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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.

Out of state politicians trying (again) to take over Montana’s national forests

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stalling-wildlife Photo Credit: Dave Stalling

First it was the Utah politicians who wanted to take over Montana’s national forests. Now, it’s the Idaho politicians.

Idaho Representative Raul Labrador’s “Self-Sufficient Community Lands Act” (H.R. 2316) has a clever name, and is couched as using collaborative groups’ work to improve public land management. But in truth, it would hand control over our national forests to an unaccountable local committee and exempt all logging or other natural resource work from bedrock environmental laws. The bill throws out the idea of multiple use and disregards any standards for wildlife, fisheries, clean water, and public access.

Representative Labrador has said that his bill was conceived by a group of county commissioners from Idaho and that its primary purpose is to promote the idea that management of national forests should be handed over to state and local control. Like other proponents of “transferring” our national lands to states, Labrador claims this would improve management and put money in the coffers of local counties, without harming public access for hunting and fishing. It just sounds too good to be true, and that’s because it is.

In fact, the Labrador bill would pave the way for up to 4 million acres of national lands to be designated as “demonstration areas” under the management of a four-person local committee. The politically-appointed committees would have complete control over these formerly public lands. And the lands there would be exempt from all environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act that protects our coldwater streams and rivers, as well as other key laws including the National Forest Management Act and the Endangered Species Act.

Local collaboration is crucial to effective national forest management. As someone who recently started serving on a collaborative group, I can say that H.R. 2316 has nothing to do with local collaboration and everything to do with bulldozing the public off of our lands.

Authentic collaborative groups involve a broad group of stakeholders, ensuring that everyone has a voice. They hold in-depth, public meetings in which everybody is heard. They review issues thoroughly and according to the best science. They have subcommittees that take more in-depth looks at specific areas or issues. They hash out the details of projects.

Only after extensive work does a local group’s recommendation go forward to the public land agency. The public still has all the channels to make its voice heard and give input on projects, which are implemented in full compliance with federal environmental laws.

Forest management projects put together by local collaborative take time, but they’re worth it. They’ve had the input of conservationists, ranchers, loggers and local government officials, and they’re more likely to stand up to challenges because that’s been considered in the process. And we have plenty of examples from all over Montana of how local collaboration can improve forest management.

Unfortunately, Representative Labrador’s bill would reject authentic local collaboration and effective national forest management in order to push an ideological agenda to transfer national forests to state and local control. Our public lands are too important for political experiments.

Nick Gevock is the Montana Wildlife Federation’s conservation director.

Public Land Debate: State Takeover Remains an Unpopular, Unworkable Idea

Fish Reel as Water Heats Up

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Meadow_Creek_Fly_Fishing_(9191405295) Photo Credit: Forest Service Northern Region

It’s happening already. Hoot owl closures have been put on the Big Hole, Madison, Gallatin, Beaverhead, and the Ruby and this year they’re earlier than ever before. The summer of 2015 was unprecedented when rivers around Missoula began closing in the beginning of July. While closures this summer were anticipated, nobody predicted them occurring so early in the season.

These closures show us yet again the real impact that climate change will have on our rivers and our fisheries. Reduced snowpack, diminished flows in streams and rivers, hotter summers, and more extreme weather events brought on by climate change threaten to radically change Montana’s outdoor traditions and world class fly fishing.

Even as a hotter climate threatens our outdoor heritage, it will also impact our outdoor economy. The Montana Wildlife Federation released a report last year: Climate Impact Report, that conservatively estimates the impact of climate change on Montana’s outdoor economy. According to this analysis, if we continue to do nothing to curb the pollution that causes climate change, Montana will see an average temperature rise of 4-5 degrees F by 2055. For the angling industry this means that there will be a one-third decline in angling days, with an economic loss of $49 million and 1,800 jobs. These grim predictions are already a reality for many fishing guides across the state.

Scott Nicolarsen, owner of Montana Topwater in Missoula, said, “Because of hoot owl restrictions and the poor quality of fishing I had to cancel many trips last summer. My overall number of trips dropped from the 100 day average to only guiding 70 days in 2015. I actually had to call clients and recommend they not come. This means I don’t get paid, flights and hotel reservations get canceled, and meals are not ordered. The 30% decline in revenue is devastating.”

Dan Vermillion, owner of Sweetwater Travel in Livingston, said “The Yellowstone is one of North America’s most treasured fisheries with world-class trout fishing from Yellowstone Park to Park City. With climate change, and its hot, dry summers, we are seeing smallmouth bass all the way up to Livingston, and brown trout and rainbow trout invading the habitat that has long been the last refuge the Yellowstone cutthroat. If we do not address these changes soon, our tourism industry will suffer and, most importantly, future generations of Montanans will not know the beauty of a trout rising for a dry fly. ”

When the first hoot owl closures were implemented, no one thought they would become a regular occurrence. They certainly were not meant to begin in June. Unfortunately, as the effects of climate change become more apparent, Montanans can expect their summer fishing window to get smaller and smaller – and Montana’s outdoor economy can expect to see jobs dry up as fast as the rivers.

To check current restrictions and closures, go to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.

MWF Takes Elite Warriors Fishing

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Some elite warriors were in town, and the Montana Wildlife Federation (MWF) took them fishing.

Veterans of a Marine Corps Force Recon unit held a joint reunion with veterans of a Marine battalion recon unit last week in Missoula. Among them was Butch Waddill of the Bitterroot Valley who, last year, was awarded a long-overdue Silver Star from Sen. Jon Tester for heroic actions in Vietnam. Waddill helped organize the reunion, which includes Marine Recon veterans from all over the nation.

“We wanted to show our appreciation and do something special for these courageous men,” says Dave Stalling, Western Montana Field Representative for the Montana Wildlife Federation. “What better way to do that in June in Montana than to take them fishing?” The group also spent a day rafting on the Blackfoot River.

With help from MWF’s Missoula affiliate Hellgate Hunters and Anglers, and guides and gear from the Kingfisher Fly Shop, the veterans fished a section of the Clark Fork River below Missoula on Sunday, June 19th. Guides Matt “Doc” Davies and Andy Roy did an excellent job helping the veterans get into and land some nice rainbow trout.

On Monday, June 20th, the veterans rafted down the Blackfoot River, thanks to help from rafter Tim Ibey of Ibey Sprinkler, Landscape, and Nursery in Missoula, and Bill Stroud, creater and owner of River Rat Maps and Bear Creek Map Works in Victor,

“We have tremendous respect and admiration for the ‘above-and-beyond’ service and sacrifices of these veterans,” Stalling says. “It was an honor and privilege introducing them to some of Montana’s great rivers.”

PUBLIC ACCESS: DEFENDING A MONTANA TRADITION

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Two anglers walking at sunset.

Montana is consistently rated one of the best places to live in the country, and it’s no secret that easy access to the outdoors is one of the main reasons why. Nowhere else in the world can match the opportunities we have here to hunt, fish, camp and enjoy the great outdoors. Polls consistently show that the ability to get outside and enjoy fresh air, wild country, and clean water is the number one reason people choose to live here.

Montana’s rich outdoor opportunities depend on our national forests, national parks and other public lands. These lands – totaling more than 28 million acres, or about a third of the state – provide ample opportunity for hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, and other recreational activities. It’s no surprise that Montanans visit public lands at a higher rate than almost anybody else in the nation. One poll from 2015 found that 96 percent of Montanans reported visiting public lands in the last year—with more than 43 percent visiting more than twenty times.

Public lands are particularly important for Montana hunters…

Read the full story, and more, in the MWF Summer 2016 Newsletter.

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.