Jennifer Fielder

Credentials

B.S., Parks and Recreation Administration with Business Emphasis, Western State College of Colorado (1990)¹ ²
Associate degrees, Wenatchee Valley College ³

Background

Jennifer Fielder is the “acting/volunteer” CEO of the American Lands Council, a group that advocates for transferring control of federal public lands to the states.⁴

In 2020, Jennifer Fielder was elected to a seat on the Montana Public Service Commission. She assumed office in January 2021, and her term ends in January 2025. ⁵

Jennifer Fielder represented State Senate District 7 as a Republican in the state legislature from 2012 to 2020.⁶ ⁷

Fielder was a speaker at the Heartland Institute‘s 13th International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC13) in 2019.⁸

Ownership of Public Lands

Environmental advocates have suggested that the American Lands Council’s goal of transferring federal public lands to the states would lead to states selling them off.⁹

In an op-ed for The Helena Independent Record in 2019, Fielder stated that people opposed to state takeover of federal public lands were mistaken and had “been fed a lie that somebody would sell off all our public lands if Montana took control of them”:¹⁰

“Unfortunately, federal mismanagement of 25 million acres in Montana has been increasingly marked by catastrophic wildfires, smoke filled summers, polluted water, decimated wildlife, blocked access, and economic decline. A history of slow or poor decision making by Washington DC politicians and out-of-state administrators has caused unnecessary hardships, multi-million disasters, and cost way too many lives.

“As more and more people realize that we can and must do better, more and more people are realizing it is time to bring land management decisions closer to home — where they belong. Yes it is time to have an honest conversation about how the transfer of federal lands to the States could benefit us all.”

Stance on Climate Change

October 19, 2020

The Missoulian reported that Jennifer Fielder, then running for a seat on the Montana Public Service Commission, commented on climate change during a virtual forum hosted by City Club Missoula.¹¹

“If you look at what was modeled in the ’70s, we were supposed to go through a horrible Ice Age,” Fielder said. “Global warming models predicted oceans were going to be boiling. We need to be careful about jumping on a bandwagon and saying ‘the sky is falling, and we’ve all got to do this’ based on somebody’s opinion.”

“A lot of folks think (climate change) is worse than it is,” Fielder said without citing any specific studies. “Some of the ‘sky is falling’ predictions just haven’t panned out.”

“I’m not as interested in arguing over climate change and arguing over what type of energy we’re using as making sure we’re safe, our communities are safe,” Fielder also said during the forum.

2020 Presidential Election Denial

November 13, 2020

Jennifer Fielder posted on Facebook, in response to comments from other users:¹²

“Yes, the contested states have serious election irregularities which are being challenged in court and the close states are undergoing mandatory recounts.”

[…]

“Yes its true. Recounts and lawsuits are under way in several states. Thousands of cases of voter fraud and election irregularities have been reported.”

November 7, 2020

Jennifer Fielder shared a Facebook post from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) regarding supposedly suspect 2020 election results, in which Cruz wrote in part, “the media does not get to select our President…we should allow the rule of law and legal process to operate.” Fielder supported Cruz with a one-word comment: “Correct.”

November 7, 2020

On her Facebook account, Jennifer Fielder posted a link to a parler.com op-ed by Dinesh D’Souza and quoted D’Souza: “‘Biden won’ has the same level of credibility—and comes from the same sources—as ‘Trump is a white supremacist’ and “Trump colluded with Russia.’ These are bogus claims, not facts. The facts will be determined when the case is heard and the judges rule on it #electionresults2020 — Dinesh D’Souza.”

COVID-19 Denial

July 19, 2020

“Even within the medical profession, there is NOT a consensus on the subject of public masking,” Jennifer Fielder posted on Facebook.¹³

April 27, 2020

Regarding efforts to understand and slow the COVID-19 pandemic, Jennifer Fielder posted to Facebook that “the death rate is much lower than initially anticipated [and] sheltering in place and sanitizing everything is weakening people’s immune systems.”

