Federation News - Letter from President Tim Aldrich

NWF CRP Lawsuit

The recent CRP lawsuit restricting haying and grazing has impacted many farm and ranch operations. Montana Wildlife Federation has received comments and letters from farmers and ranchers saying that their lands will not be open to hunters this year and members of Montana Wildlife Federation due to the lawsuit. This is troubling because Montana Wildlife Federation did not file the lawsuit nor was it involved in the legal challenge; Montana Wildlife Federation played no role in the action.

Ironically, some of these communiqués came in response to questionnaires MWF had sent to landowners seeking their input to our Landowner/Sportsmen Relations Improvement Project. The lawsuit that was filed by National Wildlife Federation against the U. S. Department of Agriculture in many cases halted, or greatly limited implementation of changes in the CRP program that would have liberalized haying and grazing on CRP lands with very few benefit reductions, and changed the dates when CRP could be cut.

I believe that this is clearly a case of assigning "guilt by association." Montana Wildlife Federation members and the leaders of MWF are naturally concerned about the potential impacts to wildlife habitat, soil stability and water quality, the habitats that sustain our fish and game. MWF chose to take a position that we believed would provide flexibility needed for farmers and ranchers to deal with impacts from the prolonged drought - MWF did not participate in the lawsuit.

Landowners decide who is and isn't authorized to access their properties. We have great respect and appreciation for the role that so many landowners play in providing the stewardship of habitat upon which our wildlife populations depend. We are always thankful for the many landowner granted opportunities to access private properties to pursue our hunting endeavors. For well over a century landowners, hunters and anglers and wildlife professionals have shared the role of bringing our wildlife populations from the brink of disaster to what I see as amazing abundance and resiliency. In spite of periodic disagreements, Montana Wildlife Federation has and will continue to strongly support the long-term viability of farms and ranches. The CRP program is an example of something that we have supported. It has provided for improvements of wildlife habitat, water quality and soil stability and it provided a much needed positive economic benefit for many farmers and ranchers.

Hunters and Landowners: if a decision has been made to close private lands for public hunting access based upon -- CRP lawsuit -- know that Montana Wildlife Federation had nothing to do with the lawsuit and that we are working to improve relations between hunters and landowners.

MWF - President, Tim Aldrich