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Speak up for your Madison River

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A angler stands on the bank of the Madison River Anglers and river recreationists need to speak up to lend their voice to the future management of the Madison River. 

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks are conducting a public survey to gauge support for implementing river recreation rules for the Madison River. The survey is in response to three petitions filed recently to push the Commission to begin the rulemaking process. Commissioners rejected all three petitions, which were filed by four sporting organizations, the Fishing Outfitters Association of Montana, and the Madison River Foundation. 

But the Commission did commit to crafting an agency proposal. The scoping and survey are the beginning of that process. 

The issue has arisen because of gross crowding on the river in the summer months. The Madison is receiving more than 200,000 use-days of anglers per year. And much of that is concentrated from June 15 through Sept. 30. 

An angler kneeling in the water releases a fish into the madison river. In addition, outfitter days are not limited. Anglers report intense crowding of fishing access sites and a steady stream of boats that makes wade fishing difficult. 

Officials experienced similar problems on the Big Hole and Beaverhead rivers years ago and implemented some river recreation rules that put some caps on outfitter days and implemented a rest/rotation schedule that included “citizen days” on stretches of those rivers. It’s worked, and the Madison River could be no different. 

Get engaged, and make your voice heard for your Madison River by going to FWP’s survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RDWKFXW

Hunters Must Speak Up on Elk Management

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nicholas koenig OYglwkmZMM unsplash The beginning of the process to set our big game seasons has started, and hunters must be engaged to stand up for the future of our opportunities. 

The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission heard the tentative proposals Dec. 5 at its regular meeting in Helena. The season package included the continuation of nearly all the extended rifle elk “shoulder seasons,” which started in 2015 on a pilot basis and have grown to include 58 districts throughout the state. Commissioners ordered FWP staff to come back with some other options. 

Shoulder seasons are elk rifle seasons in the regulations that can run from Aug. 15 to Feb. 15. They were passed with criteria that include measures to ensure they don’t replace the general season harvest. It was important because FWP, landowners, and hunters learned years ago that late seasons that just move elk from one ranch to another, or from private land to public land, were ineffective at controlling elk herds. 

The seasons require that at a minimum half of the harvest of newly recruited elk is reached during the general rifle season, which runs from late October through November. That is when the greatest amount of hunters are in the field, and when we should ethically be killing elk so we don’t stress them in winter. 

If hunters want to see more elk on public lands, we must hold FWP accountable to the criteria. We need broad harvest across the landscape to effectively manage elk, not only in numbers but where they’re found. 

wenhao ji wLOcX5GMFnU unsplash Hunters need to look at the season proposals in their area and comment on what they’d like to see. See the season proposals by the district,  to send comments to FWP, go to and  fwpwld@mt.gov.

When commenting, hunters can make specific comments on the districts they know best. But they can also talk about the broad principles of sticking to the criteria in the shoulder seasons and working to build hunting opportunities for everyone. 

As hunters, we want to see more of our public elk on public lands, as well as on accessible private lands. We need better elk management that benefits hunters, landowners, and FWP. Make your voice heard now, and speak up for your sporting heritage. 

Finally, go to www.montanaelksurvey.com to help us make our collective voice heard on elk management. 

Stenson’s Win Good Neighbor Award

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HorseCreekInstagram B Kip and Adele Stenson’s commitment to conservation and public access earned the Wibaux ranching family a Montana Good Neighbor Award recently at the state Capitol. 

The Stensons worked for over two years to put a conservation easement on their 15,000-acre ranch. It’s a stunning, wildlife-rich landscape that supports mule deer, antelope and game birds, as well as numerous non-game species of wildlife. And now, with the easement, it’s protected from development and open for public hunting and recreation. 

MWF nominated the Stenson’s for the award last year after a prolonged process to complete the easement. The issue ended up in the state Supreme Court after a dispute over whether Land Board approval is required for conservation easements. Gov. Bullock won the case, and the Stenson’s easement was finally complete. 

But the Stenson’s were not done standing up for the Habitat Montana program. They came to Helena during the Legislative session to oppose a bill that would have undermined the court ruling and required Land Board approval for easements. The Stensons had their money, but they stood on principle and for private property rights. 

And they also are not done contributing to wildlife conservation. The Stensons hosted a youth outdoors event last spring to teach natural history, hunting skills, and other outdoors-related topics. They plan to make it an annual event. 

MWF is thankful to have solid conservation partners like the Stensons. See the press coverage of the Good Neighbor Awards. 

 

Nick Gevock is the conservation director for the Montana Wildlife Federation. 

Oil and Gas Leasing Threatening Already-Stressed Water Resources in Montana

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Montana is lucky to have quality fish and wildlife habitat throughout the state. That’s why it’s known as one of the best hunting and angling destinations in the West. Without sufficient water resources, much of this habitat wouldn’t produce quality fish and wildlife populations that we enjoy today.

A new analysis of the Department of Interior’s oil and gas leasing has shown that the current “Energy Dominance” agenda is putting already stressed water resources at risk, both in terms of water quality and quantity. 

The analysis looked at areas throughout the Western oil producing states that currently suffer from a lack of water availability. Along with suffering during prolonged drought years, Montana is projected to have more frequent droughts and increased water demand in the future. The analysis found that nearly 57% of oil and gas leases since 2017 have been offered in areas identified as “extremely high” water-stress. 

Despite some oil and gas wells requiring millions of gallons of water, the widespread leases offered throughout the west have gone mostly unscrutinized, and outdated policies like non-competitive leasing are offering lands for as cheap as $1.50/acre. For species like the greater sage-grouse, that depend on riparian areas or wet meadows in late summer, continued leasing offered in extremely high water-stressed areas is a threat to their survival. Montana’s already-stressed water resources are too precious to risk for oil and gas development. 

More information on the analysis.

Conservation Organizations Come Together to Protect the Grouse

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Sage-Grouse on the Curlew National Grassland. Caribou-Targhee National Forest. Credit: US Forest Service.

Over the last few years, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt and his political allies have been working to halt on-the-ground efforts to protect habitat for the greater sage-grouse. To that end, the Senate version of the Fiscal Year 2020 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 3052/H.R. 3055/S. 2580) aims to limit conservation actions that protect the sage-grouse.  The House-passed bill includes no provision

Specifically, the language in the Senate-passed 2020 appropriations bill states “None of the funds made available by this or any other Act may be used by the Secretary of the Interior to write or issue pursuant to section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973”. This simple “rider” tucked on page 65 of the bill prohibits the Interior Department from moving forward on listing determination for the species under the Endangered Species Act – thereby kicking the legs out from any efforts to prevent the species from actually becoming endangered.

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Sage-Grouse on the Curlew National Grassland. Caribou-Targhee National Forest. Credit: US Forest Service.

In response to this unnecessary and malicious rider, the Montana Wildlife Federation joined our partner organizations in Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, Colorado, Nevada, and Washington to call on Congress to drop the political games and focus on full implementation of the 2015 sage-grouse conservation plans instead of working to stop further protections for the bird. The 2015 plans were successfully made with cooperation among stakeholders from opposite ends of the table and should be brought back in full force. 

The population of the greater sage-grouse is declining and its habitat – which also supports hundreds of other species – is in rough shape as well. With detrimental impacts from oil and gas development, fire, and climate change we need to do everything we can to help protect the bird and its habitat. MWF and our partners across the West will keep speaking up to do just that.

Take a look at the submitted letter and see what organizations signed on!

Wildlife Federation’s Sage Grouse FY 2020 Approps Letter

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.