Guest Profile - Montana Wildlife Federation

MWF Joins Conservation and Business Groups in Support of Much-Needed oil and gas Policy Reform

January 27, 2021 by Guest Profile

After years of an unbalanced approach and energy dominance agenda that has ignored conservation and recreation values on federal public lands, MWF is proud to continue our advocacy efforts to support common-sense reform to outdated and wasteful oil and gas leasing practices. In response to President Biden’s signing of an Executive Order that issues a pause on new oil and gas leasing on federal lands, MWF joined Montana Wilderness Association, Friends of the Missouri Breaks, and Business for Montana’s Outdoors to issue the following statement of support:

Business, Conservation, and Hunting and Angling Groups

Applaud Biden’s Pause on Oil and Gas Leasing

Groups say pause is a much-needed opportunity to reform a broken leasing system

Helena, MT – A group of Montana-based business, conservation, and hunting and angling organizations have come together in support of the executive order President Biden is expected to sign today pausing oil and gas leasing on federally managed public lands.

The organizations point to the fact that 65% of all oil and gas leases in Montana, covering 1.2 million acres of public lands, are currently not being used, primarily because there is very little, if any oil and gas potential on public lands in Montana. They also point to the fact that currently there isn’t a single operating oil rig in the state.

“Our current leasing system hasn’t worked for Montana’s diverse economy and communities for a long time,” says Marne Hayes, executive director of Business for Montana’s Outdoors. “It makes no economic sense to lease public lands that have no oil and gas potential when land management agencies could instead be looking at how those lands could be used in service of creating more jobs and supporting more businesses that rely on our outdoor recreation economy – driven as it is by hunting, fishing, hiking, wildlife viewing, and other activities that, all in all, generate some $7 billion a year for our state.”

Hayes adds that the pause will not at all restrict funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. “That’s an unfounded argument that has no basis in reality, as money for LWCF is funded entirely through currently producing off-shore oil and gas operations – which are unaffected by the pause – not areas that won’t be leased as a result of Biden’s executive order.”

Despite the fact that Montana holds little oil and gas potential, the BLM has not let up on offering hundreds of leases a year at regularly scheduled auctions. During the four years of the Trump administration, 30% of the leases the BLM auctioned off went for the minimum bid of $2 an acre.

Leases that aren’t bid on at the minimum $2 per acre are sold off the shelf for $1.50 an acre – a practice referred to as noncompetitive leasing. During fiscal year 2018, the BLM sold more than 262,000 acres of public lands in Montana noncompetitively for a $1.50 acre.

Sen. Tester introduced a bill last year, called the Leasing Market Efficiency Act, that would have put an end to noncompetitive leasing.

“The BLM spends millions of dollars every year administering leases that lead to no oil and gas production, no jobs, no royalties, no public benefit,” says Joe Offer, executive director at Friends of the Missouri Breaks. “That’s money and resources the BLM could be spending on habitat improvements, law enforcement, and maintenance of trails, trailheads, fishing access sites, boat ramps, and many other things that are critical for Montanans’ outdoor recreation economy and our way of life.”

The group of Montana-based organizations supporting the leasing pause would like Congress and the administration to use the time to enact new policy and pass laws, such as Sen. Tester’s Leasing Market and Efficiency Act, that would reform the country’s oil and gas leasing system.

“There’s no doubt that our hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation opportunities have suffered from a broken oil and gas leasing system, which also hurts taxpayers,” said Alec Underwood, federal conservation campaigns director for the Montana Wildlife Federation. “A pause on oil and gas leasing will allow for a review of wasteful and outdated policies and ensure our $7 billion outdoor recreation economy, and the jobs it supports, are protected for this and future generations.”

Aubrey Bertram, eastern Montana field director at Montana Wilderness Association, argues that Congress must also update its bonding rates to cover reclamation costs, which haven’t been updated since the 1960s, and update royalty rates paid to local communities from nearby oil and gas production. Taxpayers for Common Sense estimate that Montanans lost out on approximately $56 million in rental revenue on federal oil and gas leases between FY09 and FY18.

