Facing a repeal of federal sage-grouse conservation plans, the Montana Wildlife Federation led a coalition of Montana sportsmen groups in penning a letter to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and BLM Acting Director Brian Steed to save the sagebrush steppe landscape, an iconic bird, and 350 other species that calls this unique ecosystem home.
The 2015 Federal Sage-Grouse Plans were developed by local stakeholders in Montana and across the West to conserve sagebrush habitat, keep the sage-grouse off of the Endangered Species list, and protect habitat for mule deer and hundreds of other species. The Trump Administration is presently considering repealing the plans.
The Montana Wildlife Federation was joined by the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Montana Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, Montana Trout Unlimited, Anaconda Sportsman’s Club, Laurel Rod & Gun, Hellgate Hunters & Anglers, Montana Bowhunter’s Association, Helena Hunters & Anglers, Gallatin Wildlife Association, and the Mule Deer Foundation. The groups, representing tens of thousands of Montana hunters demanded that the 2015 Federal Sage-Grouse Plans be kept intact, fully implemented, and given the necessary time to work.
In a world where advances in hunting technology seem to be never ending, some of us are experimenting with going in the opposite direction. A small but dedicated group of Montana’s archery enthusiasts are learning and applying skills to make their own primitive archery equipment. There is both challenge and satisfaction in creating our own archery equipment similar to those used by our native Americans and early European ancestors.
Last summer, some volunteers from Traditional Bowhunters of Montana (TBM) organized its first Montana Selfbow Jamboree held near Three Forks. Along with some skilled Montana bow-makers, volunteers from Missouri, Oklahoma, and other states came to help at least 50 of us less skilled or total newcomers in selfbow making. A selfbow is the simplest bow of just a stick of wood fashioned into a bow and an accompanying string. While most of us chose to use the extremely tough osage orange wood native to Midwest, other native Montana woods such as pacific yew, juniper, chokecherry, and serviceberry have been used successfully.
After a selfbow is completed, it can become a goal to use it successfully to harvest an animal. In that case, the next step is fashioning arrows and arrowheads. To replicate Native American equipment, creating a straight shaft from a shrub shoot may be the most challenging step. Straight, rather straight shoots or branches from rose, chokecherry, red osier dogwood need to be cut and dried for months. Once dried, they can be stripped of bark and further straightened by bending over heat. Then notches for fitting onto the string and to accept the points are cut and fletching is attached using sinew from elk or deer hamstring tendons. Again, to be authentic, wing primary feathers from wild birds need to be obtained and modified to be fletching. Legally obtainable feathers can be gathered from your harvested geese or turkeys. Arrowheads can be fashioned from numerous kinds of rock (obsidian, chert, flint) or can be shaped from bone or even hardened wood.
Broadheads made from sharpened bone on arrow shafts from chokecherry shoots.
Making your own primitive archery equipment helps acquire knowledge of using Montana’s plants and animals, as well as giving us a better understanding of how our ancestors were able to develop their hunting tools from materials found in their surroundings. The hunting experience is greatly extended in the lengthy process of making your own equipment and potentially using it to harvest an animal.
Hunting with a primitive bow and arrows also requires the ultimate in getting close to your quarry. A twenty yard shot is likely the furthest most of us would feel comfortable with our primitive equipment. However, some of us love the challenge of self-limiting our hunting effectiveness, forcing us to fully utilize our hunting skills to have close encounters with Montana’s wildlife.
Editor’s Note: This fall, Greg Munther completed his decades long quest of harvesting a big game animal with self-made primitive archery equipment.
If you’ve ever had the pleasure of floating the Smith River, then you know that it is a truly amazing place. Winding its way through rangelands and its iconic canyon, this river gives recreationists an experience that they will never forget, not to mention some amazing fishing. ringing $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.
Over the past few years the area has been eyed by those seeking a different kind of treasure; copper. Foreign mining company Tintina Resources has submitted their draft mining permit for the Black Butte Copper Project. This proposed mine would be located in the headwaters of Sheep Creek, a major tributary of the Smith.
Last Monday evening, MWF joined other conservation groups at a public scoping meeting in Great Falls put on by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). This was the first of four meetings held by the agency as part of the process in developing the environmental impact statement (EIS) for the project. Over thirty individuals spoke at the meeting, the majority of whom were opposed to the potential negative impacts of the proposed mine.
