New Membership Renewal Membership Youth Membership

News

KEEPING THE BADGER-TWO MEDICINE WILD

by

TonyBynum - Badger-Two Medicine Photo Credit: Tony Bynum

I first ventured into the Badger-Two Medicine area when I was a troubled, struggling young man fresh out of the Marine Corps in 1986. It was there where I encountered my first wild grizzly, caught my first wild cutthroat, and killed my first wild mule deer. Good, wild medicine, indeed!

Last week, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced the cancellation of oil and gas leases held by a company named Solenex within the Badger-Two Medicine, helping ensure the place remains forever wild. It’s a sweet victory in a long, ongoing battle that is not yet over. As Jamie Williams of The Wilderness Society puts it: “It is a turning point in the decades-long fight to protect the Badger-Two Medicine area of Montana. The Interior Department recognizes that the Badger is simply too sacred and too wild to drill. The cultural heart of the Blackfeet Nation deserves protection and respect.”

Ten years ago while serving as president of the Montana Wildlife Federation and working for Trout Unlimited I assisted a coalition of local hunters, anglers, ranchers, outfitters, businessmen and tribal leaders in a successful effort to protect a significant chunk of the Rocky Mountain front from gas and oil development, fairly close to the Badger-Two Medicine area. Working as a professional conservationist I had to be cautious about using emotional arguments, about calling a place “sacred,” but instead focused on the importance of hunting, fishing, clean water and wildlife to the economy. Being sacred is no longer enough to save a place; It has to be one form of human commodity or another. But when a local man from Choteau named Stoney Burke was accused of being “emotional” about places like the Badger-Two Medicine Area he pounded his fist on a table and shouted, “You’re goddamn right I’m emotional – if you can’t be emotional about a place like this then what the hell can you be emotional about?” He compared putting roads and gas wells along the Front to permanently scarring his daughter’s face. When someone mentioned that Forest Service lands are managed for multiple use, and so gas and oil development should be allowed, Stoney said, “Multiple use doesn’t mean you take a crap in your kitchen.”

Elk, bighorns, badgers, wolverines, lynx, mountain lions, wolves and an abundance and diversity of other wildlife thrive on this land. Clear, clean rivers sustain some of the last remaining healthy populations of Westslope cutthroat trout. Grizzlies still wander out onto the plains like they did when Lewis and Clark came through. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared it the “top one percent” of wildlife habitat remaining in the Continental U.S. It’s long been sacred ground to the Blackfeet Nation. Much of it has been permanently protected from gas and oil development.

Unfortunately, the 130,000-acre Badger-Two Medicine area – which borders Glacier National Park, The Bob Marshall Wilderness and the Blackfeet Nation – remains threatened. In 1981, the Department of the Interior began issuing oil and gas leases in the Badger-Two Medicine without full environmental review and consulting the Blackfeet people, violating laws that require they do so. Since then, some of the leases have been relinquished voluntarily by energy interests. However, a handful of companies have declined offers to buy-out or swap their leases for holdings in less sensitive areas. One of those companies, Solenex, filed suit in 2013, demanding access to their highly-contested lease area, precipitating the need to rid Badger-Two Medicine of leases once and for all. The recent cancellation of the Solenex lease is a promising step in that direction.

The Glacier-Two Medicine Alliance, made up of a diversity of local hunters, anglers, businessmen and other citizens, has been helping the Blackfeet Nation fight this battle since 1984, along with the Montana Wilderness Association, The Wilderness Society and several hunting and fishing conservation organizations. As the newly-hired western Montana field representative for the Montana Wildlife Federation, I look forward to re-engaging in this important effort to protect this unique and wild place.

While working along the Front a decade ago, I became acquainted with Chief Earl Old Person, Chief of the Blackfeet Nation. One time, while eating breakfast together at the Two Medicine Cafe in East Glacier, I shared with the Chief some personal struggles. He suggested a few remedies; one of them was the Badger-Two Medicine Area. “Go there,” he said. “You’ll feel better.”

I did. And I’ve gone back time and time again – backpacking, hunting, fishing and freely roaming the wilds. We need to ensure that people will always have that opportunity. By working together, we can all help achieve the vision of the Glacier-Two Medicine Alliance: “A child of future generations will recognize and can experience the same cultural and ecological richness that we find in the wild lands of the Badger-Two Medicine today.”

Dave Stalling is Montana Wildlife Federation’s Western Field Representative. He can be reached at dstalling@mtwf.org

WHAT’S NEXT FOR OTTER CREEK:

by

BONOGOFSKY-7107-140701web Photo Credit: Alexis Bonogofsky

Arch Coal’s announcement last week in regards to suspending its efforts to secure a permit for a mine at Otter Creek is a huge win for the coalition of ranchers, sportsmen, conservationists, tribes and local community members who have fought this project for decades.

While the collaboration between all of these different groups played an important role in defeating this project, what played an even more important role was market forces. As natural gas and new sources of renewable energy become more readily available, the coal markets have declined dramatically. Even though Arch Coal, Inc. still holds the leases and they could change their mind to pursue the project or sell the leases to another company, the longer the coal stays in the ground, the less likely the mining project will happen. The market is driving Montana and the rest of the country away from coal. And while mines that are up to standard will still be mining coal for up to 30 years, new mining sites will not be developed.

Our new job as sportsmen, conservationists and Montanans is to hold the coal companies accountable for the reclamation process of mines that are already developed. Currently, only 10% of the land in the state of Montana that has been mined has been fully reclaimed. Reclamation is critical to restoring the habitat that was lost during the mining process and making sure our water ways are kept clean and pristine. Reclamation will also provide good blue collar jobs for Montanans. It is our duty to hold the mining companies responsible, otherwise they will back out of their obligation to the land and we will be left holding the bill.

