Guest Profile - Montana Wildlife Federation

Adding to our Public Lands Heritage

August 2, 2021November 17, 2016 by Guest Profile

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Attacks on public land are so common these days that it seems hunters, anglers and other outdoor enthusiasts are constantly on the defensive.

But in fact, Montana hunters keep picking up wins on the public lands front. In fact, we’re adding public lands. And that’s a good thing for wildlife, for hunting opportunity and for wildlife watchers and other recreationists.

This week that can continue. The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission will consider the addition of 640 acres to the Lost River Wildlife Management Area in Hill County, located in the north-central part of the state.

The addition will help with habitat for deer, antelope and numerous other non-game wildlife species. It will add to the area’s hunting opportunity for upland game birds and big game. And it will also have the benefit of increasing access to adjoining public lands.

It’s a win, win, win. Wildlife gains habitat on lands that are specifically for that purpose. Hunters have more state land to pursue game. And hunters gain even more hunting opportunity by gaining access to other public lands.

It’s exactly how the Habitat Montana program is supposed to work. It’s also why it’s so vital that this program that protects habitat and increases access continues.

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

Montana Hunters, Anglers Laud Today’s Progress in Protecting the Badger-Two Medicine

August 2, 2021November 16, 2016 by Guest Profile

TonyBynum - Badger-Two Medicine Photo Credit: Tony Bynum

Montana hunters and anglers are celebrating today’s announcement of the cancellation of additional oil and gas leases in the Badger-Two Medicine Area. U.S. Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell joined U.S. Senator Jon Tester, Blackfeet Nation Chairman Harry Barnes and Devon Energy Corporation President and CEO David Hager to announce that, through a collaborative agreement, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has canceled 15 additional oil and gas leases in the Badger-Two Medicine area of the Lewis and Clark National Forest in northwestern Montana. Devon Energy owns an interest in these federal leases.

The Montana Wildlife Federation (MWF) has been working cooperatively with the Badger Two Medicine Alliance and other partners to help protect the unique array of fish, wildlife, habitat, and related hunting and fishing opportunities in the area.

“We fully support responsible gas and oil development in appropriate places,” says David Chadwick, the Executive Director of MWF, “But this is one place that is too wild, too special, and too important to drill. With a tremendous diversity of wildlife — including elk, bighorns, mule deer, mountain goats and grizzlies – and one of the last strongholds for native westslope cutthroat trout, the Badger-Two Medicine area offers some of the best hunting and fishing in Montana. We plan to keep it that way.”

Bighorn Sheep, Boating Issues Top Fish and Wildlife Commission Agenda

August 2, 2021November 14, 2016 by Guest Profile

Bighorn sheep conservation issues will be front and center this week when the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission holds its monthly meeting in Helena.

The Commission will hear a presentation on management issues surrounding bighorns, which are struggling in the state with disease and other issues. It will also consider a bighorn sheep transplant from the Missouri River Breaks, bighorn Hunting District 482, to the south end of the Beartooth Wildlife Management Area to boost the herd there.

Commissioners will also consider additions to the Lost River and Fleecer Mountain wildlife management areas. In addition, commissioners will discuss prohibiting marmosets and tamarins as exotic species in Montana through rulemaking.

In other issues, commissioners will consider several boating issues that affect waters throughout the state. Among them are petitions for no-wake zones for Wood’s Bay and Cromwell Channel on Flathead Lake, a no-wake zone on the Madison River between Ennis Lake and the Madison Dam, and no-wake zones on Fort Peck Reservoir in the Duck Creek Bay and Bay of Park Grove areas.

The meeting will be held 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 17 at the Montana WILD Center, 2668 Broadwater Ave. in Helena.

Montana, Wyoming Sportsmen Laud Federal Renewable Leasing Rule

August 2, 2021November 10, 2016 by Guest Profile

Hunters, anglers, and other public land users stand to benefit from a new renewable energy leasing rule released by the Department of Interior today. The rule sets up a process for competitive leasing and environmental review for renewable energy projects on public lands. This new rule will help protect our habitat for fish and wildlife and access for hunting and angling while charting a course to a cleaner energy future.

The Bureau of Land Management’s new solar and wind leasing rule will help establish stability and consistency across BLM field offices in permit review, which will provide greater certainty and predictability for energy companies. Consistency and transparency will better provide information to the public, the energy companies, and to investors. It will also establish a leasing process for more efficiently issuing permits, which can speed up permitting time and protect natural resources.

“The BLM’s new rule strikes a balance between energy development and wildlife habitat. I’m glad to see this balance, as a public land hunter. As an American, I’m also glad to see our country work on becoming more energy independent” said Eric Wendt, an avid big game hunter out of Billings, MT.

The Bureau of Land Management’s new solar and wind leasing rule will be essential while considering the needs of fish and wildlife populations and the interests of hunters and anglers when large-scale renewable energy projects are proposed. The leasing rule includes provisions that establish rates and fees to ensure the public get a fair return. Other provisions create designated leasing areas that promote the use of low-conflict development and take a region-wide approach to mitigating the impacts from development.

“The new rule will help us anticipate and avoid harm to fish and wildlife habitat,” said Dave Chadwick, Executive Director of the Montana Wildlife Federation. “This is a smart, balanced approach to developing renewable energy on public lands that avoids conflicts with wildlife and other public land users.”

“This rule will set us up for future solar and wind development that avoids the conflicts we’ve seen in the past over other energy sources,” said Chamois Andersen, Executive Director of the Wyoming Wildlife Federation. “We can build wind and solar projects without harming the West’s prized fish and wildlife habitat and public access.”

Montana Offers Great Wing Shooting

August 2, 2021October 20, 2016 by Guest Profile

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Montana is known as a haven for big game hunters, and for good reason. We boast about our 11 species of big game animals, our five-week general rifle season and six-week archery season for deer and elk, and our incredibly diverse landscapes to pursue these incredible native species.

But Montana is also an incredible place for bird hunters. We also have an incredible array of upland game bird species, both natives like sage, sharp-tailed and mountain grouse, as well as non-native species including ring-necked pheasants and Hungarian partridge. And of course we’re on major flyways for waterfowl, with some incredible wingshooting for ducks and geese.

I recently joined my fellow Montana Wildlife Federation staffer John Bradley on a pheasant hunt in eastern Montana and it confirmed that the Treasure State offers great opportunities for wingshooting. The trip was especially rewarding because we joined a friend who bought a pup six years ago from my English Setter Sapphire.

We hunted several private farms and found excellent pheasant habitat in the cattails along irrigation ditches, in shelter belts and in willows on the banks of rivers. The cover is really thick, and that’s exactly what pheasants like.

This is classic farm country, with grain and soybeans in the fields next to that thick cover. It’s the perfect mix for prime pheasant hunting, and we weren’t disappointed as Sapphire and Gus pointed bird after bird. Plenty of those were hens that we had to let go, and as always that brought the disappointing look from dogs wondering why they had done their job so perfectly only to watch the bird fly away. But we got into plenty of roosters too, enough to shoot our limits a couple days.

Of course all that agricultural habitat is excellent for waterfowl as well. And judging from the amount of sign – as well as a bunch that we kicked up – there is some excellent deer hunting in eastern Montana.

The next time you get out and spend a few days hunting in eastern Montana, be sure to thank landowners for having you out.