Conservation and the environment were on the minds of Montana’s candidates for attorney general as they answered questions and explained their views in a voter forum Sunday night in Bozeman.
   Four of the state’s five candidates spoke to about 45 people at the forum, which was sponsored by the Billings-based nonprofit Montana Conservation Voters at the Beall Park Arts Center.
   The four candidates who attended were Republican Lee Bruner of Butte and Democrats Steve Bullock of Helena, John Parker of Great Falls and Mike Wheat of Bozeman. Also running is Republican Tim Fox of Helena, who was not able to attend.
   The candidates addressed questions about future state energy development, global warming and preserving old-growth forests, among other environmental topics. The candidates seemed to be in general agreement on the broad conservation issues that the attorney general could deal with while in office.
   Each candidate expressed his desire to plan for the long-term when it comes to environmental issues that are under the attorney general’s purview and to balance development with conservation.
   Under state law, the attorney general is not only the state’s chief legal and law enforcement officer, but is also one of five members of the Land Board, which oversees the management of 5.2 million acres of school trust land in Montana.
   That board helps decide how to best generate revenue from public lands for state schools. Those decisions can include leases for grazing, farming, timber harvesting and mining, as well as recreation fees, easements and commercial development.
   Given that responsibility, Montana Conservation Voters is interested in finding out as much about the candidates’ positions on environmental matters as possible, said the group’s executive director, Theresa Keaveny.
   The nonprofit has about 2,500 members statewide -- 700 of whom live in the Bozeman area and make up the group’s largest chapter. But Keaveny said about 52,000 Montanans belong to one conservation group or another.
   “It’s a huge voting block,” she said. “It’s important to communicate with them, and elected officials know that.”
   After the hour-long forum, Montana Conversation Voters member Mike Clark said he felt the forum gave him a good idea of what each candidate would bring to conservation in Montana.
   “I think we’ve got a good slate of candidates,” Clark said. “It certainly encourages me to take a good, hard look at all our candidates.”
   Dave Tyler, chairman of the board for the nonprofit, said he was pleased with most of the candidates’ answers. He also said the fact that the candidates attended shows that they value the opinions of conservation-minded voters.
   “I think they believe in the issues that are important to us,” Tyler said. “I think they realize this is an important group of voters to attract.”
   Michael Becker is at mbecker@dailychronicle. com