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MWF, anglers push for new fishing access site on the Bitterroot River in Stevensville

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Alec Underwood gives testimony at Stevensville town council.
Alec Underwood gives testimony at Stevensville town council.

It’s been nearly a month since the landowner of one of the most popular fishing access sites on the Bitterroot River locked out the general public from launching their boats there. This unfortunate situation was a result of an ongoing failed land swap negotiation in which the town would have to trade up to eight and a half acres of its park land to secure the access site. While some in the fishing community were ready to take the deal, many Stevensville locals spoke out against what they saw as an unfair trade.

Despite the land swap debate putting the fishing community and park-goers in a tough spot, a push by Stevensville Mayor Jim Crews to find a temporary access site on the town’s property became a new hope for restoring access.

MWF was quick to respond and after meeting with Crews at the proposed new site, Western Field Representative Alec Underwood garnered widespread support from Montana’s fly fishing community to find a new access site. Within three days, over 70 anglers, guides, outfitters, and business owners from around the state had signed on to a letter in support for finding a timely resolution.

Underwood submitted the letter to the town council during a meeting on Monday night where the council would decide whether or not to move forward with trying to develop an access site. Along with reading the letter aloud, Underwood emphasized the importance of finding a solution sooner than later.

“Many people in the fishing community understand that looking toward a different solution is not only the right thing to do, it will solve the issue more quickly than revisiting land swap negotiations. Now is the time to act on these alternatives that will work for all citizens,” Underwood said.

Several members of the public referenced the importance of the site as an economic driver for the town of Stevensville while speaking out against revisiting a land swap deal and in favor of moving toward other solutions. With the strong testimony, a motion by a town council member to put the land swap to a town vote in November died. In contrast, the decision to allow Crews to open a temporary access site on the town’s property was unanimously approved.

Pending the permit approval for site construction, Crews says that he may be able to have the access site constructed within two to three days and with little manipulation. While this will temporarily solve the access issue, FWP will also be assessing the viability of a permanent site on the west side of the river. MWF sees this decision as a step in the right direction for the town of Stevensville and for all those who fish the Bitterroot River.

The decision by the town would not have been possible without the support from the fly fishing community. We thank the many anglers, outfitters, guides, and shop owners who signed on in support of solving this issue and restoring access to the Bitterroot River in Stevensville.

Alec Underwood is Montana Wildlife Federation’s Western Field Representative. You can reach him at alec@mtwf.org

Make It Count for the Missouri Breaks

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Upper Missouri Breaks NM - CC License - Bob Wick
Upper Missouri Breaks NM – CC License – Bob Wick

With some of the best public land wildlife habitat in Montana, the Missouri Breaks is an essential part of our hunting heritage.

For the last 17 years, the Upper Missouri Breaks National Monument has protected this land for future generations to hunt, float, and camp, while also preserving working ranches and other public land uses.

Unfortunately, the Interior Department has decided to reopen the books and investigate the Breaks, along with other national monuments around the country, with an eye toward reducing the size of the monument and rolling back its protection.

Two years of local effort went into protecting the Breaks, but they want to undo it with barely two months of public input.

Visit the link below to leave your comments on the national monument review. And do these three things to make sure your comments get the formal record:

1. Make it personal. The federal beancounters will do everything they can to ignore comments that they think are mass-produced. Make your comments specifically about the Missouri Breaks and why you value this land, so they know you are a real person who cares about a real place.

2. Provide specific examples of how reducing the size of the monument or limiting public access will impact your use of your public lands. The more specific you can be, the better.

3. Say why you are qualified to comment. This doesn’t have to mean that you have a professional or academic credential – it is just as important to have personal experience hunting, floating, or camping in the Breaks. Just make sure you specifically say that, so they know your voice matters.

Comment on the Breaks

MWF Calls for Answers, Access in Crazy Mountains

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Loco Mountain in Crazy Mountains Montana. Photo by Mike Cline.
Loco Mountain in Crazy Mountains Montana. Photo by Mike Cline.

The Montana Wildlife Federation recently sent letters to U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell as well as Senator Jon Tester, Senator Steve Daines, and Congressman Greg Gianforte, asking for clarification of facts surrounding the reassignment of a district ranger working to improve public trail access to public land in the Crazy Mountains.

Large swaths of public land in the Crazy Mountains are inaccessible to the public.  Yellowstone District Ranger Alex Siekienwicz has been working for years with landowners, hunters, and other stakeholders to defend and improve public access.  The Forest Service recently removed Sienkiewicz from his position and started an investigation into his activities. MWF is seeking more information on how long  Sienkiewicz will be kept out of his position, how the public will be kept informed of the investigation, and how the Forest Service intends to continue defending public access to public land on public roads and trails.

