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Capitol Wildlife Report: Busy Week in Helena

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Capitol-Griz

Things picked up last week at the Capitol, with a host of bills addressing hunting licenses, fishing access site maintenance and hunting access to state lands.

Several bills that have already passed one chamber of the Legislature moved over to the other side and received hearings. In addition, several new bills were heard.

Hunting Licenses

SB 119, sponsored by Sen. Jedidiah Hinkle, R-Bozeman, would add to the list of reduced price hunting licenses for Montana-born hunters, youth and college students. No one spoke for the bill, and MWF opposed it. MWF believes we need to maintain that the license structure put in place last session by HB 140, which simplified licenses and put FWP on a stable financial path.

Fishing Access Site Fee

HB 204, sponsored by Rep. Alan Redfield, R-Livingston, would have created a $25 per boat user fee for fishing access sites. The funding would go toward controlling weeds, fighting aquatic invasive species and other site maintenance. MWF opposed the bill, but said the concept was good. We recommended a fee per vehicle that uses fishing access sites. Stay tuned to see if we can work out a solution on this bill.

Sage-grouse Funding

In 2015, a broad coalition of industry, agriculture and conservation groups passed Montana’s plan for sage grouse conservation. Now after two years, the program needs its funding renewed, and that’s a tall order given the tight state budget. MWF joined the partners to support HB 228, sponsored by Rep. Jim Keane, D-Butte, to allocate $2 million per year for the program. In addition to conserving sage-grouse, Montana’s sagebrush-steppe habitats are key for numerous other game and non-game species.

Negotiating Access Issues

MWF has been heavily engaged with Rep. Kelly Flynn, R-Townsend and chairman of the House FWP committee, to develop a bill to put more funding into the popular Block Management Program. We will continue working toward a deal on the bill to gain more public hunting access.

Last week, we led opposition to an amendment to HB 96, a bill allowing nonresident landowners to get licenses for family or ranch employees in exchange for allowing public hunters on their property. The amendment would have opened up those licenses to be given to anyone, which would lead to abuse and under-the-table deals to sell licenses. Thank you to all the MWF members who called in opposition to this bill, your calls make a big difference!

Looking Ahead

This week will be busy at the Capitol. We will be hearing two bills that would reduce the price of hunting licenses for certain nonresidents, HB 315 and HB 318, sponsored by Reps. Jeff Essmann and Steve Lavin, respectively. We will also have bills on county bounties for predators, HB 305, sponsored by Rep. Bill Harris, R-Winnett; banning feeding of wild turkeys, SB 111 sponsored by Sen. Keith Regier, R-Kalispell; and a bill cleaning up state law on state management of wolves, SB 110 sponsored by Sen. Mike Phillips, D-Bozeman.

As always, check the Montana Wildlife Federation bill tracker at www.montanawildlife.org for the most up-to-date information on bills and where they’re at in the process. For questions, contact MWF Conservation Director Nick Gevock at ngevock@mtwf.org or by calling 458-0227 ext. 108.

Another Out-of-touch Politician Pushes Takeover of National Forests

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Here we go again. Representative Don Young has introduced the State National Forest Management Act (H.R. 232). This bill would allow state governments to take over up to two million acres of national forest land. That is more than the entire Gallatin National Forest (1.8 million acres) or nearly all of the Flathead National Forest (2.3 million acres). The bill would also require that the lands be managed for maximum revenue, not wildlife habitat or public access.

Representative Young has been in Washington DC for the last 45 years, so he might not realize that people who live in the West overwhelmingly oppose state takeover of national forests. Montanans recognize that these lands belong to all Americans and should be managed for multiple uses, not just to make money. The facts are clear, states cannot afford to manage these lands – and they will be forced to sell them off.

Politicians need to quit trying to grab our public lands and focus instead on real solutions that would protect wildlife habitat, improve forest management, and preserve our outdoor heritage.

Show your support for public lands by joining hundreds of other Montanans in the Montana Capitol at noon on January 30 to show our leaders how important our lands are to Montana. RSVP today!

Utah Politicians AGAIN Trying to Sell Our Public Lands

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Only a few weeks into the new Congress, and Utah Representative Jason Chaffetz has introduced a bill (HR 621) that would direct the federal government to sell off 3 million acres of federal land across the West, including Montana.

Over the last few years, the American people have clearly and resoundingly rejected the idea of selling off public lands or transferring them to state or local control. Legislatures across the West have defeated bills to takeover public lands. Even Donald Trump thinks that transferring public lands is a bad idea, and his pick for Interior Secretary agrees.

At a time when our nation faces some pressing problems, Members of Congress shouldn’t be wasting their time – and our tax dollars – on this nonsense.

Please join hundreds of other Montanans in the Montana Capitol at noon on January 30 to show our leaders how important our public lands are to Montana. RSVP today!

And if you can make a donation today, it will help MWF keep pushing back on out-of-touch politicians.

