Aaron Flint, a Trump-endorsed veteran running to replace outgoing Montana Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke, has publicly vowed to protect federal public lands, even as his past comments demonstrate an interest in transferring them to state control. Flint has been quick to paint himself as a champion of federal public lands as he runs for office in a state where polls show that federal lands are wildly popular.
“Public lands in public hands,” Flint told Northern Ag Network radio in a mid-March interview. “I’m so proud of our Republican congressional delegation who led that charge to protect our public lands. I stood with them then and I will stand with them defending our public lands moving forward.”
Montana’s Republican delegation — Zinke, Sen. Steve Daines, Sen. Tim Sheehy and Rep. Troy Downing — was widely credited with helping block a GOP effort last year to sell off millions of acres of public lands under the guise of combating America’s housing crunch. Zinke and Daines both announced in early March that they will not seek reelection.
However, if Flint wins the election, it isn’t clear whether he will fortify or undermine this so-called “Montana firewall” against federal land divestment, as he has a history of voicing support for transferring federal lands to state control — a move that could ultimately lead to privatization.
In a 2015 post to X (formerly Twitter), Flint declared that “many Montanans want to transfer it from the bankrupting fed govt to state owned public land.”
In another post from 2014, he argued money from the popular Land and Water Conservation Fund, which uses oil and gas revenue to acquire and protect lands and water resources, “should be used to transfer more fed lands into state lands.”
In response to Flint’s pro-public-lands social media post last month, a Public Domain reporter noted in a post to X that the current Montana Republican Party platform, adopted in June 2024, calls for “relinquishing federally managed public lands to the states in order to secure statehood equality and provide for better management of public lands.” Flint’s past comments align with this platform.
Public Domain notes that Montana Republicans have a history of running away from pro-land-transfer positions once they come face-to-face with their state’s voters. Polls show Montanans deeply oppose federal land sales and transfers. A 2026 survey conducted by the University of Montana found that 84 percent of Montana voters support a ban on the sale or transfer of national public lands.
Since the poll began more than a decade ago, “Montanans’ interest in protecting public lands has only grown stronger,” said UM initiative director Rick Graetz. “Bipartisan support for conservation is undeniable and deeply rooted. Wherever I go in Montana, I hear from people wanting to safeguard their quality of life and their freedom to visit public lands and waters. There is no appetite for sell-off or industrialization of public lands here and that clearly shows in the data.”
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