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If there’s one thing that has broad, overwhelming support among Montanans, it’s a love of public lands. For the third legislative session in a row, hundreds of enthusiastic Montanans packed the state Capitol Friday to celebrate our public lands and make it clear to legislators that we will reject any and all proposals that threaten them.

The event was highlighted by a speech from Gov. Bullock. He spoke about the importance of our public lands first and foremost for our quality of life. He talked about how public lands and the outdoor recreation economy they support pump more than $7 billion into our state’s economy, accounting for more than 73,000 jobs. And he talked about how Montanans stepping up to defend our public lands from efforts to transfer or sell them has made a difference in halting bad bills before the Legislature.

The rally drew more than 1,200 people who packed every level of the Capitol. It was put together by a broad coalition of conservation interests and business groups who rely on public lands.

We’re hopeful that the Legislature and Montana’s Congressional delegation hear the message, and not only refrain from pushing bad policies including the transfer of public lands, but also support important conservation measures. Those include renewal of the essential Land and Water Conservation Fund on the federal level, and not attacking the Habitat Montana program on the state level. If the decibels in the courthouse are any indication, the message should have been heard loud and clear.

But the rally wasn’t the only wildlife measure to be heard this week. The House Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee heard two bills on Thursday that affect licensing for landowners who provide public hunting access to their property. The first heard was HB 104, sponsored by Rep. Denley Loge, R-St. Regis. It gives landowners who participate in the popular Block Management hunting access program the required prerequisite hunting licenses to apply for special permits. It’s a simple clean-up bill to show appreciation to landowners who welcome the public.

The second was HB 43, which would expand a program that gives landowners a non-transferrable elk license or permit for at a minimum allowing four public hunters onto their property. This program already exists, but hasn’t been used much, and expanding it to include the license in addition to special permits is being done to try to grow it and gain more public hunting access to private land. The last agreement Montana FWP worked out allowed a total of 49 public hunters for the one landowner permit issued. MWF supported both of these bills.

Expect the bills pertaining to wildlife, public lands, habitat, and public access to start coming quickly in the coming weeks. For more information, view MWF’s bill tracker. For more frequent updates become a member of  MWF’s Legislative Action Team.

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

A proposed conservation easement located near Philipsburg would secure more than 1000 acres of public hunting access if approved by Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The Buxbaum-Boulder Creek Ranch easement, brokered by Five Valleys Land Trust, would protect 1,193 acres and allow hunting access in perpetuity. The ranch supports diverse wildlife habitat including important big game winter range as well as non-game species habitat, native grasslands, forested draws, pocket wetlands, and aspen stands.

The easement will be purchased using funds from the Montana Department of Justice Natural Resource Damage Program (NRDP) and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Upon approval, the access portion of the easement would be transferred to FWP to administer hunting access. The proposed easement is adjacent to USFS lands.

MWF, Hellgate Hunters and Anglers, and Anaconda Sportsmen’s club wrote comments in support of the easement that will improve public hunting access and protect important wildlife habitat from development. Read the Letter of Support.

FWP will be accepting comments until January 18th.

Billings residents who don’t shovel the snow on their sidewalks face an initial penalty of $300, then up to $500 per day thereafter until the sidewalk is cleared.

In Helena, if a resident’s lawn sprinklers shoot water onto the street or sidewalk “to the annoyance of passersby,” they can face a fine of up to $500.

But if someone gates a county road that leads to public land – and keeps the public from enjoying thousands of acres of their land – they face a fine of $10 per day under state law.

It’s ridiculous. In fact, it’s so low that nobody can find any examples in which it’s ever been levied.

The result: there are examples around the state in which people have put a gate across a county road and had exclusive access to vast swaths of National Forest, Bureau of Land Management and other federal and state public lands.

That in effect turns our public lands into private playgrounds. It keeps Montanans from enjoying hunting, angling, hiking, backpacking, wildlife watching, and so many other outdoor activities. It makes the areas of public land that are accessible that much more crowded. And it impedes wildlife management for state biologists, who need to spread out hunters and help spread out the wildlife in a way to get the needed harvest, keep them from zeroing in on private lands and damaging crops and fences, and prevent concentrations of wildlife.

The Montana Wildlife Federation last Legislative session brought a bill to increase the fine for gating a county road to up to $500 per day, with no minimum fine. This session, we plan to bring the bill back.

This bill would increase public access to public land, respects private property rights, and gives county attorneys a powerful tool to resolve gated county roads right away. It’s just good public policy.

The stiffer fine would serve as a strong deterrent to prevent roads from being gated in the first place. It’s similar to the fines for not shoveling snow. The goal isn’t to fine people – it’s to have the sidewalk cleared. The road fine would be the same thing. Montana’s hunters, anglers and outdoor recreationists don’t have an issue with landowners, but rather with lawbreakers, and this bill would go a long way toward improving public access to public land.

It’s long overdue.

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