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Guest Profile

Montanans Value Conservation

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Today, the University of Montana released their 2018 Crown of the Continent poll.  Commissioned by the University’s Crown of the Continent and Greater Yellowstone Initiative, the annual poll asks Montanans a variety of questions about public land and conservation.  The 2018 results demonstrate once again that Montanans from all walks of life remain strong in their support for public lands and our outdoor heritage. The poll shows that hunters and anglers are especially supportive of conservation.

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  • 80 percent of Montana hunters say they have hunted on public lands in the last five years, and 93 percent of Montana anglers have fished public lands.

 

  • 87 percent of Montanans cite public lands as positively impacting hunting and fishing opportunities in the state, with 85 percent noting the importance of these lands for wildlife habitat.

 

Considering several specific issues, the poll found:

  • 76 percent of Montanans support setting aside some existing federal fund for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which protects public lands and public access.  Senator Jon Tester, Senator Steve Daines, and Congressman Greg Gianforte have all supported such funding.

 

  • Only 11 percent of Montanans support eliminating protection for wilderness study areas, as proposed in legislation by Senator Steve Daines and Congressman Greg Gianforte.

 

  • 73 percent of Montanans support the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act introduced by Senator Jon Tester to protect public lands and increase recreational access in the Seeley Lake area.


Responding to the poll, Dave Chadwick, executive director of the Montana Wildlife Federation, said “This survey affirms once more how much Montanans value conservation, and that support just keeps growing.  The survey also spotlights how conservation sentiment is just blowing up around several specific proposals that would affect Montana’s public lands.  We hope that our decision-makers in Washington will heed the wishes of Montanans as they work on public land issues.”

Recovering America’s Wildlife Act

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Niall Clancy photo  Members of my generation, the millennials, have a unique perspective on many issues.  This includes our views on wildlife conservation. Many of us love to hunt and fish, but we also see the need to conserve the full, complicated ecological web of all fish and wildlife. And while many of us don’t pay much attention to the goings-on in Washington, every once in a blue moon, some major new policy catches our eye. That’s what happened to me recently when I saw the words ‘Congress’ and ‘Wildlife’ in the same headline. After reading up on the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, I realized this rare bill was something that all outdoors enthusiasts on either end of the political spectrum could agree on.

   Since 1937, hunters and anglers have gladly paid a small excise tax on all their gear for the express purpose of funding state wildlife agencies through the Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson Sportfish and Wildlife Restoration Acts. In fact, up to 75% of agencies’ total budgets, are generated by taxes on hunting and angling equipment. As most MWF members know well, the funds provided through Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson have been crucial to the recovery and management of Montana’s wildlife, ensuring that we have plenty of hunting and fishing opportunity.  With enough funds to adequately monitor game species such as deer, elk, or black bears, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks can set appropriate harvest quotas so that game populations keep producing enough animals for a yearly hunt. On the fishing side, Dingell-Johnson funds have supported Montana’s best-in-the-nation wild fisheries. The same wildlife conservation success story is true across the country.

  However, hundreds of non-game species – species that are part of the ecological web on which elk, deer, cougars, and trout rely, lack adequate conservation funding from Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson.  As a result, they are much more likely to be in decline, and eventually listed under the federal Endangered Species Act.

   The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (H.R. 4647) is a critically important solution to this funding gap. This bill would take existing funds generated from energy leases on federal lands and waters and send them to the states for management of species in need of conservation attention. These funds are badly needed to prevent non-game species from further population declines, and also protect game species and maintain state control of wildlife.  

While the Pittman-Robertson Act has served the outdoors community well through its 80-year tenure, it is badly in need of more support. The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act is an outdoors bill for the millennial age.  It would put our at-risk wildlife on track to recovery, and ultimately improve hunting and angling opportunity for generations to come. Unlike many of the polarizing issues that our political system argues about, this bill unites people from every end of the political spectrum.  Introduced last December, the bill already has nearly 40 cosponsors, both Republicans and Democrats. I encourage my fellow millennials, as well as hunters, anglers, and other conservationists of all generations, to join me in calling on our congressional delegation to support this bill.

by Niall Clancy, MWF Member

Originally from Hamilton, Niall Clancy is currently studying fisheries management at Utah State University.  Reach him at niallgc66@gmail.com.

Birdtail Conservation Easement Protects Key Wildlife Habitat

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Birdtail
Photo by Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks

The strong partnership between hunters and landowners is the foundation of why Montana has incredible public wildlife resources along with a strong agricultural sector of the state’s economy.

