and be available for book signings this Wednesday, July 9th. They will be at Fact & Fiction on the UM campus at 2 pm and at Chapter One in Hamilton at 7 pm.

"Blue Man in a Red State: Montana's Governor Brian Schweitzer and the New Western Populism" Book Review

Brian Schweitzer is the “agronomist with an energy plan” and the “darling of the Democratic party.” After reading, “Blue Man in a Red State” it is easy to see why. Schweitzer brings a unique set of tools to the table. He has a degree in soil science, a work history that has taken him throughout the Middle East, and boasts of a brighter future for America through renewable energy and “clean-coal” technology. This may sound “big city” but he is 100 percent Montanan. He has humble roots, growing up on a cattle ranch in central Montana. He shares a passion for the outdoors. He’s a family man, religious, and hardworking, often up and at’em by 4am. He has a gregarious, some say “forceful” personality that endears him or raises scorn from across the political aisle. He is the definition of unique, a moderate Democrat from the West that appeals to nearly everyone. Time will tell if the rancher from Whitefish can deliver his vision of the future, but there is no doubt that no man from Montana has burst onto the national stage and given it more time in the political spotlight than Brian Schweitzer.

Author Greg Lemon crafts an informative and entertaining biography of Montana’s Governor. But “Blue Man in a Red State” is not just a bio. Lemon describes the history of the Treasure State, the changing political landscape of the Mountain West, and the struggles facing Montana and America in the future. Like a true reporter, he is hands off, not influencing the narrative with his own bias, except for one chapter that describes his relationship with the Governor. "Blue Man in a Red State" is a wonderful read. You not only gain a greater understanding of the man who is Brian Schweitzer, but of Montana, the state he calls home.