News - Montana Wildlife Federation

Wildlife Federations Urge Congress to Nix Controversial Public Lands Bills

July 8, 2021June 20, 2018 by Guest Profile

Big Hole Moose Montana Rep. Greg Gianforte is sponsoring H.R. 5148 and H.R. 5149, which together would release more than 800,000 acres from Wilderness Study Area protection. The lands are managed to protect their wilderness characteristics until it’s decided to whether to approve an official designation. Stone-Manning, the National Wildlife Federation’s associate vice president for public lands, will testify in a House Natural Resources subcommittee hearing on the bills this Thursday.

Stone-Manning said: “In Montana, our love for our public lands brings people of all stripes together to find solutions to the thorny issues, but in this case, Rep. Gianforte has short-circuited the process and cut out the public. These bills strip protections from public lands that contain exceptional wildlife habitat and clean water that supplies water for both our communities and world-class trout streams. The lands support hunting, fishing, and recreation that contribute to the state’s $7 billion outdoor recreation economy. Congress should step back until a community-driven solution can be put forward, based on the values Montanans share and what makes sense on the ground.” Here is Stone-Manning’s written testimony.

Dave Chadwick, executive director of the Montana Wildlife Federation, added “All over Montana, people are rolling up their sleeves and working together to develop local plans to designate some areas as wilderness while setting aside other lands for other uses. Rep. Gianforte’s bills are not resolving the question of what to do about wilderness study areas, they are blowing up the local conversations underway to resolve that question.”

A poll by the Montana Wildlife Federation earlier this year found that 75% of Montanans are more likely to support forest management plans developed through local collaboration by conservationists, snowmobilers, loggers, hunters, landowners, local businesses, and other stakeholders.

The House Subcommittee on Federal Lands hearing starts at 10 a.m. ET, 1324 Longworth House Office Building.

MWF Applauds Strong Senate Farm Bill

July 8, 2021June 14, 2018 by Guest Profile

Yesterday the Senate Agriculture Committee passed its 2018 Farm Bill out of committee with strong conservation provisions. The bipartisan bill maintains overall conservation funding on private lands and strengthens conservation compliance that will help protect soil, water, and wildlife. The bill also fully funds the Voluntary Public Access program that helps to enhance public hunting and fishing access on private lands.

Currently, provisions in the House Farm Bill do not match the Senate version. MWF and our conservation partners will continue to work with Congress to build a bipartisan conservation title that pulls the best features from the House and Senate bills into a Farm Bill that that will help protect soil, water, and wildlife on private lands for years to come.

Read MWF’s letter to Senator Daines regarding the June 2018 Farm Bill Markup

Why is Congress Hijacking a National Defense Bill to Attack Sage-Grouse Conservation?

August 2, 2021May 24, 2018 by Guest Profile

Some in Congress are once again playing political games with the National Defense Authorization Act, the annual bill that lays out the nation’s defense spending priorities.

They are trying to include a “rider” in the bill that would block the Interior Department from making an Endangered Species Act determination on the greater sage-grouse for ten years. This would undermine cooperative federal and state agreements and tie the hands of people working on the ground to protect sage-grouse habitat. It would threaten implementation of sage-grouse conservation plans developed by states and the federal government in 2015 after years of extensive local collaboration with conservationists, ranchers, the energy industry, and other stakeholders.

In response to this effort to hijack the national defense bill, the Montana Wildlife Federation joined our colleagues from eight other Western states in a letter to Congress to remove this rider, noting that the Defense Department has clearly stated that the 2015 sage-grouse conservation plans would not impact military training, operations, or readiness and the provision is not needed.

The anti-sage-grouse rider is unrelated to military readiness and unnecessarily complicates both sage-grouse conservation and our national defense. Congress should move the national defense bill forward without the sage-grouse rider. This will ensure our national defense while allowing conservation to move forward. Guaranteeing functional sage-grouse habitat across the West, a strong outdoor economy, and provide stability to industry and local ranching communities.

John Bradley, MWF, Eastern Montana Field Representative

Mandatory Kill Regulation Approved for Brown Trout on the Kootenai River

August 2, 2021May 15, 2018 by Guest Profile

A brown trout caught by an angler on the Kootenai River in February is the likely result of an illegal fish introduction, according to FWP officials. During the Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting on April 19th, the Commission moved to approve a proposal that would require anglers to immediately kill and report any brown trout landed in the section from Kootenai Falls to Libby Dam.

If a brown trout population was able to become established in the section, there would likely be negative impacts to the Kootenai’s world-class rainbow trout fishery and to threatened bull trout populations. In many cases, non-native species are known to out-compete native species for space and resources.

MWF Conservation Director Nick Gevock testified at the Commission meeting in favor of the proposed regulation change.

“We are doing this because this is the right thing to do” Gevock Said. “We don’t want to establish an incentive for people to do unauthorized introductions.”

FWP will now look to determine where the brown trout may have come from and whether a population is currently being established.

Montanans Value Conservation

August 2, 2021May 7, 2018 by Guest Profile

Today, the University of Montana released their 2018 Crown of the Continent poll. Commissioned by the University’s Crown of the Continent and Greater Yellowstone Initiative, the annual poll asks Montanans a variety of questions about public land and conservation. The 2018 results demonstrate once again that Montanans from all walks of life remain strong in their support for public lands and our outdoor heritage. The poll shows that hunters and anglers are especially supportive of conservation.

80 percent of Montana hunters say they have hunted on public lands in the last five years, and 93 percent of Montana anglers have fished public lands.

87 percent of Montanans cite public lands as positively impacting hunting and fishing opportunities in the state, with 85 percent noting the importance of these lands for wildlife habitat.

Considering several specific issues, the poll found:

76 percent of Montanans support setting aside some existing federal fund for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which protects public lands and public access. Senator Jon Tester, Senator Steve Daines, and Congressman Greg Gianforte have all supported such funding.

Only 11 percent of Montanans support eliminating protection for wilderness study areas, as proposed in legislation by Senator Steve Daines and Congressman Greg Gianforte.

73 percent of Montanans support the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act introduced by Senator Jon Tester to protect public lands and increase recreational access in the Seeley Lake area.

Responding to the poll, Dave Chadwick, executive director of the Montana Wildlife Federation, said “This survey affirms once more how much Montanans value conservation, and that support just keeps growing. The survey also spotlights how conservation sentiment is just blowing up around several specific proposals that would affect Montana’s public lands. We hope that our decision-makers in Washington will heed the wishes of Montanans as they work on public land issues.”

Jeff Lukas

Conservation Director