Public land hunting advocate Randy Newberg pays a visit to Lincoln School

Randy Newberg of Bozeman is known for two things: his love of hunting and his love of public lands, and that has made him one of the country's leading advocates for access to public lands by hunters.

Newberg, who fans of hunting shows may know from 'On Your Own Adventures' or 'Leupold's Fresh Tacks' TV show, visited Lincoln High School Thursday morning, April 7 to talk to Nancy Schwalm's wildlife class - and a few members of the community who took time to stop in - about the importance of public lands.

Newberg, who also has his own website, a YouTube channel, the hunttalk.com discussion website and Hunt Talk radio podcast, explained the reason for his media business is to promote self-guided public land hunting and create advocates for that cause. "Creating advocates is not very easy, which is why I come and do things like this," he said.

Schwalm became a fan of Newberg because his show isn't as focused on killing animals as some others in the hunting show genre tend to be.

"He was about hunting public land; he would miss an opportunity if he thought it was too close to dark or he couldn't get the meat out before a bear would be on the carcass," she said. "He would pull out and come back. It would be about the experience and about where he was and about giving information."

Schwalm said she reached out to Newberg through his website last fall to find out if there was any way her students could meet him. She expected to get in contact with members of his team but heard back from Newberg directly. To her delight, he let her know he does do school visits.

"I don't get geeked out about people like the Kardashians, but this guy..." she said. "He's just about the common man who doesn't own a ranch or have money to spend on hunting rights. He hunts public land, and he is all about conserving the resources we have here."

Newberg, who's originally from a small town in far northern Minnesota, came to Bozeman with his wife in 1991. It was there where he became an advocate "almost by accident." At the time, Bozeman was quite a bit different than it is now. The couple, then in their twenties, took a major pay cut to move to Montana and took advantage of the hunting and fishing opportunities in the state.

Much of the land to the south of Bozeman was prime elk and deer habitat but was a checkerboard of public land and private ground owned largely by Plum Creek. For years Plum Creek had allowed the public access to their land, and by extension the intermingled public lands, for hunting and recreation.

But in early 1992, the property sold to Tim Lizeth's Big Sky Lumber Company, who planned to block access to the private land, effectively locking up the public land as well.

"My wife, she's so direct," Newberg said. "She's like, 'I didn't move to Bozeman, Montana and take all these pay cuts and then lose access to all this public ground. So, you better get down to the Holiday Inn where they're having the public hearing and you tell them what I think.'"

Newberg said he had no idea what would unfold. Senator Max Baucus was at the hearing to talk about a land exchange he and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation were working on. But Newberg found himself getting "steamed" because no one was listening to the hunters. "So, I stood up and told them my wife told me to come here and say what she was thinking."

Although he doesn't recall it the same way, a friend claims he threatened to fire Baucus.

"It was kind of my first real public effort in advocacy for public lands," he said, adding that over the course of five years and three land trades, that land south of Bozeman, became public.

"I tell that story about how you can make a difference if it's your passion," Newberg said. "You'll be connected to something in your life that is very important to you ... and if you stand up to be heard, you'll be surprised at how much impact you can have."

Turning to a local example, Newberg pointed to the impact Cecil Garland had on protecting public land in the Lincoln Backcountry. "You guys are the biggest conservation story here in Montana, with the Scapegoat Wilderness," he said, asking how many of the students' realized Garland was a legend among conservationists.

Before coming to Lincoln, Newberg sent along a story about Garland's role in creating the Scapegoat Wilderness 50 years ago, the first citizen-initiated wilderness in the US. He'd also sent a video about a dam that had been planned for the Yellowstone River that would have flooded much of Paradise Valley. "None of this happens by accident. It happens because people who love something stand up and say something."

Newberg talked about his fascination with landscapes stemming from reading outdoor magazines in his school library during study halls.

"My travels have always been about 'what is the landscape?" he said. He said when he's hunting, he learns the particulars of the landscape, from the plant systems to the other species there he's not hunting.

"For me it's not about where are these animals, or where are all these big animals, or what's the greatest hunting," he said. "It's about going and seeing landscapes that are still intact. That's what still drives me today. Hunting is my way to do that. Because when I'm out hunting, I'm absorbed in the landscape in a way I would never be absorbed if I'm just hiking."

Newberg said what didn't' happen in landscapes is as interesting as what did, whether it was plans for logging the Scapegoat, plans to dam the Yellowstone, or plans for the major mining operations in the Upper Blackfoot that never came to fruition.

"In a planet that's approaching close to eight billion people, in a country that's getting close to 340 million people... the demand for space and habitat and resources are very, very intense," he said. "You are the ones who are going to conserve Montana and the landscapes.

"I'd say there are three important principles if you want to advocate for something you love," Newberg said. "It's always difficult. It's not something you're going to get taken care of that afternoon. It's always uncomfortable. Someone's gonna be mad at you. I know that because my brother calls me up on a regular basis and says 'that's stupid. Don't be talking to me anymore.' You have to accept not everyone is going to feel about it the same way you do. And the last one: it's always inconvenient. When opportunities come, we've got to act fast. Opportunities come and go really quickly, and we don't get to put those on our calendar."

Imagine if the people who helped conserve these places said 'I'm, too busy today. I'm not gonna do that. My neighbor might complain. None of the things we love would be the way they are."