Frank Szollosi - Montana Wildlife Federation

4 week federal permitting puts Montana lands & wildlife at risk

October 21, 2025April 24, 2025 by Frank Szollosi

Montana hunters & anglers object to ignoring rules & public comment to fast-track oil & gas extraction

Call on Senators Daines & Sheehy & Representatives Zinke & Downing to defend working & public land & public input

Reacting to the announcement of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s “emergency” plan to change permitting processes for mining, oil and gas, and other select minerals and energy sources, the Montana Wildlife Federation issued the following statement, attributable to Executive Director Frank Szollosi.

“The only emergency that Montana’s hunters and anglers can discern is chaotic decision-making by the federal government. Secretary Doug Burgum swore to uphold the Interior Department’s mission to “protect and manage the Nation’s natural resources.” When oil and gas production is already at a record high, it marks an extreme move to cut Montanans from decisions about where industry drills.

This sop to special interests will negatively impact public land, Montana farms and ranches, Montana rivers and streams, and our wildlife. A federal emergency declaration could overrule private property rights and greenlight extractive drilling on private lands where oil and gas resources are federally owned without consulting landowners. Our families, wildlife, and communities deserve a balanced approach that respects responsible development and local expertise.

Montanans know our lands best, and we should maintain our rightful role in determining where and how development occurs on our public lands. We call on our delegation, especially Senator Daines and Senator Sheehy, who supported Burgum’s confirmation earlier this year, to defend public input and working and public lands across Montana.”

Background from the Natural Resources Defense Council:

Under the guise of a “National Energy Emergency,” the department is slashing permitting timelines and overriding safeguards under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Endangered Species Act (ESA), and National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA).

These changes will sideline the public, short-circuit Tribal consultation, and open public lands and oceans to drilling, mining, and other industrial development with minimal oversight.

No legal basis: The administration’s move to bypass environmental law is unprecedented and legally dubious. It directly conflicts with decades of established policy and practice under NEPA, ESA, and the NHPA.
Rubber-stamp approvals: Projects that once required thorough environmental review and public engagement will now bypass critical protections, reducing permitting to a hollow, rubber-stamp process.
Public silenced: The rule slashes—and in some cases eliminates entirely—public comment windows and short-circuits Tribal consultation processes, minimizing the role of communities, scientists, and local governments.
Endangered species and cultural sites at risk: By gutting Endangered Species Act and National Historic Preservation Act safeguards, the policy leaves wildlife, habitat and sacred cultural sites vulnerable to destruction.
All for extraction: Despite being pitched as energy-neutral, this change overwhelmingly benefits oil, gas, coal, and mining companies—opening public lands and waters to dangerous exploitation under the cover of emergency.

MWF Supports Public Land and Wildlife Professionals

February 20, 2025February 17, 2025 by Frank Szollosi

The Montana Wildlife Federation roots trace back to 1936 when hunters, anglers and other conservationists joined landowners to address the loss of Montana’s natural lands, healthy waters and abundant wildlife. Since then, MWF has championed scientific wildlife management and fought to conserve the great natural resources found in this state and wildlife populations have rebounded. This legacy is maintained through our dedicated staff and volunteers, and our steadfast support of wildlife and habitat professionals within both the public and private sectors.

Federal Workforce Under Attack

Earlier this month, the Montana Wildlife Federation sent a letter to our four-person federal delegation, voicing concern for federal workers, especially those who provide valuable services supporting wildlife, habitat and public access.

ince then, thousands of federal employees have been terminated from key agencies, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and departments that assist farmers, ranchers, veterans, tribes, and rural communities. These are the people who manage our public lands, protect endangered species, restore habitat, and ensure outdoor access for Montanans—and their absence is already having dire consequences.

Fortunately, the judicial branch has intervened in multiple cases, preventing further erosion of federal law, the U.S. Constitution, and the integrity of our public workforce. However, the damage is already being felt on the ground.

