Today, the Montana Wildlife Federation sent in formal comments on the environmental impact statement scoping process for the Black Butte Copper Project, a proposed mine in the headwaters of the Smith River. In our letter, MWF explained how the mine is “a threat to the Smith River watershed, its fishery, recreationists and the local outdoor economy.”
Winding its way through rangelands and its iconic canyon, the Smith River gives recreationists an experience that they will never forget, not to mention some amazing fishing. Bringing $10 million to the local economy each year, the Smith is a serious economic driver, employing guides, outfitters, and supporting other small businesses. For all of these reasons, it’s easy to see why the Smith is held as one of Montana’s greatest treasures.
The Montana Wildlife Federation (MWF) is requesting a fast-food restaurant reconsider offering farm-raised elk to customers in Montana over concerns the practice could fuel an expansion of unethical commercial markets and erode Montana’s fair chase hunting culture.
In a letter sent today to Arby’s Corporation, MWF says the new menu options in three western location, including Billings, could lead to an increase in game farming practices which have been proven to impact the health of wild herds and privatize a public resource. The letters states, “elk and deer are best left as wild, free-ranging animals that are part of the public trust, managed by the state for the benefit of all Montanans.”
“There is a real danger in marketing wildlife as a commodity like this,” said Nick Gevock, conservation director for the Montana Wildlife Federation. “This runs counter to Montana’s fair-chase hunting values by encouraging the commercialization of a public wildlife resource.”
Game farms are already illegal in Montana after a citizen voter initiative banned them in 2000. Groups including the Montana Wildlife Federation, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Montana Bowhunters Association, and other local rod and gun clubs asserted the practice spreads disease to wild herds including chronic wasting disease, a fatal neurological disorder.
Although game farms are legal in other areas of the globe, the Montana Wildlife Federation says that the majority of Montanan don’t believe the practice is ethical or necessary. The letter states, “Fundamentally, Montanans would rather hunt wild elk on public and private lands in our state than get them from a game farming operation that threatens the public wildlife resource.”
The Montana Wildlife Federation is urging the restaurant find a better way to promote hunting that doesn’t place public wildlife values at risk.
“There are much better ways to promote our hunting heritage and we welcome a productive dialogue with the leadership at Arby’s,” said Dave Chadwick, the executive director of Montana Wildlife Federation.
We need you to help defend Montana’s public wildlife and hunting heritage. Join MWF Today!
Though we are now in the middle of hunting season and many sportsmen and sportswomen have headed to the mountains for big game, the month of October to many anglers is an opportunity to have some amazing fishing. In addition to some great dry fly fishing, pre-spawn fish are often aggressive and for those anglers who like to fish with large streamers, there is no better time of year to get on the water to search for large, aggressive trout. Fall is a great time to seek large brown trout as they prepare to spawn, and rainbows as well as cutthroats are also very aggressive and will actively chase streamers.
While on the water this fall, it is important to remember why Montana’s rivers are amongst the greatest trout fisheries in the world; clean water. Without the high-quality habitat and clean headwater streams that feed our larger rivers, Montana would not have these robust wild trout populations. That’s why it’s more important now, more than ever, to stand up for clean water.
The Environmental Protection Agency is currently seeking to repeal the 2015 Clean Water Rule which created protections for intermittent streams and wetlands across the United States. These waters account for approximately 60% of streams in the country, and without the protections, would be at risk of being polluted or degraded. For trout, these headwater streams are important in sustaining trout populations across the state.
Apart from our fish, the streams and wetlands that also provide clean drinking water to Montana communities and wildlife. It is time to speak up for Montana’s clean water and for fish and wildlife. Please send your comments to the Environmental Protection Agency and tell them not to repeal the Clean Water Rule. It takes only a few minutes to submit your comments!
– Alec Underwood is MWF’s Western Montana Field Representative
Two people look out over the Upper Missouri Breaks NM. – CC License – Bob Wick
A leaked plan by the federal government to remove protections on some national monuments is being criticized by Montana sportsmen as a top down distraction that takes power away from local community planning and sets dangerous new precedent for other protected monuments in the west.
The report, uncovered by the Washington Post on Sunday, shows the U.S. Department of Interior has recommended redrawing boundaries and altering the management of at least ten national monuments across the country.
In response to the report, the president of Montana Wildlife Federation, Bill Geer, called the entire process a distraction from local community planning.
“Instead of trying to redraw national monuments from the top down, we should be working with local communities to develop smart management plans. We know that approach works, because it is what we’ve done here in Montana at the Missouri Breaks. This entire review process and now these recommendations have just been a needless distraction from the real work of working together to protect public access, wildlife habitat, and multiple use public land management.”
While the report doesn’t propose eliminating any national monuments in Montana, Dave Chadwick, Executive Director of MWF, said it sets a ‘dangerous precedent’ that calls into question the future of other protected areas across the West.
“While we are glad to see the Interior Department recognize the importance of hunting and fishing on national monuments, this plan includes many recommendations that are at best unnecessary. Top-down edicts to shut down some national monuments set a dangerous precedent that will forever leave our Breaks and other national monuments vulnerable to the political winds in Washington. This plan ultimately imperils the public access to public land that is so important to hunters and anglers,” Chadwick said.
The Montana Wildlife Federation is specifically concerned these recommendations create an atmosphere where future administrations could continue to attempt to shrink public lands or manage them from the top down. If the Department of Interior can roll back monument protections in Bears Ears National Monument, nothing prevents future administration from undertaking the same to other places, including the Missouri River Breaks.
Prior to today’s recommendations the Department of the Interior received 2.8 million public comments. Independent analysis has found more than 99 percent of the electronic comments received express support for protecting monuments and maintaining them at their current sizes.
In August, the Montana Wildlife Federation joined eight other other western state wildlife federations and the National Wildlife Federation in calling on Secretary Zinke to uphold the protection of wildlife and habitat by recommending no changes to any national monuments.
The Montana Wildlife Federation also produced a response to a new a new hunting and fishing plan proposed last week by the Department of Interior.
The Montana Wildlife Federation commends Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s announcement of a new plan to support hunting and fishing on public lands.
Today’s order specifically recognizes the importance of national monuments for hunters and anglers, and calls for more community planning at the local level. National monuments like the Missouri Breaks protect public land access and wildlife habitat, providing some of the best places to hunt and fish in the West. The approach announced today is much more constructive than the top-down “review” of national monuments that the Interior Department has been conducting for the last several months. We hope the department will follow through on the emphasis on smart local planning instead of pursuing top-down directives to redraw national monument boundaries and turn public lands over to oil drilling and mining.
We also shouldn’t forget that really protecting hunting and fishing on public land depends on adequate funding and staffing for land management agencies. Just this week, the House of Representatives passed an Interior Appropriations bill that partially restores the deep funding cuts proposed by the Trump Administration for every federal land management agency. If our leaders truly want to protect hunting, angling, and public access to public lands, they need to provide adequate funding and staffing for the men and women who are working on the front lines.
Jeff Lukas
Elk Campaign Manager
Jeff Lukas is a passionate conservationist who has been fishing and hunting his entire life. Whether it’s floating a small stream chasing trout, pursuing elk in the high country, or waiting in a blind for ducks to set their wings, Jeff is always trying to bring more people afield to show them what we are trying to protect. He loves being in the arena, and he will never shy away from conversations about the beautiful and unique corners of Big Sky country.