Public Meetings Underway for Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest

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Now is your chance to get involved, make a difference and influence how a significant portion of your public lands are managed.

The Helena and Lewis and Clark National Forest is currently hosting public meetings and taking comments regarding their recently released draft Forest Plan revisions which will guide recreation, grazing, logging, vegetation treatment and other activities in the 2.8-million-acre forest for the next 15 years. The forest includes all of what was previously known as the Helena National Forest and Lewis and Clark National Forest, which were combined into one Forest in 2015. It includes all or portions of the Elkhorns, Rocky Mountain Front, Big Belts, Little Belts, Highwoods, Crazies, Castles and Snowies. The Divide landscape west of Helena along with the upper Blackfoot drainage are also included. The Forest contains about 500,000 acres of designated wilderness, including the eastern portions of the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex.

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Unlike past plans, the new plan calls for managing the Forest based on natural geographic boundaries, rather than smaller man-made management areas based on forest activities. “It’s a holistic approach to forest management that’s rare in the nation,” says Bill Avey, the Forest’s supervisor. “We’re revising our forest plan because the last ones were written in 1986, and a whole lot’s changed both socially and ecologically . . . The public has asked us to look at the forest by geographic areas or by mountain range.”

The draft plan for the 2.8 million-acre forest, which is headquartered in Helena and Great Falls, seeks a reasonable balance in it’s multiple-use mandate by protecting and enhancing critical watersheds for threatened bull trout and west slope cutthroat trout; protecting critical habitat for grizzlies, lynx and other threatened and endangered species; maintaining and improving recreational opportunities, and considering related economic needs and benefits of local communities. The proposed plan provides specially designated management areas for important parts of the forest, such as recreation in the Smith River corridor and tribal significance of the Badger-Two Medicine area east of Browning. Helena’s South Hills would receive a special designation as a recreation area. The plans states that 667,079 acres of the Forest are suitable for timber production and recommends 281,235 acre be added to the wilderness system.

One of MWF’s concerns is that the plan does not incorporate traditional standards for habitat security, which is critical for maintaining healthy, balanced elk herds and hunting opportunities. We urge the Forest Service to maintain and include traditional, effective, science-based habitat security standards.

The Forest Service has scheduled nine public hearings on the plan that began Monday, Jan. 24, with a large turnout in Lincoln. Three other meetings will be held over the next three days in Helena, Townsend and White Sulphur Springs, respectively. Other workshops will be held through early next month. A complete list of dates and locations and more information is available at https://www.fs.usda.gov/helena/.

David Stalling is Montana Wildlife Federation’s Western Field Rep. You can reach him at dstalling@mtwf.org

Capitol Wildlife Report: Fishing Access, Hatcheries, Sage Grouse, and More

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For multiple legislative sessions we’ve seen persistent and numerous attacks on wildlife, habitat and on the authority of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

This session is a lot different. Things are slower – and that’s a good thing. The Montana Wildlife Federation and our conservation partners have worked hard over the last few years to beat back bad wildlife laws. In addition, Montana FWP is sound financially, thanks to a hunting and fishing license bill passed last session that standardized the numerous free and reduced priced licenses, and made reforms to the agency’s finances. In a tough budget session like 2017, we’re fortunate that FWP isn’t asking for additional funding.

That said, there were some bill hearings last week. MWF was there to make the voice of hunters, anglers, and other wildlife conservationists heard.

HATCHERY CHANGES

Last week, MWF supported HB 214, sponsored by Rep. Bob Brown, R-Thompson Falls. It would lift a restriction on the number of fish produced at the Fort Peck Hatchery. This was a basic change needed to get more fish out of the facility, and was supported by Walleyes Unlimited.

BILLS MOVING FORWARD

Several bills heard in the past weeks have finally moved out of committee. They include HB 108, Allocate wild buffalo license for tribal purposes and HB 128, Revise waiting period for bighorn sheep licenses.

In addition, several bills have come out of their respective chamber, and are moving forward by being sent over to the other legislative body. Those include HB 98, Revise classifications of striped skunk, civet cat, spotted skunk; HB 150, Clarify FWP residency requirement for armed forces member, spouse and dependent; SB 52, Clarify additional penalties for hunting with artificial light; and SB 84, Extend the paddlefish roe donation program.

LOOKING AHEAD

MWF continues to stay engaged in bills that are being debated. That includes testifying, but also suggesting amendments and working to ensure that any changes benefit wildlife, habitat and Montana hunters and anglers.

A couple bills will also be heard for the first time this week. They include HB 204, sponsored by Rep. Alan Redfield, R-Livingston, to provide new funding for maintenance of fishing access sites; and HB 228, by Jim Keane, D-Butte, Provide funding for sage-grouse stewardship.

To get the latest information on bills, go to the MWF Bill Tracker. In addition, contact MWF Conservation Director Nick Gevock at ngevock@mtwf.org or by calling 406-458-0227 ext. 108.