May 28, 2020

On Facebook, Jennifer Fielder posted in support of a campaign that claimed contract tracing intended to help slow the pandemic was “creating a police state and granting the government authority to remove people from their homes. Fielder posted, “I have been hearing a lot of concern about this. If you want to oppose “Contact Tracing”, here is a link to let your members of Congress know.”¹⁴

May 21, 2020

On Facebook, Jennifer Fielder promoted comments by Stanford professor of medicine Jayanta “Jay” Bhattacharya, who asserted that pandemic lockdowns would not succeed at “eradicat[ing]” COVID-19. Later in the year, Bhattacharya would co-author the Great Barrington Declaration, a controversial statement advocating a herd immunity strategy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The statement was sponsored by the American Institute for Economic Research, a Koch-funded right-wing think tank that has spread climate change denial.

Key Quotes

August 7, 2018

Jennifer Fielder spoke on a panel titled “REINing in the Regulators” at the Heartland Institute’s America First Energy Conference:¹⁵

[00:09:14] Well, it’s this hands-off management, it’s this preservationist, false narrative that has been projected by the left and this no compromise, hands-off, don’t touch mantra is simply has been driving the policy for far too long. And decisions made by people that don’t live there and don’t understand how proper management of the land really does benefit it. And we have to teach people that our environment is not a museum.

2014

Jennifer Fielder’s State Senate website’s “Environment” page outlined her views on environmental issues:¹⁶

“[…] the ‘environmental movement’ has become increasingly active in obstructing proper resource management and profiting from frivolous lawsuits. The cumulative effects of lawsuits waged by neo-environmental groups has depleted public agency budgets to the point where even the U.S. Forest Service can no longer manage timber in a reasonable and beneficial manner.

“The fact is some of these prominent so-called environmental organizations are doing more harm than good. And they are getting rich by exploiting the emotions and pocket books of unsuspecting donors who truly care about our environment.

“Decades ago, the spotted owl and the Endangered Species Act were used to shut down much of the U.S. timber industry. Since then we have seen the ESA mis-used to halt beneficial uses of public and private property – even when there was no threat of the species going extinct. The insertion of emotionally charged, politically driven management rather than science-based decision making has lead to unhealthy forests, destructive insect epidemics, catastrophic wildfires, degradation of watersheds, a rampant wolf population, and destruction of our environment.”

On the website’s “Prosperity” page, Fielder linked to the Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity, stating:

“God blessed our land with an abundance of natural resources and the ability to harvest and use them wisely.

[…]

“Societies prosper when government facilitates fair trade, sound money, and protection of property. Prosperity flourishes when governments allow the human spirit and work ethic to be unleashed in a system of free, fair, and open markets.

[…]

“Go to Americans for Prosperity for extensive issues-based information on sound economic practices.”

Key Deeds

July 30, 2019

Jennifer Fielder spoke at the Heartland Institute’s 13th International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC13). Video and notable quotes below:¹⁷

[00:05:33] “Pick, pick a species, any species. And where you see federal land, there’ll be some kind of a species that’s being utilized to shut down access and activity and proper management and beneficial utilization of the resources there.”

August 7, 2018

Jennifer Fielder spoke on two panels at the Heartland Institute’s America First Energy Conference (AFEC). At the panel titled “REINing in the Regulators,” Fielder blamed the federal government’s protections on public lands for slowing the approval process for mining projects:¹⁸

</p>

[00:02:13] And then let’s look at how much value in minerals and energy is locked up there. According to the federal government’s own reports, one hundred and fifty trillion dollars in mineral values in those lands.

[00:02:26] But most of that is locked up and has been locked up for some time. For example, a mine up in northwest Montana that’s been it’s actually not a mine yet. It’s a mine that’s trying to open the Rock Creek mine.

[00:02:39] They’ve been in a permitting process for over 30 years now and they are doing everything right. But they keep running into what we call ‘federal bureaucrazy’ and serial litigation. And as a result of our resources being locked up, we are seeing continuously the highest poverty and unemployment rates in the state of Montana.

Fielder also argued that lack of “active vegetation management” produces pollution:

[00:09:14] “Well, it’s this hands off management, it’s this preservationist, false narrative that has been projected by the left and this no compromise, hands-off, don’t touch mantra is simply has been driving the policy for far too long. And decisions made by people that don’t live there and don’t understand how proper management of the land really does benefit it. And we have to teach people that our environment is not a museum. It’s not a museum. It’s actually more like a garden. It’s a very slow growing garden, but a garden nonetheless. That, when tended, can benefit man and the environment as well. The lack of active vegetation management, the current the past several decades of federal land management really have been producing primarily dirty air, polluted water, decimated wildlife, blocked off access […] and that’s giving us economically devastated, depressed, and unsafe communities.

