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MWF commends the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission for rejecting questionable elk hazing plan

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Elk in Shrub Photo Credit: Matt Patrias

The Montana Wildlife Federation (MWF) commends the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission for rejecting a proposal that would have allowed hazing of elk perceived to have been exposed to brucellosis from other elk.

The proposal was a change to the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks’ annual elk brucellosis management plan, which lays out management actions in areas where brucellosis is prevalent in order to keep elk and cattle separated. Brucellosis, a domestic livestock disease introduced into elk herds, causes elk and livestock to abort their calves.

The new plan would have allowed hazing to keep separate elk herds, a move that hunters find impossible to implement and expensive, with almost no chance of being successful.

“Knowing which elk have not been exposed to brucellosis is a huge challenge in itself, realizing how many elk could be involved and how mobile elk can be,” testified Nick Gevock, MWF conservation director, at the Commission’s meeting. “And where would the funding come from to implement this plan?”

Fish and Wildlife Commissioners agreed that the plan had too many problems. They recognized that both the livestock industry and wildlife advocates share the goal of having wildlife on the landscape, a healthy agriculture industry and keeping the designated zone around Yellowstone National Park where cattle are monitored at its current size. Commissioners urged agricultural interests to reach out to the hunting community to continue working on solutions for this complicated issue.

“This is a complicated issue, but MWF is eager to work with Montana’s ranchers to find a way to protect their industry while also protecting the public’s big game,” said Gevock.

Let’s Honor Our Promises: Protect Sage-Grouse

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Sage Grouse. Photos by Bob Wick, BLM Photo Credit:Bob Wick, BLM

Montana’s sage-grouse season opens Sept. 1 and runs through the month, closing Sept. 30. The fact that there is a hunting season at all is a testament to the conservation work that has been done in Montana. Sage-grouse populations struggle when their habitat is fragmented. Impacts from energy development and the conversion of sagebrush steppe habitat to cropland are bigger threats than any of the bird’s natural predators. However, decades of efforts at monitoring sage grouse and conserving their habitat in Montana has paid off. Last August, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided the bird didn’t warrant listing on the Endangered Species List because of the ongoing conservation work in Montana and throughout their range.

Here in Montana, the sage brush habitat that the bird resides is also the habitat that produces our world class game. Mule deer, elk, antelope, and hundreds of non-game species rely on the same intact habitat. The unparalleled efforts of ranchers, conservation groups, federal land managers and the state working together on habitat conservation is the primary reason why we have kept the greater sage-grouse under state management. The state and federal plans have the ability to adapt to changing circumstances and science, while ensuring the best path forward to achieving abundant populations of the bird and better management of our public lands. The plans for the Bureau of Land Management in the Billings, Hi Line and Miles City regions outline a comprehensive framework to guide future management decisions for all resource values and program areas, while addressing threats to the sage-grouse. The plans focus protections on the areas of highest importance to the species. They are being implemented with input from local working groups and in coordination with the Montana Sage Grouse Oversight Team.

While keeping the bird from being listed under the Endangered Species Act was a huge win for us all, it was only the starting point. Now, all the stakeholders in Montana that kept the bird from being listed a year ago, must follow through with the commitments we made to other western states and our partners in the federal government. We need to live up to our end of the bargain.

Senator Steve Daines and Congressman Ryan Zinke have both criticized the BLM sage-grouse plans and called for funding cuts and delays. Montanans cannot afford to roll back all the work that has been done to protect and enhance the bird and its habitat. Instead of criticizing the BLM plans and setting them up to fail, we need to roll our sleeves and work together with creative ideas. If we succeed, we will be able to protect working farms and ranches and have hunting seasons for this iconic bird for years to come. That’s a win for us all.

John Bradley is Montana Wildlife Federation’s Eastern Field Rep. based in Billings. He can be reached at jbradley@mtwf.org

New Federal Funds for Wildlife Conservation

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Many people have never even heard of two of the most important conservation laws of the 20th century: the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937 and the Dingell-Johnson Sportfish Restoration Act of 1950.

