Range Magazine Publisher CJ Hadley in Montana with Skinner

Range Magazine publisher CJ Hadley said she just came to Montana to enjoy the state, and blow off a little steam out on the shooting range. Plus, she wanted to spend some time with the incredible Range Magazine writer Dave Skinner from the Flathead Valley.

Thankfully, she and Skinner took some time to join us in studio on our statewide radio show.

I knew that CJ Hadley was the top dog at Range Magazine since she started the publication back in 1989, but I thought I better ask her what her title was anyway. I'm the editor and publisher, but mostly I'm the broke son of a b*tch who owns the damn thing, is what she told me.

It was really cool to hear more of her personal story, and why five ranchers approached her to start the publication in the first place. As you'll hear in the audio below, she grew up in England. How is it that the daughter of a British steelworker came to lead this publication fighting for ranchers, loggers, miners and the rest of us here in the American West?

CJ described coming to America, and how worried she is for our future.

CJ Hadley: It's the most beautiful, exquisite place in the world, and she's going down. And the ones that are going to save it are the real producers, which are farmers, ranchers, loggers, and miners. And they're the most important people in the world. Civilizations fail when agriculture fails. That's what's happening. We're right on the edge. I'm worried. I am scared. I weep for it. And these farmers and ranchers, if they don't stick together, we're gonna lose them.

She also paid tribute to the great Dave Skinner from Montana's Flathead Valley. Skinner has written a weekly column for The Flathead Beacon and also has written several in-depth pieces for Range Magazine.

CJ Hadley: I have never seen anyone in my life who digs deeper and wider and longer than Skinner. I mean, he uses himself up when he writes one of these special features for Range. And if anybody goes to RangeMagazine.com and looks for Skinner's name, you'll find multiple stories, and each one has a different kind of perspective, but it's always something that will expose something that needs to be known. And it's like he's formidable, actually. And it's frightening. He's frightening sometimes.

Click here to find the audio on our "Montana Talks with Aaron Flint" podcast. (Also for those who were asking for one of Dave's writeups on the APR- here you go.)