John Bradley is the Eastern Field Rep. for Montana Wildlife Federation. You can reach him at jbradley@mtwf.org

Habitat Montana helps traditional farms & ranches as well as hunters & anglers

by

Fall Sun
Montana’s incredibly popular Habitat Montana program is a favorite target of state lawmakers because it allows the state to purchase land for wildlife through a fund that hunters pay into.

What’s often left out of the conversation is the contribution that Habitat Montana makes to traditional farm and ranch operations. That’s because Habitat Montana primarily funds conservation easements that protect working agricultural lands – which tremendously benefit wildlife – and can help farmers and ranchers add to their operations and stay on the land.

This month that was well illustrated through four major conservation easements that came before the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission. The proposals total 33,800 acres on four ranches located in central and eastern Montana. These stunning landscapes include key habitat for mule deer, antelope, elk and numerous other game and non-game species.

Among those are sage grouse, a native prairie grouse that was nearly listed as endangered last year. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service opted not to list the bird, thanks to extensive state and federal conservation plans aimed at protecting and restoring crucial sage grouse habitat in sagebrush-steppe environments. One of the projects proposed this month – the Machler Property in Fergus County north of Roy – includes nine sage grouse leks. The easement would protect 2,700 acres of the ranch that is located in core sage grouse habitat.

There’s another key element to these easements. They include a public access component to the properties that allows public hunting. And they also have the potential to improve public access to adjoining public lands, which would create more public hunting opportunity.

Another easement, the Rumney Foothills located near Cascade, would allow the rancher to expand the operation by purchasing more property. The area is comprised of foothill grasslands that provide important winter range for elk and mule deer, as well as riparian and shrub habitats where white-tailed deer thrive. In total the easement would protect 7,512 acres in two areas.

Montana lawmakers who don’t like Habitat Montana sometimes use language that FWP is trying to buy up the whole state. They state that FWP owns too much land, referring to our system of state Wildlife Management Areas that are strategically located in key wildlife corridors or on winter range. And last session, the Legislature through the budget process limited the ability of Habitat Montana to be used for new purchases, with the exception of those that were already in negotiations. Several lawmakers have called on the program to be ended entirely.

That would be bad for Montana’s hunters, anglers and wildlife watchers. It would be bad for the numerous businesses that thrive because of our abundant wildlife and the public lands that support it.

And as these projects demonstrate, it would be bad for our agriculture industry as well.

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

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

by

BONOGOFSKY-1726-141213web

Arch Coal, Inc. announced last week that it is suspending efforts to secure a permit for the Otter Creek Coal mine in Southeastern Montana citing restraints related to its recent bankruptcy filing and the declining demand for coal.

The announcement comes after years of opposition from a coalition who would have been the most affected by the project. Hunters and anglers, ranchers and local communities, tribes and conservationists have consistently pointed out the threats to habitat, wildlife, and the local ranching and recreation economies that are the core of the region.

The proposed coal mine would have jeopardize some of the best wildlife habitat in the state and decreased public access and opportunity for sportsmen. This is a region rich in wildlife. Mule deer, white-tail deer, pronghorn antelope, elk, black bear, and hundreds of bird species rely on this intact habitat. Arch’s announcement is an incredible victory for the local ranchers and community members who call this place home, and for sportsmen who utilize this pristine land to chase game each fall.

Habitat Montana project will protect habitat, improve access, and enhance management

by

fallscape

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) has proposed the purchase of about 9500 acres of Montana Department of Natural Resources Conservation (DNRC) inholdings in the Sun River, Beartooth, and Blackleaf Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs). The acquisition would be funded by the Habitat Montana program.

While this sounds like just a bureaucratic exchange of land between two government agencies, it will protect wildlife habitat, improve public access and enhances management efficiency. The project represents yet another example of how Habitat Montana is good for wildlife, good for hunters, and good for all Montanans.

DNRC Trust lands are an important part of many wildlife management areas, and they comprise 17 percent, 17 percent, and 6 percent of the Sun River, Beartooth, and Blackleaf WMAs respectively.

However, DNRC inholdings can challenge long-term management. DNRC is required to maximize revenue from their lands, which means FWP is required to pay lease fees for their use – and DNRC is always under pressure to increase fees in the future. There is also the risk that other bidders could come in with uses of inholding lands that might be inconsistent with habitat values and public hunting opportunities.

These three WMAs are tremendously important for wildlife and Montana’s outdoor heritage. The Sun River Game Preserve was created through bipartisan action of the Montana Legislature in 1913. The Sun River WMA, purchased in 1947, was one of the first WMAs in Montana. The Rocky Mountain Heritage Act, adopted through bipartisan action of Congress in December 2014 culminated years of effort by local landowners and hunters to secure the spectacular Rocky Mountain Front for future generations. The Blackleaf WMA to the north provides important habitat for elk, mule deer and grizzly bears coming off the Front. Continuing to the south, the Beartooth WMA provides core security habitat for a unique collaboration of agencies, hunters and landowners known as the Devils Kitchen Group to manage area wildlife. These WMAs provide key year long and seasonal habitat for a variety of wildlife species. They also provide seasonal grazing habitat to wildlife such as elk and mule deer to relieve depredation on adjacent private lands.

This acquisition is a real investment in protecting habitat and ensuring public hunting opportunity on these iconic wildlife management areas. Montanans are truly lucky to have the Habitat Montana program to preserve our wildlife and hunting heritage for future generations.

Share your support, click here to comment on this project.

MWF Letter of Support for Sun River Beartooth and Blackleaf March 2016

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.