Hunters know that landowners provide private habitat that benefits wildlife and landowners need hunters to manage wildlife numbers. It works – and it has been that way for decades.

The Birdtail Conservation Easement is an excellent example of this working relationship. The project will protect 3,980 acres of the Rumney Cattle Company ranch northwest of Cascade. This quality habitat consists of mountain foothills grasslands with mixed in shrublands and riparian areas. It includes a mile and a half of Birdtail Creek, as well as the Birdtail and Lionhead buttes. It’s excellent for mule deer, elk, white-tailed deer, and sharp-tailed and mountain grouse. This week the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission unanimously approved the project.

The easement protects the land from subdivision and development. It also includes a hunter access component, which will provide quality hunting opportunity for the public.

Habitat Montana hunter license dollars are funding the $2.35 million easement. This program uses a small portion of hunting license fees to pay for conservation easements, fee title purchases, and fishing access sites. It’s Montana’s premier conservation program, and it helps bring in matching federal and private dollars to fund projects.

Birdtail is an exemplary project that will benefit the landowner, hunters, and wildlife. It’s exactly what Habitat Montana is meant for, and the Montana Wildlife Federation is proud to support this project. 

Nick Gevock is the conservation director for the Montana Wildlife Federation.

Madison River Rules

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Sonya fish3 A plan to limit the number of fishing outfitters on the Madison River tops a busy agenda this month for the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission.

State managers are considering a proposal that would cap the number of guided fishing boats allowed on the Madison. The plan would be similar to limits on the Big Hole and Beaverhead rivers that were instituted over a decade ago to address social issues related to crowded use on certain days.

The move is expected to be controversial, with some outfitters and guides objecting to limits on the use of the Madison.

The Commission will also consider final approval of an updated plan to manage Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). The fatal neurological disease was first detected in Montana last fall in Carbon and Liberty counties, and FWP biologists responded quickly with special hunts to better assess the disease.

Several land deals are also on the agenda, including a trade with the Cross Canyon Ranch of land in the Spotted Dog Wildlife Management Area near Avon, a 160 acre parcel to buy in the Dome Mountain WMA in the Paradise Valley, the Birdtail Conservation Easement near Cascade, and in addition to the Garrity Mountain WMA west of Anaconda.

There are also a couple new fishing access sites on the agenda, including the Selway Bridge in Dillon and the Little Muddy Creek on the Missouri River just downstream from Cascade.

Commissioners will also consider management actions on FWP lands, including grazing leases for the Beartooth and Aunt Molly WMAs.

The public can comment on agenda items, and can also comment at any of the seven regional headquarters via video. Audio of the meeting is available on the FWP website by going to www.fwp.mt.gov.

The Montana Wildlife Federation will attend the Commission meeting to represent the interest of hunters, anglers and wildlife enthusiasts. 

The meeting begins at 8:30 am, Thursday, April 19 at 1420 East Sixth Ave., in Helena at the Montana FWP headquarters.

Nick Gevock is the conservation director for the Montana Wildlife Federation.

FWP Launches Habitat Improvement Program

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bird One of the areas where hunters and landowners came together last year in the state Legislature was the need to improve wildlife habitat on public and private lands.

With that shared goal, the Montana Wildlife Federation joined Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, agriculture groups and others to support House Bill 434. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Kelly Flynn, R-Townsend, sets up the Montana Wildlife Habitat Improvement Program. It passed and was signed by Gov. Steve Bullock with bi-partisan support.

That was the easy part. The hard work comes now as diverse interests come together to build this program. Here’s how it works.

The bill requires that FWP establish a committee with agriculture groups, hunters and other interest to review grant applications. The money can come from the Habitat Montana program, as well as federal Pittman-Robertson dollars. Grants require matching funds from the applicant. And they are reviewed and approved by the Fish and Wildlife Commission.

All of these measures are meant to ensure that projects to control weeds or make other habitat improvements are worthy, and will benefit specific native wildlife species. They will go through a public review with ample public comment. And they will require the buy-in from local interests to make them successful.

Hunters share with landowners the desire to combat noxious weeds. They crowd out native grasses, and that’s bad for native wildlife. They reduce the capacity of the land to provide forage for wildlife, and they almost always spread once they’re established in an area.

Working together, hunters and landowners forged this measure. It’s just another example that we share some common values and have an invaluable partnership when it comes to wildlife conservation.

That partnership will be essential to making the program work.

Nick Gevock is the conservation director for the Montana Wildlife Federation.

Jeff Lukas – MWF Elk Campaign Manager

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.