Conservation Efforts Stalled

In addition, conservation projects in Montana have already been negatively impacted by the Administration’s freezing of federal funding, in abject contradiction to acts of Congress. Governor Greg Gianforte has issued a statewide temporary stop work order through the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation: 20250211_Temporary Pause on Federally Funded DNRC Projects_Letter (002) (1) (1)

We repeat our call for Montana’s federal legislators to step up, act to protect science and our federal workforce and provide Congressional oversight.

As of February 17—President’s Day—we have only received a response from Senator Steve Daines. His response ignores our concerns about how politicians, unelected billionaires, and their unqualified minions are threatening and bullying federal agencies and federal employees.

MWF’s Four Core Asks of Our Congressional Leadership:

1 Insist that the federal civil service remain non-partisan and that political operatives not be inserted into career civil service positions.

2. Defend the impartiality of public service.

3. Promote a positive work environment where employees are not subject to threats to their employment that have nothing to do with job performance.

4. Conduct appropriate oversight of political or self-dealing tampering with career civil service jobs and hiring and firing of government employees.

Attached is our letter and the Daines response.

We’ll gladly share responses from Senator Sheehy and Representatives Zinke and Downing should we receive them.

MWF letter in support of career federal employees (1)

Contact Montana’s Congressional Delegation:

It is critically important that every one of us who cares about Montana SPEAK UP TO OUR CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES to help our friends and neighbors who work for agencies and are now being fired and whose careers are at an end. Please call and tell them what you think and ask that they reverse this destruction of our agencies and our Montana way of life.

Senator Steve Daines: 202-244-3121 DC or 406-453-0148 Great Falls

Senator Tim Sheehy: 202-224-2644 DC or 406-452-9587 Great Falls

Representative Ryan Zinke: 202-225-5628 DC or 406-413-6720 Bozeman

Representative Troy Downing: 202-225-3211 DC or in-state 406-413-6720

Protecting Montana’s Public Lands from Utah’s Land Grab

November 18, 2024November 18, 2024 by Frank Szollosi

Utah politicians have a history of trying to sell off public land to benefit the real estate developers and extractive industries that fund them. Recently, the State of Utah filed a lawsuit in the United States Supreme Court, aiming to seize control of 18.5 million acres of America’s public lands within the state’s borders. And now 13 other states have joined in support of it. But not the State of Montana. Thanks, Governor and Attorney General, let’s keep it that way.

While Utah claims it only wants to manage these lands, history shows that—when given the opportunity—it opens the door to massive sell-offs of public lands to private interests. Let’s not mince words: Utah’s ultimate goal is to sell off all federal public lands to the highest bidder at the expense of wildlife, habitat and public access. If this effort succeeds, it could jeopardize the future of public lands everywhere, especially across the West and here in Montana.

Utah’s lawsuit claims the federal government can constitutionally only own property for military bases and the nation’s capital. By that logic, the federal government couldn’t own any Bureau of Land Management lands, national forests, national parks, monuments, or wildlife refuges across the United States.

The consequences would be devastating. Ranchers could find grazing fees much, much higher. Our state budget would be burdened with millions of dollars in new obligations for fire suppression and extractive industry permitting. Rural communities would face even greater disruption as prized parcels get sold to and developed by absentee landowners. Wildlife habitat and migration routes would be further compromised. And the access to public lands and waters we treasure here in Montana could be lost forever.

This is our call to action. Sign this petition encouraging Montana Governor Greg Gianforte and Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen to stand firm and reject Utah’s public land heist.

We’ll make sure your voices are heard. The petition will be delivered to Montana’s Governor and Attorney General, shared with all 150 incoming Montana State Senators and Representatives convening in Helena in January 2025, and sent to our new Congressional delegation and the incoming Trump Administration.

We’ll also keep you posted on the latest developments of this extraordinary test of character of Montana elected officials.

Legal Victory Strengthens Public Trust Doctrine, Elk & Game Management in Montana

October 21, 2025July 24, 2024 by Frank Szollosi

Joint Press Release by All Intervening Organizations

In a major legal victory for the State of Montana, hunters, and conservation groups, a District Court judge has sided with the public and Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks (FWP) in a lawsuit attempting to upend Montana game management. The ruling bolsters the State and conservation groups in their fight to protect Montana’s game management practices, affirming the Public Trust Doctrine and ensuring that our wildlife remains public, not a private commodity.