MWF’s Western Field Representative Alec Underwood outlined the potential impacts to Sheep Creek and the considerations the DEQ should make going forward in the EIS process. “The DEQ should be especially stringent toward any risks to water quantity or quality in the
Sheep Creek drainage”, Underwood said, noting the importance of the creek as a fish spawning tributary and for providing a large percentage of the flow to the Smith River during low water flows. “Dewatering or contamination from mining processes in Sheep creek would likely have detrimental effects on not only fish, but recreational users who float the river during low water.”
In addition to the potential direct impacts of the mine, Underwood and others spoke about the potential for expansion of other mining operations in the area, citing the over 500 additional mining claims in close proximity to the proposed mine.
Now is the time to take action and attend the remaining public scoping meeting in Livingston. For the sake of the Smith River and to all those who will enjoy it in the future, speak up now and let the DEQ know that the Black Butte Copper Project is simply not worth the risk.
For information on the remaining meetings or how to comment on the proposed project, please visit
Once numbering in the tens of millions, sage-grouse populations today have decreased drastically as a result of development and habitat loss.
In recent years, the sage-grouse was proposed for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act. A historic conservation effort across 11 Western states is helping reverse the decline and keep the species from becoming endangered. That effort is threatened by politicians who want to hijack the sage-grouse conservation plans and transfer control of public land to states.
Sagebrush Steppe: Good for Sage-Grouse, Mule Deer, and People
The sage-grouse depends on large expanses of healthy sagebrush steppe. This habitat dominates much of the West’s countryside, thriving in the arid deserts through dry, hot summers and cold winters. The sagebrush is one of the dominant plants in the steppe and provides food and shelter for many species. Besides the sage-grouse, the sagebrush steppe provides habitat for 350 other species including mule deer, pronghorn antelope and elk, and numerous nongame animals. These lands also provide a significant public opportunity for hunting and other recreational activities like hiking, biking, and camping.
States & Federal Government Work Together to Protect Sage-Grouse
In order to keep sage-grouse off of the Endangered Species List, Western states and the federal government worked together to conserve the species and its habitat. The ten states in sage-grouse country adopted plans at the state-level to adopt conservation actions on private and state land and provide funding to protect habitat private land. At the same time, the federal sage-grouse plan was created to establish protections for the species on Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service lands.
The state and federal plans were written through an unprecedented effort by land managers, conservationists, hunters, landowners, and other stakeholders to work together and find common ground. This coordinated effort being fully implemented was key to the Department of Interior’s determination that the sage-grouse did not need to be listed under the Endangered Species Act in 2015.
Needed Now: Implementing the State & Federal Sage-Grouse Plans
The State of Montana is leading on many aspects of sage-grouse conservation on private and state trust land. However, the state plan does not account for the roughly 35 percent of sage-grouse habitat that is on federal public lands. Sage-grouse conservation is not an either-or choice between federal plans or the state plans: it will take aggressive effort and full funding for both state and federal plans in order to succeed.
The Risk: Politicians Trying to Throw Out the Plans and Take Over Public Land
Some in Congress have seized the sage-grouse issue as a way to push an extreme agenda to transfer public land management away from the federal government. Bills have been introduced in Congress that would remove protections for sage-grouse and allow state governors to invalidate federal land management plans with the stroke of a pen. Multiple-use land management that protects public input, wildlife habitat, and public access would get thrown out.
Now is the time for hunters and hikers, backpackers and mountain bikers, ranchers and farmers, and all who value our public lands to draw a hard line and let those our elected officials know that the sage grouse shouldn’t be used to score political points.
This morning Senator Tester’s bill, the Yellowstone Gateway Protection Act, was heard in front of the Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Sub-Committee. The bill would permanently withdraw federal mineral rights on 30,000 acres of public land in the Custer Gallatin National Forest adjacent to the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness and Yellowstone National Park. The bill would also eliminate the ability for proposed mines to expand onto unclaimed public land. Tester said “responsible natural resource development plays an important role in Montana’s economy, but there are simply some places where you just should not dig or drill, and the doorstep of Yellowstone National Park is one of those places.”
Thank you Senator Tester for bringing this bill which will ensure cold, clean water for trout and anglers, healthy habitat for elk and hunters, and sustainable economic activity for Montana’s communities.
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.
