Montana congressional candidate Matt Rosendale聽earns income from two oil wells he leases聽to Dan and Farris Wilks. That should聽not only be of interest for voters because the Texan billionaires are pushing a radical anti-public-lands agenda across the Rocky Mountain West, but also because Rosendale voted for anti-public-access legislation backed by the Wilks brothers while being paid by them.听
That financial entanglement, along with Rosendale鈥檚 voting history, runs counter to his claim that he鈥檒l work to protect public lands, a vow聽made when he announced his campaign in June.听
鈥淢att opposes a federal lands transfer and will continue to fight every day to protect our public access to public lands and will always keep them in public hands,鈥 .听
Rosendale, a former real estate developer from Maryland, first entered Montana politics in 2010, when he was elected to the state鈥檚 House of Representatives. He entered the state Senate in 2012, then聽was elected聽state auditor in 2016, a position he still holds after mounting an unsuccessful bid for the United States Senate last year.听
It was while serving in the state Senate in 2015 that , legislation which would have, in part, allowed the Wilks brothers to ; that fence聽could have contained local elk populations on private land, at the expense of hunting opportunities聽on nearby public lands. The Wilks brothers , which went on to pass in the legislature聽but was vetoed by Governor Steve Bullock.听
In financial disclosures released as part of Rosendale鈥檚 2018 Senate bid, it鈥檚 apparent that the politician became business partners with the Wilks brothers as early as 2013, which continues to this day. Rosendale leases聽oil wells on his ranch near Glendive, Montana, to the Wilks brothers.
Additionally, according to the Federal Election Commission, the Wilks family to Rosendale鈥檚 campaign in 2014.听
Money reaches聽Rosendale聽through the聽companies. According to Montana property-tax records, the ranch near Glendive聽where Rosendale lives with his family . ,聽a company that he established in Maryland, in Montana, and, according to campaign disclosures, 聽from a property located at聽1954 Hwy. 16 in Glendive. According to records filed with the state, a company called聽Interstate Exploration聽.听Interstate Exploration is, according The Great Falls Tribune, .听
Montana Conservation Voters calculated that Rosendale has聽earned approximately $28,000 from one of the two wells. Property records have been updated recently to show the property is owned directly by Rosendale.
details the troubling ways in which access to public lands in Idaho has been damaged by the real estate and political machinations of the Wilks family. There, the Wilks have shut down public rights of way through their land聽and in some instances have even hired armed guards to keep the public out. The piece by聽The Times聽questioned聽the legality of these moves聽but went聽on to note that local governments聽lack the ability to fight the billionaires in court. Beginning in 2011, the brothers began purchasing hundreds of thousands of acres in Montana, making them . Since that time, they鈥檝e also become , and, in , have begun using their properties.听
The Wilks鈥檚 actions mesh with Rosendale鈥檚 own words and voting record. Despite recent efforts to cultivate a pro-public-lands image, Rosendale鈥檚 history with the issue is devoutly committed to their sale. In 2014, when asked to participate in聽a Q and A with the聽Billings Gazette on the topic, ,聽鈥淚 have long been on the record as an advocate for the transfer of federal public lands to the state.鈥 In addition to S.B. 245, Rosendale also has .听
鈥淢att Rosendale has proved time and again that he does not work in the interest of Montanans,鈥 Aaron Murphy, executive director of, told me over the phone. His group, which represents the state鈥檚 conservation and environmental communities, has opposed Rosendale鈥檚 campaigns in the past. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a real estate developer who continues to represent the interests of land developers and polluters聽at the expense of public access to public lands for everyday people,鈥 Murphy continued.听
Despite repeated attempts by聽phone, e-mail, and social media, neither Rosendale nor his campaign could be reached for comment.