The Montana Wildlife Federation 2017 Legislative Voting Record is a compilation of how state legislators voted on key issues during the 2017 Legislative Session. It is meant to provide information for the public on where legislators stand on issues that affect wildlife, habitat and public access. Votes were identified by a committee of MWF volunteers to provide a spectrum of high profile issues. Data were compiled by MWF staff from official Montana Legislative records.
This report uses the vote on a given bill that is most reflective of a legislator’s stance on the issue. MWF has compiled a Legislative Voting Record at the conclusion of each Legislative Session for more than 20 years. This report is produced for nonpartisan informational purposes so that MWF members can understand how lawmakers voted on issues of concern. Support for or opposition to any given bill or resolution is not intended to provide an endorsement or rejection of any state legislator.
Conservation easements mean more access. Mule deer by Scott Akerman.
The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission recently gave the go ahead for the state to pursue three large-scale conservation easements in the eastern part of the state that will open up tremendous hunting opportunity.
Taken together, the Ponessa Ranch, DeCock Ranch and Horse Creek Complex easements will permanently protect more than 39,000 acres of private ranch and crop land. It’s an incredible conservation achievement that will benefit wildlife, keep traditional farms and ranches in operation and provide more hunting opportunity. And the reach of these easements extends well beyond the deeded acres that will be protected.
That’s because these lands adjoin in several cases state and federal lands, as well as other private land that is open to the public for hunting under the state’s popular Block Management program. It’s like a giant jigsaw puzzle that, once fully finished, helps maintain our Montana outdoors heritage, rural agricultural economy and ultimately our way of life.
Take the DeCock Ranch near Hysham. It borders the Isaac Homestead Wildlife Management Area. But it also adjoins state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation lands that are open the public, and private lands that are enrolled in Block Management. Taken together, this block would be more than 250,000 acres of contiguous land open to the public hunter.
It’s an example of an incredible public-private partnership. It’s also one that is often the case with easement projects that use Habitat Montana program funds. Habitat Montana uses a small portion of hunting license fees to pay for conservation easements as well as targeted land purchases to protect important wildlife habitat and grow public access. That includes access to adjoining public and private lands that builds up public hunting opportunity.
The other two easements, Horse Creek Complex near Wibaux and Ponessa near Miles City, are also large-scale land protection projects. Both would help working agricultural operations while opening up hunting access to private lands. And these type of arrangements are good for hunter-landowner relations, because they illustrate that we have far more in common than we do differences when it comes to protecting our way of life.
Habitat Montana came under fire in the 2015 Legislature, when its use for land purchases was restricted. While big land buys get a lot of attention, the three easements proposed this month show that the conservation easements funded by Habitat Montana are just as important for wildlife, habitat, hunters, landowners and all Montanans.
Nick Gevock is MWF’s Conservation Director. You can reach him at ngevock@mtwf.org.
Alec Underwood gives testimony at Stevensville town council.
It’s been nearly a month since the landowner of one of the most popular fishing access sites on the Bitterroot River locked out the general public from launching their boats there. This unfortunate situation was a result of an ongoing failed land swap negotiation in which the town would have to trade up to eight and a half acres of its park land to secure the access site. While some in the fishing community were ready to take the deal, many Stevensville locals spoke out against what they saw as an unfair trade.
Despite the land swap debate putting the fishing community and park-goers in a tough spot, a push by Stevensville Mayor Jim Crews to find a temporary access site on the town’s property became a new hope for restoring access.
MWF was quick to respond and after meeting with Crews at the proposed new site, Western Field Representative Alec Underwood garnered widespread support from Montana’s fly fishing community to find a new access site. Within three days, over 70 anglers, guides, outfitters, and business owners from around the state had signed on to a letter in support for finding a timely resolution.
Underwood submitted the letter to the town council during a meeting on Monday night where the council would decide whether or not to move forward with trying to develop an access site. Along with reading the letter aloud, Underwood emphasized the importance of finding a solution sooner than later.
“Many people in the fishing community understand that looking toward a different solution is not only the right thing to do, it will solve the issue more quickly than revisiting land swap negotiations. Now is the time to act on these alternatives that will work for all citizens,” Underwood said.
Several members of the public referenced the importance of the site as an economic driver for the town of Stevensville while speaking out against revisiting a land swap deal and in favor of moving toward other solutions. With the strong testimony, a motion by a town council member to put the land swap to a town vote in November died. In contrast, the decision to allow Crews to open a temporary access site on the town’s property was unanimously approved.
Pending the permit approval for site construction, Crews says that he may be able to have the access site constructed within two to three days and with little manipulation. While this will temporarily solve the access issue, FWP will also be assessing the viability of a permanent site on the west side of the river. MWF sees this decision as a step in the right direction for the town of Stevensville and for all those who fish the Bitterroot River.
The decision by the town would not have been possible without the support from the fly fishing community. We thank the many anglers, outfitters, guides, and shop owners who signed on in support of solving this issue and restoring access to the Bitterroot River in Stevensville.
Alec Underwood is Montana Wildlife Federation’s Western Field Representative. You can reach him at alec@mtwf.org
With some of the best public land wildlife habitat in Montana, the Missouri Breaks is an essential part of our hunting heritage.
For the last 17 years, the Upper Missouri Breaks National Monument has protected this land for future generations to hunt, float, and camp, while also preserving working ranches and other public land uses.
Unfortunately, the Interior Department has decided to reopen the books and investigate the Breaks, along with other national monuments around the country, with an eye toward reducing the size of the monument and rolling back its protection.
Two years of local effort went into protecting the Breaks, but they want to undo it with barely two months of public input.
Visit the link below to leave your comments on the national monument review. And do these three things to make sure your comments get the formal record:
1. Make it personal. The federal beancounters will do everything they can to ignore comments that they think are mass-produced. Make your comments specifically about the Missouri Breaks and why you value this land, so they know you are a real person who cares about a real place.
2. Provide specific examples of how reducing the size of the monument or limiting public access will impact your use of your public lands. The more specific you can be, the better.
3. Say why you are qualified to comment. This doesn’t have to mean that you have a professional or academic credential – it is just as important to have personal experience hunting, floating, or camping in the Breaks. Just make sure you specifically say that, so they know your voice matters.
Loco Mountain in Crazy Mountains Montana. Photo by Mike Cline.
The Montana Wildlife Federation recently sent letters to U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell as well as Senator Jon Tester, Senator Steve Daines, and Congressman Greg Gianforte, asking for clarification of facts surrounding the reassignment of a district ranger working to improve public trail access to public land in the Crazy Mountains.
Large swaths of public land in the Crazy Mountains are inaccessible to the public. Yellowstone District Ranger Alex Siekienwicz has been working for years with landowners, hunters, and other stakeholders to defend and improve public access. The Forest Service recently removed Sienkiewicz from his position and started an investigation into his activities. MWF is seeking more information on how long Sienkiewicz will be kept out of his position, how the public will be kept informed of the investigation, and how the Forest Service intends to continue defending public access to public land on public roads and trails.
The reassignment of Mr. Siekienwicz is particularly troubling in light of deep cuts proposed for the US Forest Service’s budget. The Trump Administration’s proposed budget for 2018 cuts $1 billion from the Forest Service’s budget and proposes to eliminate 1,800 positions. Managing public access will be even more difficult if the agency is understaffed and underfunded.
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.
