Montanans are being encouraged to stay home as much as possible and for good reason. As we work to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus, it’s important to practice social distancing and stay at home as much as possible. Eventually, life will return to normal.
For Montana hunters, that will hopefully include a special hunt this fall for deer or elk. The thought of time spent with family and friends pursuing that big buck or bull is pretty enticing right now. Every year we anticipate the fall and hunting season; this year should be no different.
Hunters have until April 1 this year to apply for special deer and elk permits. While it’s easy to sometimes let these applications go until the last minute, this year it’s imperative that hunters be proactive in applying early. The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks website can get overwhelmed under the best of circumstances and with many state employees working from home, there are sure to be some unseen hurdles.
Take the time to look over the hunting regulations, and go to www.fwp.mt.gov to fill out the applications for special permits. Think back to those areas that are most important for those hunting memories and try for those districts. We may be inside now, but when the fall comes, we’ll be ready to get outside and enjoy all that Montana has to offer.
As stress and anxiety have overwhelmed the news and media with needed updates and concerns about Covid-19 we hope you can find some solace in your social distancing through gardening.
The Montana Wildlife Federation in Billings has partnered with the National Wildlife Federation in a project called Gardening for Wildlife. Gardening has been proven to reduce stress and anxiety and we can give you tips on how you can garden to also help wildlife. Gardening for Wildlife has a goal of creating wildlife-friendly gardens throughout the city of Billings in order to combat quickly deteriorating habitat worldwide.
Here are some examples of what you can do in your own yard and home:
Start planning your garden and take the first steps!
Start the process to remove your lawn to decrease your water use
Too cold to start gardening outside? Start planting seeds for your summer garden indoors!
To fair the cooler weather some seeds such as lettuce, broccoli, peppers, cabbage, winter squash, onions, tomatoes, eggplant, and many others should be planted inside before they are transferred to your home garden
When you buy seed packets, check the back and it should let you know exactly how long each plant needs to be inside
Use small containers such as egg cartons to start seeds for a few weeks or months before you transfer them outside
If the seedlings grow too large for the egg cartons start moving them to larger pots. Last year’s pots you saved from the nursery or even coffee cans will work.
The National Wildlife Federation’s 4th annual EcoCareers Conference will be held online on April 1-2. The virtual conference will connect students and young professionals with wildlife and sustainability careers, educate attendees about related credentials and academic offerings, and inform them about trends in these emerging and exciting fields.
MWF is thrilled to welcome the Friends of the Missouri Breaks Monument (Friends) into our network of affiliate clubs! The Friends joins 18 other organizations who support the mission of MWF through advocacy and policy work and retention, recruitment, and reactivation of outdoor enthusiasts in the state of Montana.
The Friends is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that was founded in 2001 to advocate on behalf of the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument (Breaks). Located in central Montana, the Breaks surrounds the wild and scenic Missouri River as it flows through nearly half-a-million acres of central Montana prairies and badlands. The Friends protect and preserve the Breaks through their advocacy, education and stewardship work.
For more than 80 years, MWF’s network of affiliated conservation organizations has worked tirelessly to help move forward the protection and enhancement of Montana’s wildlife, wildlife habitat, and public access. Without these organizations, MWF would not be able to do the quality work that we are recognized for. If you think your organization would benefit from becoming an affiliate of MWF, contact Marcus Strange, Program and Partnership Director, at mstrange@mtwf.org.
A newly released poll from the Montana Wildlife Federation shows that Montana hunters have serious concerns about Acting Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) William Perry Pendley and the anti-public lands policies he has pushed for throughout his career.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages 250 million acres of public land across the West and 700 million acres of subsurface mineral rights. Since the beginning of 2017, the BLM has been managed by a series of temporary directors. Currently, William Perry Pendley is the Acting Director of the BLM. Pendley has a decades-long history of advocating for the sale or privatization of public lands, has conflicts of interests involving lawsuits with the Interior Department, and has fought against the multiple-use mission of the BLM.
According to the recently released poll, 78% of Montana hunters are concerned about the current Acting Director of the BLM, with 57% ‘very concerned’ and 21% ‘somewhat concerned.
