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Bad Bills and Bison

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The 67th Montana Legislative Session set wildlife conservation back by decades in our great state and this is most apparent in the all-out assault on bison restoration. With just two bills, House Bill 302 and House Bill 318, this legislature was able to severely hamper any and all efforts to restore our national mammal on public lands in our eastern prairies where they once roamed.

Whereas House Bill 318 further restricts the definition of a wild bison to the point of being nearly impossible to meet, House Bill 302 gives county commissions the authority to be the deciding voice in whether wild bison can be translocated within their respective counties. Alone these bills present significant hurdles to restoring a free-roaming wild bison herd, but together they effectively kill any opportunity to restore this species. In many ways, the state has only achieved the result of hamstringing its own authority over wildlife while also ignoring the will of the majority of Montanans. Federal land agencies have stated their intent to establish wild bison on federal lands in appropriate places through the Trump administration’s Bison Conservation Initiative, and this can be done with, or without, the Gianforte administration.

To sum it up, Montana hunters and wildlife conservationists have been asking for a free-roaming wild bison herd for decades and, just when collaborative efforts were about to yield substantial results, one legislative session has set the clock back well over a decade. The Montana Wildlife Federation has submitted a request to Governor Gianforte asking him to veto these bills and respect the years of your hard work to begin restoration of this valued native wildlife species.  

Nomination of Tracy Stone-Manning to head the Bureau of Land Management

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Tracey Stone-manning headshot

Montana Hunters and Anglers Praise Nomination of Tracy Stone-Manning to Head Bureau of Land Management

 

HELENA, MT (April 22nd, 2020) — Today President Biden announced the nomination of Tracy Stone-Manning to head the Bureau of Land Management. The move was applauded by the Montana Wildlife Federation and its affiliates.

“Tracy Stone-Manning’s steadfast leadership in the conservation of public lands has been recognized by just about everybody who cares about the outdoors,” said Frank Szollosi, executive director for the Montana Wildlife Federation. “She will be a strong leader at the Department of Interior, and both Senators Jon Tester and Steve Daines should work swiftly to confirm her as the next BLM Director.”

“As a sportswoman herself, Tracy Stone-Manning recognizes the need to preserve hunting and angling opportunities for future generations,” said Walker Conyngham, president of Hellgate Hunters and Anglers. “We’re relieved to finally have a candidate for BLM leadership who has experience in working on federal land issues and who understands Montana values. She deserves a swift confirmation in the Senate.”

Stone-Manning, an avid hunter, is well known for working on Montana conservation issues. As a senior advisor at the National Wildlife Federation, she led efforts to conserve iconic Montana landscapes and restore balance to public lands management throughout the U.S. She also served as chief of staff for former Governor Steve Bullock and director of the Montana Department of Environmental Quality.

“It has truly been an honor and a pleasure to work with Tracy Stone-Manning over the past three years. As a hunter, backpacker, birder, and conservationist, she has a deep love for the public lands she will now manage. She also has a management style that will be welcomed by not only the employees who work at the Bureau of Land Management, but by members of Congress, industry officials, ranchers, conservation groups, and all other stakeholders who live, work and recreate on our public lands. Tracy is a consensus builder and a brilliant big-picture thinker. She will lead our public lands and the people, economies, and wildlife that rely on them into a bright and sustainable future. Her nomination is good news for Montana and our country,” said Marcia Brownlee, Montanan and program manager for the National Wildlife Federation’s Artemis Sportswomen initiative.

“The Friends of the Missouri Breaks applaud the nomination of Tracy Stone-Manning to head the Bureau of Land Management. Tracy is a known leader in the conservation community and will ensure that Montana’s most cherished landscapes, like the Missouri Breaks, are protected for all Americans to enjoy,” said Mikayla Moss, acting executive director for the Friends of the Missouri Breaks Monument.

Stone-Manning would play a lead role in expanding access to BLM lands, ensuring outdated oil and gas leasing policies are updated to protect fish, wildlife and outdoor recreation, and tackling the climate crisis through the establishment of a 21st-century civilian climate corps which would restore degraded public lands while creating thousands of good-paying jobs.

“We are pleased to see a Montanan who understands access issues nominated to oversee much of our public lands,” said Drewry Hanes, executive director of the Public Land Water Access Association. “Tracy Stone-Manning has a strong record of working to protect and expand access to our public lands and we look forward to working with her after her confirmation by the Senate.”

