HUNTING — More details on the U.S. Senate vote this week turning down the Sportsmen's Act:

Alabama senator: Sportsmen's bill exceeded spending limits

The failure of the U.S. Senate to pass the Sportsmen's Act of 2012, sponsored by Montana U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, came as a surprise to many who believed the measures contained in the bill enjoyed wide-ranging public support, but Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions said the bill exceeded spending limits passed by the Senate in 2011 to address federal debt, and for that reason alone, the bill failed.

Great Falls Tribune

See stories on the optimism the act would pass a day before the Monday vote.

See skepticism about the act on other issues posted last summer.

 Some components of 'Sportsmen's Act' concern environmental groups

Today, the U.S. Senate will vote on, and likely pass, Montana U.S. Sen. Jon Tester's “Sportsmen's Act of 2012,” a grab bag of bills dealing with hunting, fishing, conservation and public access measures, but environmental groups said there are problems with some of the measures, including one that would preclude the EPA from banning the use of lead in ammunition.

See stories:

Missoulian, Nov. 24, 2012

Washington Post, Nov. 25, 2012

ELECTIONS — Sen. Jon Tester has been re-elected in an intense campaign battle — heavily funded on both sides from outside sources. 

Who gave Tester the edge? 

Sportsmen, says backcountry hunter and writer Ben Long of Kalispell in this High Country News piece.