Montana businessman Tim Sheehy is building his aviation firefighting company, Bridger Aerospace, based on certain scientific realities that global climate change is real and is causing more extreme wildfires. Established.Even he promoted it as a leader In the fight against emissions that cause global warming.
But when it came to campaigning for the U.S. Senate race, the Republican candidate quickly embraced partisan talking points on climate change, repeatedly slamming what he called „climate cults“ and „radical environmental activists.“ However, he argued that the growing threat of wildfires was solely due to poor forest management. .
And while President Trump's MAGA conservatives have flipped the script on climate change, his company continues to embrace the science of climate change and wildfires, at least in public documents.
In its most recent annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in March, Bridger Aerospace said, „Rising global temperatures have and will continue to increase the incidence and severity of wildfires.'' We believe that this is one of the factors contributing to the increase in ” Citing climate research, including by the Environmental Protection Agency. Website „Studies have found that climate change is already leading to increases in the length of wildfire seasons, the frequency of wildfires, and the area burned,“ it says. And it warns shareholders and potential investors that climate change poses a number of risks to the company.
“The potential physical impacts of climate change, such as the frequency and severity of storms, floods, fires, fog, fog, freezing temperatures, sea level rise, and other climate-related events, could affect our business operations, infrastructure, and finances. “This may result in a number of consequences,” the document states.
“Furthermore, we believe that Bridger’s assets, operations, and the potential for climate change (increasing severity and frequency of storms, rising sea levels, land subsidence, extreme temperature changes, changing precipitation patterns and droughts, wildfires), „We are developing an adaptation plan to develop strategies for the events and situations that we believe are most important.“ “These climate change impacts could vary widely and could result in increased stress on our services due to new demand patterns, physical damage to our fleet or infrastructure, increased operating costs, or increased demand for our services. This may include an increase in In addition, we may incur significant costs to repair or replace aircraft or equipment.”
![Tim Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL and founder of a Montana-based aerial firefighting company, announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate as a Republican last year.](https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/64dfa7011e00003b00bf409e.jpg?cache=TUxswR8Q0V&ops=scalefit_720_noupscale)
![Tim Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL and founder of a Montana-based aerial firefighting company, announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate as a Republican last year.](https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/64dfa7011e00003b00bf409e.jpg?cache=TUxswR8Q0V&ops=scalefit_720_noupscale)
Sheehy, a decorated former Navy SEAL, founded Bridger Aerospace in 2014 after retiring from the military and remains the company's chief executive officer while running for office.
It was only recently that Sheehy spoke freely About climate and the threat of wildfires. In a January 2023 interview with journalist Jane King on Nasdaq Marketplace, Sheehy said wildfires are a global „crisis“ due to climate change.
„The wildfire crisis is actually growing globally as we see the effects of climate change and urbanization,“ he said. “Fires are getting bigger, moving faster and getting hotter. And most importantly, there are many communities in wildfire-prone areas, so we need to deal with fires early. is becoming increasingly important.”
Mr Sheehy said demand for his company's services had „skyrocketed“ in recent years and showed no signs of slowing down.
Just five months later, in June, Mr. Sheehy took on incumbent Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.). Before doing so, Bridger removed language about climate from its website. It included a statement that the company is „on the front lines of the fight against climate change.“ ABC News first reported. From the outset, Mr. Sheehy appeared to abandon concerns about the global crisis his party had denied and downplayed for decades, cheering on fossil fuels that cause global warming.
As the campaign progressed, Sheehy stepped up his attacks on climate change activists and environmental activists. He called out John Kerry, who most recently served as President Joe Biden's climate change envoy.Leader of the climate change cult” criticized Biden.I'm more worried about climate worship. over national security and the men and women in uniform,“ he said, slamming both his company's biggest customers, the federal government, and „radical environmentalists.“
„When radical Democrats say they want to shut down the economy and destroy jobs in Montana, we should take them at their word and kick them out of power,“ he wrote on X (formerly Twitter). I wrote about it in a recent post.
About his campaign WebsiteSheehy blames increasingly devastating wildfires not on climate change or urbanization but on poor forest management and „radical environmentalists who are suing and shutting down timber projects with frivolous lawsuits.“ It is said that
It's hard to overstate Sheehy's irony. Climate action is dismissed as a job killerThat's considering his company continues to tout its climate credentials in order to secure lucrative government contracts and grow its business. Federal and state government contracts accounted for 88% and 99% of Bridger's revenue in 2023 and 2022, respectively.But first as the Montana Free Press report This month, Bridger fell into a deep deficit, reporting a net loss of $77.4 million in 2023.
Mr. Sheehy's campaign did not respond to HuffPost's request for comment and did not respond to requests for comment from HuffPost. I wrote it first On the apparent disconnect between Sheehy's new statements on climate and the company's strategy.
Mr. Bridger's latest SEC filing provides a unique glimpse into Mr. Sheehy's continued involvement in the company and how his campaign could negatively impact the business.
“Although Mr. Sheehy continues to spend significant time with Mr. Bridger and remains very actively involved in the management of the Company during his candidacy, he has not devoted all of his time and attention to Mr. Bridger. Sheehy Mr, us senate seats,” the filing states. “Additionally, Mr. Sheehy and we may be the target of one or more negative media campaigns in connection with Mr. Sheehy’s U.S. Senate campaign. Public perception of, or news related to, our brands, relationships with customers, suppliers, employees, and other stakeholders, or our standing in our industry, could be adversely affected, and any and the consequences of the surgery.
Part of that may come down to a partisan shift by the company's founder and CEO on what used to be a key pillar of Bridger Aerospace's business approach.