Stone-Manning would be the first confirmed BLM Director since 2017, joining other Montanans in Department of Interior leadership such as principal deputy director of the USFS, Martha Williams and Danna Jackson, counselor to the BLM Director.

MWF requests veto of seven anti-predator bills

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MWF requests veto of seven anti-predator bills

The Montana Wildlife Federation submitted a letter to Gov. Gianforte this week requesting vetoes of seven bills that amount to an extreme change in decades of management of predator wildlife species in the state.

“Our ethical lines are meant to maintain fair chase for all wildlife, protect other wildlife species from incidental capture and injury, and uphold values and practices that sustain the public’s respect for hunters and hunting,” Tom Puchlerz, MWF president, said in the letter. “That line is clearly being crossed this legislative session through a suite of bills that amount to an all-out fervor against predator species.”

The letter requests vetoes of bills that collectively would allow snaring, night spotlighting, and baiting of wolves. They would also create a bounty for wolves, and allow the take of multiple wolves with one license in an effort to drive their numbers down to a bare minimum number.

Black bear hunting in Montana would change too. One bill, HB 468, would allow the use of hounds to pursue black bears and create a spring chase season.

Grizzly bears, which remain protected as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, would have their management changed under two bills. One would bar Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks’ bear managers from relocating any bear found outside the federal recovery zones. Another bill would allow people to kill any bear perceived as threatening livestock, which runs counter to federal protections.

MWF as the leading wildlife conservation and sporting organization in Montana supports science-based management of wildlife, including fair chase hunting. But these bills ignore decades of state leadership in management that has resulted in reduced livestock depredations, fewer human conflicts with proper prevention efforts, and solid conservation outcomes. That has come as these species have been conserved in the state.

The bills that MWF requested vetoes on are HB 224, HB 225, HB 468, SB 267, SB 314, SB 98 and SB 337.

 

READ THE LETTER HERE: MWF veto request for anti-predator bills

HB 505 and improving elk management to address populations over objective

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Dear Chair Fitzgerald and members of the House FWP committee,

Our organizations represent thousands of Montana hunters. We include statewide organizations and local sporting clubs who all care deeply about our public wildlife, our sporting traditions and our friends and neighbors in the landowner and agricultural community. We’re Montanans who have worked together for decades to solve the difficult issues surrounding public wildlife, access and game damage on the working farms and ranches that are a cornerstone of our state’s economy and lifestyle. 

We extend this letter of commitment to work with you and the Department of Fish, Wildlife and  Parks to find workable solutions to Montana’s over-objective elk populations. While we have serious concerns with the proposals in House Bill 505 – and we ask that this committee take no further action on the bill – we’re confident we can find common ground for ways to address the needs of landowners while ensuring elk are managed as a public resource according to the public trust doctrine. 

We look forward to the Elk Management Plan Initial Guidance Citizens Group report, which is due soon. This process – approved and funded by the Legislature – can provide direction for the solutions and strategies we can deploy during the interim. Building off of that group’s work, we would be open to an interim study to utilize the committee process to identify necessary policy solutions that can enjoy broad support. 

Additionally, there are ongoing discussions aimed at improving the host of programs currently available that incentivize public access, help landowners address problems and ultimately get more elk harvest where needed. Examples include increasing the cap on payments to landowners under the popular Block Management program (especially those in units above elk objectives),  more funding for Habitat Montana to support targeted easements and purchases, and getting more local working groups focusing on elk management in their respective areas. We have also said that the game damage hunt roster could use improvements to be timelier and more effective. 

We need to give those processes and programs a chance to work as they have in many areas of the state.  

While the legislative process can be adversarial in nature, when legislation stalls, it can also serve to highlight the need for collaboration and cooperation to solve problems. We are committed to a public process bringing stakeholders together including hunters, outfitters,  private landowners and the Department to find solutions to our over objective elk populations. 

Please keep HB 505 tabled and let us work with landowners to find common ground to improve elk management in Montana.  

Thank you for your service to the people of Montana.  