“America’s current oil and gas leasing system – the leasing of publicly owned resources to private companies – is working against the American public and only serves Wall Street investors and wildcat speculators,” Bertram says. “We appreciate President Biden giving us a break while we take a hard look at this system so we can move forward with meaningful reforms to protect our Montana way of life.”

Stand up for Habitat Montana

March 30, 2021January 22, 2021 by Guest Profile

Habitat Montana is our best conservation and access program that benefits landowners, wildlife and public hunters. It protects working farms and ranches with conservation easements that open up thousands of acres of land to public hunting and recreation.

Now SB 115, sponsored by Sen. Keith Regier, R-Kalispell, would add a layer of government bureaucracy into ranchers’ decision on their private property by requiring state Land Board approval for conservation easements under Habitat Montana. This can kill projects that have taken two years to work out with extensive planning, including for public hunting access.

Contact members of the Senate Fish and Game Committee and tell them to vote NO on SB 115. Tell them to support landowners’ private property rights, our farming and ranching economy and hunters’ access through the Habitat Montana program.

PLEASE WRITE YOUR OWN MESSAGE, but hit these points:

Habitat Montana benefits working farmers and ranchers with working capital to expand their operations, and they have private property rights to do what they want with their land.

This program improves relations between hunters and landowners, opens up access for hunters, and benefits wildlife management.

Habitat Montana is working better than it ever has, and there’s no need to add a layer of government bureaucracy to complete good projects that have taken years to work out.

Please vote no on SB 115 and support Montana’s landowners and hunters.

Call and leave a message for the Senate Fish and Game Committee at 406-444-4800.

Contact the Senate Fish and Game Committee HERE.

Fill out the form provided.
Select Committees
Select (S) Fish and Game
Select Bill Type (SB) and Bill Number 115
Select Against
Provide your message

Principal Deputy Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

January 20, 2021 by Guest Profile

The Montana Wildlife Federation issued the following statement on the appointment of Martha Williams as Principal Deputy Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service:

“President Joseph R. Biden has made an excellent choice in appointing Martha Williams as Principal Deputy Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,” said Tom Puchlerz, MWF board president. “Martha has a wealth of knowledge and experience in managing public wildlife, public lands and waters, and striking that balance between people and wildlife in the many complex issues around these incredible resources.

“Montana and all Americans will benefit from her two decades of experience at both the state and federal level in wildlife law and on-the-ground management of fish, wildlife and public lands.”

“We also urge Montana Senators Jon Tester and Steve Daines to join MWF in supporting the historic nomination of Congresswoman Deb Haaland as Secretary of Interior.”

Contacts:

Nick Gevock, MWF conservation director 406-533-9432

Frank Szollosi, MWF executive director 406-417-9909

Montana Poised to Establish a National Precedent for 21st Century Conservation Funding

March 30, 2021October 16, 2020 by Guest Profile

Montana hunters, anglers, conservationists support bid for $18 million-a-year investment in wildlife, habitat, access

The Montana Wildlife Federation is Montana’s oldest, largest and most effective statewide wildlife conservation and sporting organization. Our roots date back to 1936, when hunters and anglers joined landowners to restore Montana’s depleted wildlife. We have an 84-year record of working to solve the difficult issues surrounding public wildlife, habitat and access to enjoy our public trust resources.

MWF endorses I-190 and CI-118 because of their tremendous potential to address longstanding financial issues surrounding many of our public resources. It’ll be extraordinary if Montana voters support this new revenue stream for conservation. Natural resources, working lands and public recreation would tremendously benefit from passage of these ballot initiatives.

With CI-118 and I-190, it’s estimated that Montana’s budget for public land access and management would see an $18-million boost in revenue. I-190 is a statutory initiative that legalizes, regulates, and taxes marijuana in Montana. CI-118 amends the Montana Constitution to make the minimum age for consumption and purchase of marijuana 21.