Fielder concluded:

[00:14:04] “ It’s a simple fact: actively managed public land is healthy, it’s accessible, it’s fire resilient and economically productive, not just for the timber, but for the minerals and the energy value on those lands as well.”

Affiliations

American Lands Council — President and CEO (December 2015 – present).¹⁹
Silverline Projects, Inc. — President (April 1992 – November 2012).²⁰

Publications

Selected op-eds by Jennifer Fielder:

“Voices: Fielder addresses endorsement reversal, PSC race and politics,” Missoula Current, October 16, 2020.
“Independent thinker is best choice for Public Service Commission,” the Missoulian, October 18, 2020.
“States can manage their own environment, and they’re better at it than the federal government,” The Washington Times, June 18, 2019.
“Legislative path outlined for state acquisition of federal land: Goals of public land transfer reaffirmed at national conference,” Missoulian, November 14, 2016.
“Moving toward local control,” Las Vegas Review-Journal, November 12, 2016.
“Guest opinion: Federal land transfer makes sense for states,” Billings Gazette, November 12, 2016.
“Time to transfer federal lands to states,” Independent Record, November 6, 2016.
“First Preparedness Day hits far above expectations,” February 24, 2016.
“Why the Oregon Uprising?” Flathead Beacon, January 29, 2016.
“Stop public land sales, start studying transfer,” Missoulian, February 6, 2015.
“Guest opinion: Task force needed to study transfer of forest, BLM land to state,” Billings Gazette, January 30, 2015.
“Charity versus taxation, and hope for the New Year,” Missoulian, January 2, 2015.
“Guest opinion: States would do better job of managing federal lands,” Billings Gazette, October 23, 2014.

Other Resources

“Jennifer Fielder” on Wikipedia

Resources

1
“Jennifer Fielder,” LinkedIn. Accessed March 16, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
2
“About,” Montana State Senator Jennifer Fielder. Archived March 18, 2014. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/YJhob
3
“Jennifer Fielder,” Ballotpedia.
4
“Our Team,” American Lands Council. Archived March 16, 2020. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.vn/wip/BKE56
5
“Jennifer Fielder,” Ballotpedia.
6
“About,” Montana State Senator Jennifer Fielder. Archived March 18, 2014. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/YJhob
7
“Jennifer Fielder,” Ballotpedia.
8
“Jennifer Fielder, ICCC13 (Panel 5: Advancing from Theory to Practice),” YouTube video uploaded by user The Heartland Institute, July 30, 2019. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.
9
“A Dangerous Idea Resurrected,” Montana Wilderness Association, October 24, 2019. Archived June 1, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/imAqT
10
Jennifer Fielder. “Transfer of public lands could benefit us all,” Helena Independent Record, January 18, 2019. Archived June 1, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/uSwzd
11
David Erickson. “PSC candidates Fielder, Tranel talk climate, corporations,” Missoulian, October 19, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
12
Facebook post by Jennifer Fielder, November 13, 2020. Archived .png on file at DeSmog.
13
“Even within the medical profession, there is NOT a consensus on the subject of public masking,” Facebook post by Jennifer Fielder, July 19, 2020. Archived .png on file at Desmog.
14
“Tell Congress NO on HR 6666!” TakeActionforFreedom.com. Archived June 1, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/SmZ0Z
15
“Jennifer Fielder on Panel 4A: REINing in the Regulators,” The Heartland Institute, August 10, 2018. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.
16
“Environment,” Montana State Senator Jennifer Fielder. Archived March 21, 2014. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/GtwU7
17
“Jennifer Fielder, ICCC13 (Panel 5: Advancing from Theory to Practice),” YouTube video uploaded by user The Heartland Institute, July 30, 2019. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.
18
“Jennifer Fielder on Panel 4A: REINing in the Regulators,” The Heartland Institute, August 10, 2018. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.
19
“Jennifer Fielder,” LinkedIn. Accessed March 16, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
20
“Jennifer Fielder,” LinkedIn. Accessed March 16, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

DeSmog

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