The reassignment of Mr. Siekienwicz is particularly troubling in light of deep cuts proposed for the US Forest Service’s budget.  The Trump Administration’s proposed budget for 2018 cuts $1 billion from the Forest Service’s budget and proposes to eliminate 1,800 positions.  Managing public access will be even more difficult if the agency is understaffed and underfunded.

See the letters here:

MWF Tidwell letter Crazy Mountains public access

MWF Congressional Delegation letter on Crazy Mountains public access

Majority of Montanans Oppose Changes to the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument

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Two people look out over the Upper Missouri Breaks NM. - CC License - Bob Wick
Two people look out over the Upper Missouri Breaks NM. – CC License – Bob Wick

A survey of Montanans released today by the Montana Wildlife Federation showed strong support for protecting the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument and clear opposition to any attempts to reduce its size or change its management.

Last month, the Interior Department initiated a review of national monuments designated over the last 20 years to determine if monuments designated by previous presidents should be eliminated, reduced, or altered. The review includes the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument in central Montana.

  • When asked about the Administration’s national monuments review, 59% of poll respondents said that they oppose eliminating the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument or reducing its size, with only 28% supporting such changes.
  • Fully 49% of respondents strongly opposed reductions in the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument.
  • Speaking about national monuments in general, 58% of respondents said that we should leave national monuments the way they are, with an additional 16% calling for more land to be protected through the designation rather than less.

“The Missouri Breaks include some of the richest wildlife habitat in the entire Great Plains, supporting trophy elk, deer, bighorn sheep and countless other species. This landscape has supported Montana’s hunting heritage for generations and created jobs in local communities,” said Dave Chadwick, Executive Director of the Montana Wildlife Federation.

“This survey confirms how much Montanans want to keep the Missouri Breaks the way it is now, so that future generations can continue to experience this important part of Montana’s natural history and cultural heritage,” he continued.

The Upper Missouri Breaks National Monument was designated in 2001 after two years of discussion by local communities, conservation advocates, ranchers, and other stakeholders. The monument protects 377,000 acres of public land under a management plan developed by Montanans to protect the Breaks’ natural resources, ensure public access, and maintain grazing and other traditional land uses.

“If the Department of Interior concludes its review and recommends reducing the size of the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument or eliminating it entirely, the federal government will be at odds with a majority of Montanans,” said Andrew Maxfield, the researcher who conducted the survey.

The poll follows the release of an analysis earlier this month by Headwaters Economics which showed that communities near national monuments experienced population growth and economic expansion after the designation.

“Hard data on key economic indicators show that the communities around the Missouri Breaks saw continued economic growth after the designation of the national monument,” said Chris Mehl, with Headwaters Economics. “This confirms what we’ve seen across the West: that national monuments are consistent with economic growth in adjacent local communities.”

The poll was conducted by Maxfield Strategic Communications Research, a national public opinion research firm. The results are based upon 702 random telephone interviews among likely 2018 voters in Montana. Sample was obtained from a list of active voters in Montana. Interviews were conducted by live interviewers reaching land lines and cell phones from May 21-25, 2017. This random sample of 702 has a worst-case 95% confidence interval of ±3.7% about any one reported percentage.

Share your voice, and speak up for the Missouri Breaks!

Results from a Survey on the Breaks National Monument_MSCR_MT_May 2017
Headwaters Economics Missouri Breaks NM Summary

Western Governor’s agree, Sage Grouse shouldn’t be managed based on population number

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Sage Grouse. Photos by Bob Wick, BLM
Photos by Bob Wick, BLM. Sage Grouse.

INCYMI: Last week, Interior Secretary Zinke ordered a review of the greater sage grouse conservation plans. The 60-day review by the Interior Department team could upend plans that are based on science, conditions in individual Western states, and the overall threats to sage grouse, including the loss and degradation of its habitat.

Zinke is considering directing the Department to change its approach to sage grouse, moving from a habitat management model to one that sets population objectives for the states. Western Governors believe this is a mistake. In a letter sent to the Secretary, Governor Mead (R, Wyoming) and Governor Hickenlooper (D, Colorado) said that population management ignores the scientific view that habitat is critical to the sage grouse’s long term survival.

Western Governors are also concerned that the order by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to review and perhaps significantly alter the greater sage-grouse conservation plans would risk and derail the years-long effort to save the bird and a landscape that supports 350 other species. The secretarial order could create more delay and impede what Montana and other western states want – growing, healthy sage-grouse populations and the conservation of an iconic landscape. Stepping back and re-debating will only delay and undermine the restoration of the sage brush steppe landscape and sage grouse. The Secretary should listen to the original stakeholders who spent years debating, finding compromises and working to create a plan that was good for sage grouse and our western way of life. Any review or changes to the plan should be made with the original goal in mind – avoiding further declines in the sage grouse populations to the point where drastic measures like an Endangered Species Listing will be required to save it.

John Bradley is the MWF Eastern Field Representative. Contact him at jbradley@mtwf.org

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.