Tenth Judicial District Court Judge Gregory R. Todd denied the United Property Owners of Montana’s motion for partial summary judgment on Tuesday afternoon and granting FWP and Intervenors cross-motions, agreeing wholeheartedly with the state and coalition’s arguments that the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission and the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks have been following state wildlife management laws correctly.

The coalition of intervening groups, composed of Helena Hunters and Anglers, Hellgate Hunters and Anglers, Montana Chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, Montana Bowhunters Association, Montana Wildlife Federation, Public Land Water Access Association, and Skyline Sportsmen Association, called the lawsuit “an attack on wildlife management and Montana’s egalitarian hunting traditions.” The groups filed a motion to intervene on behalf of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, Montana hunters, and all citizens of Montana.

The intervening groups, granted legal status in this case in September 2022 by the District Court in Fergus County, represent Montana hunters, anglers, public lands users, and all who have a stake in defending the public interest. They are committed to maintaining long-term, proven wildlife management that benefits all Montanans. All have a strong record of public participation in decisions affecting Montana’s natural resources and hunting heritage. Learn more at KeepElkPublic.org. Conversely, UPOM is an organization with a history of opposing Montana’s tradition and law that guarantees wildlife is equally owned by the public, not just the wealthy, well-connected, and landed gentry.

UPOM’s failed lawsuit alleged that the public process for managing elk and setting hunting regulations in Montana is unconstitutional. It attempted to force FWP to reduce elk numbers in the state substantially by killing upwards of 50,000 animals and giving politicians and private landowners management authority over public wildlife management. Similar attempts by UPOM at the legislative and commission levels have been strenuously opposed and largely defeated again.

Coalition members thank their attorneys, Rob Farris-Olsen, Graham Coppes, Kim Wilson, and state attorneys for defending the public’s interest. They vowed to keep fighting for responsive wildlife management and public hunting opportunities. The groups look forward to defending the Public Trust Doctrine, the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, and keeping elk public in the upcoming 89th Session of the Montana Legislature.

“This is a significant decision. The Court upheld the fundamental concept of public trust wildlife, managed by wildlife professionals at Montana FWP, for the benefit of all citizens,” said Steve Platt, president of Helena Hunters and Anglers. “We are happy that the Court upheld this bedrock premise of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation.”

“UPOM’s misguided lawsuit threatened serious consequences for how we manage Montana’s elk and public hunting opportunities going forward,” said Andrew Gorder, president of Hellgate Hunters & Anglers. “The Court’s decision is a hard-earned victory for our state’s wildlife managers and upholds Montana’s long history of managing public elk for the benefit of all, not just a select few.”

“I am proud of the hard work we have done over the last year, engaging with the state, public hunters, and landowners in a sincere and transparent effort to solve these wildlife management issues,” said John Sullivan, chair of the Montana chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers. “We are grateful the court has acknowledged the public’s role in wildlife management and allowed us to intervene on the public’s behalf. We look forward to making our case in front of the court and in the light of day for all to watch.”

“Montana Wildlife Federation appreciates the time and attention to detail the Court put into this historic, precedent-setting victory for science and fairness in game management,” said Chris Servheen, Montana Wildlife Federation President and Board Chair. “We are proud to have successfully strengthened the Public Trust Doctrine and the North American Model within Montana law. We will continue to work with these intervening organizations, the State of Montana, and many more to further strengthen these sound principles.”

“PLWA is ecstatic about this decision and its implications for the science-based management of our public trust resource in Montana,” said Alex Leone, executive director of Public Lands and Water Access Association. “The decision affirms that elk in Montana are to be managed for the benefit of all, not just a few aggrieved landowners. This is not the first time UPOM has attempted to challenge Montana’s long-standing tradition of public access to public trust resources, and it won’t be the last. We are proud of MT FWP and the coalition of intervenors for stepping up and prevailing.”

