Sen. Steve Daines began asking Montana’s electric cooperatives to weigh in on energy issues even before he was first elected to Congress a dozen years ago.

“If there’s a hearing coming up with the energy secretary or the interior secretary or members of FERC [Federal Energy Regulatory Commission], the senator or his staff will reach out to us and ask if we’ve got any questions we’d like him to ask,” Wiens says.

The Republican senator has also championed key co-op causes, joining NRECA in fighting Biden administration efforts to breach the four Lower Snake River Dams that provide power to 55 electric co-ops in eight Western states.

“Even without us having to ask, Senator Daines sent a letter immediately to President Biden,” Wiens says. “He understands the danger of the dam breaching movement and what it means for the affordability of power for our co-ops. He continues to fight the breaching every way he can.”

Daines says the dams are crucial for Montana’s economy and environment.

“The Snake River dams support Montana agriculture, provide a source of clean, reliable energy, help support recreation activities and provide critical transportation,” the senator said in a press release.

Daines is also working with Montana co-ops on legislation to prevent federal land management agencies from blaming co-ops for fires caused by trees falling onto power lines from federal property that was not adequately maintained by the government.

The proposed legislation is the result of the 2021 Deep Creek Fire near Townsend, Montana. Fire investigators found that a tree fell from U.S. Forest Service land onto a power line operated by Dillon-based Vigilante Electric Cooperative, sparking a fire that burned more than 4,600 acres.

The Forest Service has served Vigilante EC with a bill for $5.2 million to cover the cost of fire suppression, even though the tree was just outside the co-op’s right of way for the power line, Wiens says.

Daines is working with MECA to draft legislation to make permanent existing federal liability limits and to require agencies to provide evidence of negligence if seeking damages beyond that limit. The bill will also include key National Environmental Policy Act exclusions that will reduce red tape when co-ops need to remove trees and other vegetation on federal lands.

“The senator has been very responsive in trying to help us ensure this never happens to another co-op,” Wiens says.

Wiens says Daines has also helped keep the state’s sage grouse population off the federal endangered species list by supporting the Montana Sage Grouse Habitat Conservation Program to protect the bird.

If the species was listed as endangered, it would be difficult for Montana co-ops to obtain permits to manage vegetation and install power lines in certain areas.

The senator says “our co-ops play an important role in serving Montanans no matter where they live.”

“From keeping the lights on to wildfire prevention, Montana’s electric co-ops have been on the frontlines serving our great state,” Daines says. “It’s been my priority in the U.S. Senate to stand up for our electric co-ops and push back on heavy-handed mandates. I’m glad to partner with Montana’s co-ops and will always proudly represent their voices in Washington.”

The senator grew up in Bozeman and is a fifth-generation Montanan. He is an enthusiastic outdoorsman who enjoys fishing, backpacking, skiing and hunting.

The walls of his Senate office are adorned with hunting trophies, including a wolf hide and a bighorn ram’s head.

“He’s very personable and easy to talk to,” Wiens says. “He remembers your name, and he’s very interested in anyone he meets. It really helps that he’s very honest and straightforward, so you know that he means what he says. But he’s gentlemanly about it too. He’s just a good guy.”