Under these laws, federal excise taxes on guns, ammunition, and fishing gear are dedicated to conserving fish and wildlife and providing access for the public to enjoy the resources. These dollars are kept out of the federal budget, helping ensure that wildlife management avoids the dysfunction that plagues our political system.

Passage of the Pittman-Robertson Act was one of the National Wildlife Federation’s first major accomplishments, and the Montana Wildlife Federation was there from day one.  We also helped pass Dingell-Johnson Act as well.

Just like the hunting license model at the state level, Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson embody a “user-pays” system in which hunters and anglers finance wildlife management. Over the last 75 years, these programs have provided the foundation for the recovery and management of our most treasured game and sportfish species. From white-tailed deer to pronghorn to cutthroat trout – animals that were on the brink of extinction a century ago are now abundant.

While many hunters and anglers know about how their excise tax dollars go into Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson, the programs are not well known to the general public. In addition, because Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson are funded by taxes on hunters and anglers, Americans who don’t hunt and fish aren’t contributing to the program’s work to protect our wildlife heritage.

More than a dozen years ago, some in Congress recognized this problem and created a third program called the “Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Program.” This program was meant to be the “third leg” of the American wildlife conservation funding system, providing a way for all Americans to support wildlife conservation alongside Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson. Unfortunately, unlike the Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson excise taxes, the WCRP was not established with any source of funds.

Earlier this summer, Representatives Don Young (R-Alaska) and Debbie Dingell (D-Michigan) introduced the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act of 2016 (H.R. 5650) to finish the job of funding the Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Program.  This bill would  dedicate $1.3 billion of existing federal revenue from oil and gas development on public lands and waters to the Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Program.  This bold legislation is the direct of a recommendation from a  Blue Ribbon Panel that included leaders from conservation groups, wildlife agencies, businesses, and the oil and gas industry.

If conservationists, wildlife managers, the oil and gas industry, and outdoor businesses can find common ground, our political leaders should be able to take action to adopt their recommendations.  We need to act now to carry the legacy of Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson into the next century and enact dedicated funding to prevent wildlife from becoming endangered.

Take Action: Ask Congress to Pass HR 5650!

Daunting Challenges, Collaborative Solutions

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Bitterroot River Photo Credit: Dave Stalling

One hot, dog-day afternoon last week I loaded up my Labradors and fly rod and headed for the Bitterroot River. As it turned out, I didn’t do much fishing. The smoke was thick from the nearby Roaring Lion Fire near Hamilton (which had already burned 18 homes) and the water was more warm and shallow, with more algae clinging to rocks, than I ever recall from the past; no need to add further stress to trout that are, no doubt, doing all they can to conserve energy and make it through another Montana summer – summers that seem to be growing longer, hotter and dryer. When in a river, do as the fish do, I thought, and so I found a deep cool hole in the shade of some cottonwoods and soaked until a cool evening breeze arrived.

Like all long-time Montanans I recall many hot, dry summers and big fire years. It’s part of the place we love. But there’s no doubt such summers are growing more frequent. Higher overall temperatures, less snow pack, earlier snow melt, less water in our rivers. When river levels drop shallow waters grow warmer and have lower oxygen levels. Warm waters are also ideal for algae growth, which saps even more oxygen from rivers. Trout need cool water and oxygen.

Scientific consensus is conclusive; the verdict is in: Our climate is changing.

But climate change is only part of the story, exasperating other issues. More people are building homes in fire-prone, fire-adapted forests where natural, historical fire-regimes have been altered by past management and fire suppression. The low-elevation ponderosa pine forests of the Bitterroot Valley, for example, evolved with and depended on frequent, low-intensity fires that thinned out the Doug-fir and grand fir understories, recycled nutrients and maintained healthy savannas with plenty of grasses and forbs for elk, deer and other wildlife. High-grading of big fire-resistant pines; overgrazing of grasses that fueled small fires, and years of quickly extinguishing all fires eventually allowed for the growth of unnaturally thick fir-forests. With intense competition for limited water and nutrients, these weakened forests became more susceptible to insect and disease. Warmer winters have also allowed for higher reproduction and growth of mountain pine beetle populations.