“The MBA is very grateful to the many groups, their leaders and the attorneys involved who have put in the time to fight against this lawsuit. A special thanks goes out to the courts for upholding the status of the FWP professionals managing our wildlife in Montana. We need to continue to fight for our future generation of Montanan hunters and assure they will have a fair opportunity to hunt game in this great state,” said Ken Schultz, President of the Montana Bowhunters Association.

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Montanans need to review east Crazies land exchange proposal

November 9, 2022November 9, 2022 by Frank Szollosi

Much has been said and written about the east Crazy Mountain-Big Sky land exchange proposal, which has just been released by the U.S. Forest Service for public comment. For decades, solutions to unlocking public land access between checkerboarded private landholdings within the Custer Gallatin National Forest which surround the Crazy Mountains have proven elusive to scores of good faith efforts. Our interests include protecting critical elk, mountain lion, and black bear habitat – among other species – and enhancing public access. We respect property rights, agriculture and ranching, and the sacred significance of these lands to the Apsáalooke (Crow).

Two years ago, members of Montana Wildlife Federation’s Board of Directors thoroughly debated our engagement with the Crazy Mountains Working Group – a locally led collaboration of hunters, ranchers, recreationists, and other community members. One of our Board members, John Salazar, a Livingston hunter, and longtime conservation leader, joined the group and has kept us in the wildlife federation plugged into the discussion. He’s done great work building relationships while seeking solutions to an intractable public land impasse.

In 2020, MWF issued a letter that spelled out conditions for our organizational support of any land exchange. We asked then that “any proposal to accomplish this trade move forward administratively by the Forest Service to give the public the opportunity to review and comment on it.” We stand by that as 2022 draws to a close, and as the Forest Service rolls out the proposal for its 45-day public comment period. That official period will be followed by a Forest Service draft decision notice, and then an additional 45-day objection period. We believe there continues to be time for the collaboration, dialogue, and advocacy that is necessary to strengthen the conservation values of the proposal. We look forward to reviewing all aspects of the proposal and how it aligns with our access goals and conservation vision across the east Crazies landscape.

During this critical period, we recommit to working together with willing participants. We’ll encourage our members and Affiliates and the general public to read the proposal for themselves and be part of the Forest Service administrative process. We’ll show up and listen at the public meetings that are being organized from Big Timber to Big Sky. And we ourselves will continue to listen to and meaningfully evaluate the many spirited arguments about these extraordinary lands.

Last year, we provided the working group with additional detailed concerns, such as limiting the use of so-called “e-bikes” and other mechanized uses that demonstrably disrupt wildlife, and, to further long-term habitat and access goals, we seek a “first right of refusal” that would give public land agencies an opportunity to purchase any future private land that would one day be listed for sale. Our vision, as relayed to the Forest Service, is a “consolidated land pattern in public ownership that would ensure key wildlife habitat and important corridors are protected, provide for public access and recreation, and also allow multiple use opportunities where appropriate.”

We were encouraged by our recent meeting with the Forest Service where they reminded us that the new Custer Gallatin Forest Plan, along with a new federal Backcountry designation, prohibits new road construction, mining, wind farms, heli-skiing, and other disruptive activities, as well buildings and infrastructure on public land, while allowing for public land grazing that is of critical importance to local ranchers and rural communities like Big Timber.

Finally, this past fall I had an amazing opportunity to participate in a flyover of the Crazy Mountains with local landowners, a tribal researcher, and fellow conservationists. From the single-propeller Cessna, I could see high alpine lakes teeming with native fish, a herd of elk, and eagle nests; I learned of ancient Crow vision quest sites at the summits. Ranching operations appeared to be woven into the landscape neatly, and the potential for a harmonious outcome actually became easier to see from that perspective. The risks of not finding a hard-earned, negotiated solution after so many years seem even more urgent as real estate and population growth both rapidly escalate in the communities that surround the Crazy Mountains.

Crazies eco-flight with Rob Sisson, Erica Lighthiser, Francine Spang-Willis, Frank Szollosi and Charlie Rein. Photos by EcoFlight.

By Montana Wildlife Federation Executive Director Frank Szollosi