Sincerely,  

Montana Wildlife Federation, Tom Puchlerz, President 

Montana Chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers John Sullivan, President

Traditional Bowhunters of Montana, Tim Roberts President 

Bearpaw Bowmen, Nick Siebrasse, Conservation Liaison 

Flathead Wildlife Inc, Jim Vashro, President 

Montana Sportsmen’s Alliance, Jeff Herbert, Conservation Liaison 

Hellgate Hunters and Anglers, Walker Conyngham, President 

Great Falls Archery Club, Jeremy Garness, President 

Helena Hunters and Anglers, Steve Platt, President 

Laurel Rod and Gun Club, JW Westman, Conservation Liaison 

Friends of the Missouri Breaks Monument, Mikayla Moss, Executive Director

Bridger Bowmen, Bill Siebrasse, President 

Montana Artemis Alliance, Rachel Buswell, Co-chair 

Anaconda Sportsmen’s Club, Garrett Ouldhouse, President 

Russell Country Sportsmen Association, Randall Knowles, Conservation Liaison

Concerned Professional Wildlife Biologists and Managers in Montana Speak Up

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To: Members of the Montana Legislature and Governor Gianforte

FROM: CONCERNED PROFESSIONAL WILDLIFE BIOLOGISTS AND MANAGERS IN MONTANA

We are Montana residents and professional wildlife biologists and managers with a total of  1,696 years of experience in wildlife management and wildlife habitat management. Among us  are 18 retired employees of Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks with 534 years with the agency,  and 3 former Commissioners from the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission.  

We stand in opposition to the bills listed below being considered by the Montana Legislature in 2021. We find these bills to be based on misinformation about wildlife, misinformation about the effects of predators on prey species, and a lack of understanding about the complexity of natural environments in Montana. Detailed wildlife policy should be science-based and set by the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission with the input of the public, not by the legislature. These bills will harm the image of hunters and hunting in Montana. For decades Montana has been a leader in science-based wildlife management in the US. These bills are not based on science and are harmful to wildlife and the hunting heritage of Montana.

We strongly oppose the following bills:

HB 224 and HB 225 –Allows neck snaring of wolves and extends the season for wolf trapping – Neck snares set for wolves will result in the capture of many non-target wildlife. The extension of the wolf trapping and snaring season will overlap with the times that grizzly and black bears are out of their dens resulting in bears being caught in wolf snares and traps. Data collected from radio-collared grizzly bears from 2015 through 2020 in Northwest Montana demonstrate that at least 35% of grizzly bears den later than December 1.

SB 267 – Allows paying a bounty to people to kill wolves – Paying people to kill Montana wildlife will harm the image of hunters and hunting in Montana. This is completely unnecessary since each year more than 35% of Montana’s wolf population is killed by wolf hunters and trappers.

SB 337 – Revising laws on relocation of grizzly bears. Will prevent FWP from relocating any
grizzly bears captured outside recovery zones. – This bill is contrary to 40 years of policy and cooperative grizzly management in Montana, it is contrary to the Interagency Grizzly Bear Guidelines, which Montana FWP has been a party to, and it will result in the unnecessary death of many grizzly bears. We are especially appalled that this bill is being promoted by the leadership of MT FWP. This bill will prevent grizzly bears from being delisted in Montana.

HB 468 – Allows hound hunting of black bears and a recreational chase season for hound
hunters. – Hound hunting black bears can result in cub abandonment, chronic stress, heat
exhaustion in warm weather, and abandonment of home ranges. Grizzly bears can be found throughout western Montana and hounds will chase grizzly bears who will fight and kill hounds. This will result in hound hunters shooting grizzly bears to defend their dogs or themselves when chased grizzly bears are encountered. Hound hunting of bears has been banned since 1921 in Montana. Hound hunting of bears is opposed by most hunters and is not considered fair chase hunting by most of the public.

SB 314 – Revises laws related to wolf harvest to allow bait to trap wolves, allows spotlighting of wolves on private lands, allows harvest of an unlimited number of wolves by a license holder. Use of bait near wolf traps will increase the non-target capture of many valuable wildlife species like lynx, wolverine, and fisher, among others. Spotlighting wildlife is contrary to fair-chase hunting and will harm the image of hunters and hunting in Montana. Farmers and ranchers don’t want to get up in the night to find out who is spotlighting and shooting on their property. Unlimited killing of wolves is contrary to sound wildlife management policy and is unnecessary since 35% of the Montana wolf population is killed each year already by wolf hunters and trappers.

SB 306 – Revises the Fish and Wildlife Commission to require 4 of 7 members to be “engaged in agricultural production”. – The Fish and Game commission is the primary policy setting organization for wildlife and fishery management in Montana. The majority of hunters and anglers in Montana are not engaged in agricultural production. This law will mean that the majority of the Commission will be people who are not representative of the hunters and anglers of Montana. This is unnecessary and will be harmful to wildlife and fisheries management in Montana.