I-190 includes language that earmarks half of generated marijuana tax revenue for conservation efforts, however, CI-118 also needs to pass for these funds to be made available. The Nongame Wildlife Special Revenue Account, State Park Special Revenue Account, and Trails and Recreational Facilities Account will each get more than 4 percent of tax revenue generated from marijuana sales. Habitat Montana alone will get 37 percent of collected revenue. Combined, that’s more than $18 million per year in funding for Montana’s wildlife, waters, and public lands.

Montana Wildlife Federation is taking the extraordinary step of endorsing these ballot measures because funding deficiencies for public natural resources and their enjoyment have been decades in the making and need to be addressed. A 2019 report produced by Montana-based Headwaters Economics found numerous funding shortfalls to keep up with the growing demands on our state’s parks, ranches and farms, public trails and public wildlife. For example:

Wildlife management and conservation needs an estimated $15 million annually to keep pace with a host of growing challenges, from emerging issues like Chronic Wasting Disease in big game, aquatic invasive species in our fisheries to longstanding conservation priorities that include restoring key wildlife habitat such as big game winter range.
Working lands including private farms, ranches and timberlands have an unmet need of $12.4 million. The needs include conservation easements over lands slated for development. Easements keep these lands in working agriculture and timber production, while also ensuring they provide the open space to maintain wildlife habitat and public recreation on these important areas.
State trails for multiple-use recreation have a $7.1 million need to address safety, erosion and access. Statewide nearly three quarters of Montanans use trails Funding is needed for maintenance and improvements.
The Montana State Park system has an estimated $25.7 million maintenance backlog just to keep up with the demand on facilities. The backlog includes repairing and upgrading campgrounds, toilets, and other facilities, and boosting educational programs to meet the increased visitation.

With roughly half of the public revenue generated by I-190 and CI-118 dedicated to these important needs, Montana is poised to establish a significant national precedent for funding conservation in the 21^st century. The funding will benefit wildlife habitat on public and private lands – including important big game winter range and helping efforts to prevent wildlife from becoming endangered. It will go toward our state parks. And it will go toward trails and recreation that all Montanans enjoy. This initiative would benefit all Montanans; our quality of life, ranchers and landowners who are our partners in conservation, and our growing outdoor recreation economy.

If approved by Montana voters, Montana Wildlife Federation will collaborate with many others to ensure that state government will abide by the will of the electorate. MWF will staunchly oppose any attempts at reallocation of existing or new conservation appropriations.

Public Access to Public Lands, Opportunities

March 30, 2021October 12, 2020 by Guest Profile

Access to public land – everybody’s for it. But often, the solutions to landlocked or large blocks of public lands that are inaccessible to the public are complex. There are a host of state and federal programs that help acquire land that is mixed in with public land, or open easements to those lands. But in other cases, the solutions are more complex.

Join a panel discussion that includes MWF staff and a board member, and a federal official to talk about an effort in the East Crazy Mountains to increase access, as well as other measures MWF is pursuing to help increase public access. Registration is required.

Learn more about the panelists.

John Salazar serves as a board member for the Montana Wildlife Federation. He is a longtime hunter and angler, and outdoor recreationist who lives in Livingston. John has served for nearly two years on a working group of landowners, hunters, conservation interests and others working to improve public access into the Crazy Mountains of the Custer-Gallatin and Lewis and Clark national forests. He owns a restoration company in Livingston and enjoys the outdoors with his family.

Nick Gevock serves as the conservation director for the Montana Wildlife Federation. Before that he worked as newspaper reporter in Bozeman and Butte, covering numerous natural resource, wildlife and public lands issues throughout southwestern Montana. He is an avid hunter, angler and outdoor recreationist. He travels throughout Montana with his dog Willow in pursuit of birds, hunts big game and likes to flyfish. Gevock works on key wildlife, habitat and access issues at the local, state and federal level.

View our packed agenda!

The auction and Membership meeting is open to conservationists in Montana, across the country and around the world. Share this invitation widely with your networks! Register today, invite your team, and get ready for some exciting updates in your inbox soon!