Alec Underwood, the Federal Conservation Campaigns Director of the Montana Wildlife Federation, said the following:
“It is telling that nearly 80 percent of Montana hunters are concerned about the current director of the Bureau of Land Management. William Perry Pendley fought against public lands and the multiple-use mandate of the BLM for decades. Keeping Pendley in such an influential position with the BLM threatens the very places we hunt and fish, and the habitat needed for fish and wildlife to thrive there.”
The impacts of the current BLM director are shown in the Lewistown Resource Management Plan, which was recently released for public input. The final RMP leaves 95% of surface acres open for oil and gas drilling and development, jeopardizing access to public lands and key wildlife habitat. The poll shows that only 35% of Montana hunters agree with the Trump Administration’s push to open more lands to oil and gas development in the state, with 60% believing the amount should be kept the same or decreased.
Nearly all of the lands prioritized for oil and gas development in the Lewistown planning area have little to no potential for profitable oil and gas development, setting up the area to be a hotspot for non-competitive leasing. Under this process, companies are allowed to lease public lands that were not formally bid on in the leasing process for a small filing fee of $1.50 an acre which has ended up costing the state of Montana hundreds of millions of dollars in the past 10 years.
This newly released poll shows that 67 percent of Montana hunters disapprove of the non-competitive leasing process.
Tracy Stone-Manning, associate vice president of public lands for the National Wildlife Federation, said:
“Montana has lost out on tens of millions of dollars each year in lost revenue because of the federal government’s mismanaged oil and gas leasing process. It’s no surprise that 67% of Montana hunters disapprove of the non-competitive leasing process and it is time to come together to end this wasteful government process that solely benefits oil and gas companies.”
“These undeveloped, roadless landscapes are some of the most productive wildlife habitat in North America and should be protected for their wilderness characteristics and outdoor recreation hotspots that are important to Eastern Montana’s economy and way of life. Prioritizing these lands for oil and gas development and noncompetitive leasing is a waste of an inherently valuable resource,” said Aubrey Bertram, eastern field director for the Montana Wilderness Association.
Take Action Now: Help stop Pendley today by telling the Secretary of the Interior, David Bernhardt, that we need a qualified individual to head the BLM. www.stopselloffpendley.com
The Lewistown Resource Management Plan has been in the works for over three years and is almost complete. The final resource management plan (RMP) and environmental impact statement were released on February 14th, 2020 and are now in a 30-day public protest period. This means if you submitted a comment on the RMP you have 30 days to submit a protest. Once this protest period is over the Record of Decision will be released and the plan will be finalized.
The proposed plan alternative has few modifications from its draft stage. It designates two new backcountry conservation areas (BCAs) adds back only two areas of critical environmental concern (ACECs), fails to protect over 200,000 acres with wilderness characteristics, and still leaves 95% of the planning area open to oil and gas development. The Interior Department’s chosen alternative removes the goal of preserving streams as wild and scenic rivers, fails to analyze the full impact of climate change, and opens the door for noncompetitive leasing of public lands for oil and gas.
Throughout the creation of this plan, the Department of the Interior ignored Montana voices, local Montanan communities, and even the BLM’s own experts on the ground. Local citizens – hunters, ranchers, school teachers, hikers, and wildlife watchers – advocated for spaces within this plan to be protected. Their voices were ignored in order to advance the Interior Department’s top-down “Energy Dominance” agenda. This destruction of the public process and blatant disregard for public opinion has become commonplace throughout the West.
The Lewistown planning area has a low potential for profitable oil and gas development. Having these areas open for oil and gas leasing means these parcels will not be bid on in a competitive manner. These parcels are not highly desirable and will end up being sold as non-competitive lease sales. This means that oil and gas developers will be paying a few dollars per acre to lease public lands. Given the habitat value of this region, the big game it supports, and the recreation-based economic benefits for local communities, leasing these spaces for a few dollars an acre is an insult to all Montanans and the values we have been taught for generations.
At the head of this issue is William Perry Pendley who continues to operate as BLM Director without Senate confirmation. The Lewistown plan illustrates exactly what happens when a political activist-lawyer like Mr. Pendley is installed into an important job without public transparency. Pendley has attacked the BLM and advocated for the sale of public lands throughout his career. Now as the head of the agency, he has followed through on his agenda of prioritizing oil and gas over public access and wildlife habitat on over one million acres of public land in Central Montana.
If you are interested in submitting a protest or writing to your local newspaper and have questions please contact our Eastern Field Coordinator at mpetrich@mtwf.org.
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.