As wildlife biologists and wildlife management professionals, we stand opposed to these bills as being harmful to wildlife, harmful to the image of hunters, contrary to science, and wrong for Montana.

Sincerely,

Chris Servheen, Ph.D.
35 years US Fish and Wildlife Service as Grizzly Bear Recovery Coordinator (retired). Missoula, MT.

Richard Mace, Ph.D.
31 years Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks as Research Biologist (grizzly and black bears)
(retired). Primarily responsible for grizzly bear population ecology research in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem. Kalispell, MT.

Harvey Nyberg, M.S.                                                                                                                               26 years Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, last job as Regional Supervisor (retired). Lewistown, MT.

Gayle Joslin, M.S.
32 years Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks as Wildlife Management Biologist and Research
Biologist (retired). Helena, MT.

Keith Aune, M.S.
41 years: 31 years Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks as Wildlife Research Biologist, Laboratory Supervisor, Chief of Wildlife Research (retired); and 10 years as a wildlife biologist at the Wildlife Conservation Society (retired). Bozeman, MT.

Bruce Sterling, M.S.
38 years Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks as Management Biologist (retired). Thompson Falls, MT.

Jim Vashro, M.S.
39 years Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks as a fishery biologist and regional fisheries manager (retired). Kalispell, MT.

Mike Madel, B.S,
40 years: 34 years Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks as Grizzly Bear Management Biologist and Project Leader of Rocky Mountain Front Grizzly Bear Management Program (retired); 6 years UM Border Grizzly Project, US Forest Service, and Fish Wildlife, and Parks as bear habitat and Research Biologist in the Missions and the Cabinet Mountains (retired). Choteau MT.

Diane Boyd, Ph.D.
23 years: 8 years Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks as wolf upland bird biologist (retired), 15 years University of Montana as large carnivore researcher (retired). Kalispell, MT.

Ron Marcoux, M.S.
40 years: 22 years Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks as Biologist and Deputy Director (retired); 18 years with Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation in land conservation and administration (retired). Helena, MT.

Kristi DuBois, M.S.
34 years: 28 years Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks as a wildlife biologist (both game and nongame) (retired); and 6 years US Fish and Wildlife Service as a wildlife biologist (retired). Missoula, MT.

Tim Thier, M.S.
32 years: 27 years Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks as Wildlife Biologist (retired); 5 years US Fish and Wildlife Service as Wildlife Biologist (retired). Trego, MT.

Heidi B. Youmans, M.S.
27 years Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks as Area Management Biologist, Upland Game Bureau Chief, Non-Game Bureau Chief (retired). Helena, MT.

Bob Wiesner, B.S.
37 years Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks as Wildlife Conflict Specialist and Cougar Research Contractor (retired). Missoula, MT.

Wendy Kamm, B.S.
30 years Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks as Game Warden (retired). Fort Benton, MT.

Graham Taylor, M.S.
42 years Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks as Area Wildlife Biologist and Regional Wildlife
Manager (retired). Great Falls, MT.

Jerry Brown, M.S.
37 years Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks as Management Biologist (retired). Libby, MT.

Gary Wolfe, Ph.D.
42 years: 4 years as a Commissioner on the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission, 12 years Vermejo Park Ranch Wildlife Biologist/Manager and big game Hunting Outfitter and Guide; 15 years Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Wildlife Biologist/Field Director, Director of Field Operations, Chief Operating Officer, President & CEO (retired); 11 years Vital Ground Foundation, Wildlife Biologist/Executive Director (retired); 60 years a deer and elk hunter. Missoula, MT.

Dan Vermillion, J.D.
13 years as a Commissioner on the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission. Livingston, MT.

Tim Aldrich, B.S.
4 years as a Commissioner on the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission. Missoula, MT.

Greg Munther, M.S.
32 years US Forest Service as Biologist and District Ranger (retired). Missoula, MT.
Chuck Schwartz, Ph.D. 36 years: 20 years, Alaska Fish and Game as Research Biologist (retired); and 16 years USGS as Leader, Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team (retired). Bozeman, MT.

Sterling Miller, Ph.D.
21 years Alaska Fish and Game as Wildlife Management Biologist (retired). Affiliate Professor, University of Montana. Lolo, MT.

Dan Carney, M.S.
31 years Blackfeet Tribe as Senior Wildlife Biologist (retired). East Glacier, MT.
William H. Geer, M.S. 40 years: 16 years as a fisheries research biologist, chief of fisheries and director of Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (retired); 24 years as a biologist with the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (retired). Lolo, MT.