Dead and dying forests combined with hotter, drier summers makes for the perfect storm, of sorts, for large, frequent, intense and damaging wildfires.

Daunting challenges for sure, but far from hopeless. Working together, we must push for policies that reduce C02 and other greenhouse gasses; create cleaner, more efficient ways of extracting and using energy, and develop alternative sources of energy. We must also support efforts to restore healthy forests, and protect, restore, enhance and reconnect critical habitat that will ensure wildlife have plenty of room to adapt to changes.

The key is working together. Collaboration. Compromise. We need to unite diverse interests, set aside our differences and fight together to protect what we all love and cherish – Montana’s wildlife and wildlife places and the hunting, fishing and other opportunities they provide.

Dave Stalling is Montana Wildlife Federation’s Western Field Rep. based in Missoula and can be reached at dstalling@mtwf.org

MONTANA FAMILIES THRIVE ON PUBLIC LANDS

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brett_french_mother_son_fishingPhoto Credit: Brett French

Summer is upon us…and every mom in Montana knows what that means. Our local playgrounds, swimming pools, trails and rivers become classrooms for our wee ones for the next three months. The longest days of the year are spent catching frogs, roasting marshmallows on camping trips, and dodging elementary-aged neighborhood biker gangs pedaling off to their next adventure.
Moms across Montana wouldn’t have it any other way.

I beam with pride at the end of the day looking at my three little ladies from across the dinner table: knees scraped, hair a tangle of knots and pine needles, and faces flushed from a day of playing under the big sky…instead of having spent the day indoors glued to an iPad screen. Their memories will be peppered with urban adventures right out our backdoor, thanks to public lands and rivers.

The Montana Mountain Mamas spoke out early and often in support of programs such as the Land and Water Conservation Fund, because we rely on public lands every day to raise our kids. Even if we aren’t on a backpacking trip in the Bob Marshall, riding the Going-to-the-Sun Road in the springtime on bikes, or running the rapids on the Gallatin River – our public spaces positively affect our kids every single day. And as parents, we’ll protect their right to access public spaces that enable them to scrape knees and get muddy.

LWCF supports vital local urban spaces like community parks, trails, playgrounds, swimming pools, fishing access sites and soccer fields. Our public lands are so much more diverse than national parks and big game hunting grounds on forest service land. Our public lands are all around us, every day.

Programs such as LWCF are a win-win for all Montanans. LWCF is not a tax that we see; instead the funding is derived from offshore oil and gas exploration. It tackles big-picture conservation issues such as checker boarded public lands that effect wildlife migration, but also closer-to-home solutions such as funding for a local lacrosse field and urban connecter trails so that kids can take a trail from their homes all of the way to their school.

For most Montana parents, our public lands are where we raise our children. We depend on fishing access sites to float and fish our blue ribbon trout streams, we hold birthday parties in our neighborhood parks, and we make home purchases based upon proximity to playgrounds.

Kids who grow up in Montana get the best of both worlds. They understand the need for big country for big game, and often spend every autumn weekend hunting on our public lands with family and friends. However they also enjoy the local, close-to-home benefits public lands offer…like that evening casting session for trout in urban waterways across Montana.

The Montana Mountain Mamas are dedicated to raising our kids with plenty of fresh air, clean water, and access to it all. We are proud to speak out on behalf of our kids and our public lands. Visit www.montanamountainmamas.org to sign up for our newsletter, check out our latest gear review, or read our most recent blog post from gals across Montana.

Becky Edwards lives in Bozeman with her husband and three daughters, and is the Director of the Montana Mountain Mamas.

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.