Douglas H. Chadwick, M.S.
43 years: 3 years wildlife technician with NPS, 40 years independent wildlife biologist
collaborating with various university and agency researchers. Whitefish, MT.

Tom Puchlerz, M.S. 38 years US Forest Service as Wildlife Biologist, District Ranger, and Forest Supervisor (retired). Stevensville, MT.

Kate Kendall, M.S.
36 years National Park Service and US Geological Survey as research ecologist (retired). Columbia Falls, MT.

Gary Moses B.S.
35 years; 28 years National Park Service in Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks as
Supervisory Ranger (retired); Glacier Bear Management Committee Chair; 7 years as Counter Assault Bear Spray Ambassador (retired). Kalispell, MT.

Glenn Elison, M.S.
25 years US Fish and Wildlife Service as Assistant Regional Director for Refuges and Wildlife (retired). Lewistown, MT.

Joe Fontaine B.S.
28 years: 6 years U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Wildlife Biologist,18 years U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as Deputy Wolf Recovery Coordinator (retired), 4 years as Deputy Project Leader National Wildlife Refuge Complex (retired). Helena, MT.

Dave Wesley, Ph.D.
25 years: 20 years Ducks Unlimited as Director of Field Operations (retired); 5 years Mississippi State University as Associate Professor (retired). Missoula, MT.

Mike Getman, M.S.
35 years US Fish and Wildlife Service as Wildlife Biologist (retired). Lewistown, MT.
Glenn Plum, Ph.D. 25 years National Park Service as Wildlife Biologist (retired). Livingston, MT.

Gerald “Skip” Kowalski, M.S.
38 years US Forest Service as Wildlife Biologist (retired). Stevensville, MT.

Mary Maj, M.S.
32 years US Forest Service as District and Regional Wildlife Biologist, Resource Staff Officer, and District Ranger (retired). Bozeman, MT.

Dale Becker, M.S.
39 years: 7 years as a private wildlife consultant; 32 years Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes as Tribal Wildlife Program Manager. Polson, MT.

Edward Bangs, MS.
36 years US Fish and Wildlife Service as Wildlife Biologist on Kenai NWR and Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery Coordinator (retired). Helena, MT.

Jim Claar: M.S.
32 years: 21 years US Forest Service as Wildlife Biologist (retired), and 11 years Bureau of Indian Affairs as Wildlife Program Manager (retired). Missoula, MT.

Jack Stanford, Ph.D.
36 years Flathead Bay Biological Station as Director (retired). Bigfork, MT.
Amanda DelVecchia, Ph.D. 4 years University of Montana and Flathead Lake Biological Station. Bigfork, MT.

Kerry R. Forsman, Ph.D.
37 years University of Montana as Professor of Biology and Wildlife Biology (retired). Missoula MT.

Dan Pletscher, Ph.D.
29 years University of Montana as Professor and Director of the Wildlife Biology Program
(retired). Missoula, MT.

Jay Gore, M.S.
30 years: 10 years US Forest Service as Wildlife Biologist (retired); 13 years US Fish and Wildlife Service as Wildlife Biologist (retired); 7 years Corps of Engineers as Wildlife Biologist (retired). Missoula MT.

Shannon Clairmont, B.S.
18 years Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes as Wildlife Biologist. Ronan, MT.

Mike Phillips, M.S.
35 years: US Fish and Wildlife Service Red Wolf Restoration Leader (retired); National Park Service Grey Wolf Restoration Leader (retired); Turner Endangered Species Fund Executive
Director; Montana State Legislator 2006-2020. Bozeman, MT.

Lewis Young, M.S.
48 years: 31 years US Forest Service as Wildlife Biologist and Wildlife Program Manager (retired); 17 years as consultant with National Park Service, Bureau of Land management, and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (retired). Eureka, MT.

Art Soukkala, M.S.
30 years Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes as a Wildlife Biologist working on Wildlife Conflicts and Restoring Wildlife Populations and Habitat. Charlo, MT.

Whisper Camel-Means, M.S.
24 years Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes as a Wildlife Biologist. Polson, MT.

Harold Picton, Ph.D. 

50 years Montana State University as Professor of Wildlife Management. Bozeman, MT. 

Kari Eneas, M.S. 

12 years Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes as a Wildlife Biologist and grizzly bear  conflict manager. Polson, MT.  

Jeff Lukas – MWF Elk Campaign Manager

Jeff Lukas

Conservation Director

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.