News

Written by Morgan Marks

Photos by Ilona Wilde 

Dear Friend,

With magic and mysticism in our hearts, we’re thinking about the meaning of the Winter Solstice in regard to wildlife, habitat, public access, and our work in advocacy.

There are two solstices, winter and summer, and both yield beautiful opportunities to reflect, get outside and think about how the sun “stands still” on these two days of our annual calendar. Each solstice occurs on days that the sun seemingly stalls in its progression around the earth, a movement the sun has been taking since the dawn of our species, since time immemorial.

The light will return as it always does, but only after it becomes the darkest it’s been all year. While the day itself is short and often cold here in Montana, it can be an excellent time of year for wildlife. While all may appear dark and seemingly silent, we’d urge you to get outside and see what creatures are stirring, what noises you hear and what wildlife still abound because of their urgency to feed before deep winter sets in.

The point of Winter Solstice is to celebrate the rebirth of sunlight after the darkest period of the year. What better way to celebrate than to get outside and immerse yourself in the outdoors?

Here are a few ideas to get your mind thinking about celebrating this important day and getting outside:

• First and foremost, prepare for dangerous and extreme cold – dress in layers, bring extra water, bring snacks, put blankets in your car, know where you’re going, and make sure someone else knows, too!
• Take a local adventure, and put on your winter boots with great traction or fit your Yak-Trax to your sneakers and take a walk around your neighborhood. Check the temperature ahead of time and prepare for a short time outside this week!
• Choose an even more local adventure and step barefoot in your own backyard to connect to the earth by grounding through your feet in your own space.
• Seek out a new place to access public land or go to your well-trodden stomping grounds and take a hike, check out wildlife tracks and try to identify them. Or, simply stand and witness what you can feel, see, hear, and touch by experiencing a new place for the first time or an old place with new eyes.

No matter what you choose, even if it’s kicking back indoors with a hot beverage of your choice and slippers on, know that we’re rooting for you and celebrating with you.

Stay well and safe, and we’ll see you outside,

The MWF Team

Photo credit Montana Audubon

Hunters, anglers and wildlife enthusiasts have long supported robust measures to conserve our nation’s habitat and abundant fish and wildlife. Now, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to help restore and conserve at-risk wildlife species in Montana and across the country through the passage of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (RAWA).

The legislation would bring nearly $28 million annually to the state of Montana to help at-risk wildlife species through restoration and habitat improvement projects. These key investments will benefit hundreds of species, including the game we love to hunt.

The legislation has already passed the U.S. House of Representatives with broad bipartisan support and now awaits approval in the Senate. With Senator Tester already a champion of the bill, we need YOUR help to urge Senator Daines to support RAWA to help conserve our fish and wildlife for current and future generations.

Take action NOW to tell Senator Daines to support the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act!

An amendment and associated motion have been submitted by Vice Chairman Tabor for the December 20th FWP Commission meeting to change elk hunting in Hunting District 313, in Region 3, specifically hunt 313-45. The justification for this motion has been stated as helping outfitters impacted by the summer floods of 2022. Regarding the proposed amendment by Vice Chairman Tabor on behalf of the outfitting community in Region 3, we respectfully submit the following formal comments in opposition for consideration:

This amendment goes against sound biological principles. 

• The intent of the former “late Gardiner hunt” was to protect the bull age class and the bull numbers that were vulnerable to overharvest in late December. If this amendment is adopted and HD 313 is converted to a general hunt as proposed, it would extend pressure on bull elk during their most vulnerable parts of December via the new “Heritage Muzzleloader Season.”

• Using the survey data provided by FWP biologist, HD 313 was below objective in 2014 and was at objective in 2015, 2016, and 2017. HD 313 was slightly above objective in 2018. And while the Department did not survey HD 313 in 2019 and 2020, it was then at objective in 2021 and only slightly above objective in 2022. This means that HD 313 has only been above slightly objective in two of the last nine years and does not demonstrate the need to increase the hunting pressure in this area; instead, it indicates that the collaborative compromise that was struck in 2017 is working. 

• We recommend that if there is a biological need to adjust herd numbers, the Department focus on cow hunting as they are the vehicle to increase or decrease numbers. There is no biological need to harvest more bulls during the dead of winter, which would negatively impact the number and age class of bulls in HD 313. While the Department’s comment on the proposal only states that this amendment would influence the age class, it is clear that more opportunities for bulls mean fewer bulls in a given hunting district.

This amendment breaks trust with the public and relitigates an already addressed issue. 

• This proposal was brought in at the eleventh out, buried on the Commission website, and was pushed by a small minority of the outfitting community. Dropping amendments such as this and in this manner communicate to the public that the Commission and the Department aren’t following through in good faith collaboration with all Montanans. MWF, our affiliates, and the public have made every effort to communicate openly, honestly, and early. We feel blindsided by this change, unfortunately. 

• The current structure resulted from a season some years ago when heavy snow pushed a disproportionate number of elk out of Yellowstone National Park and into HD 313. Word got out, and the convergence of hunters killed an extraordinary number of bulls. The Commission was called upon to end the hunt on an emergency basis to stop the slaughter. To not repeat the mistakes of the past, the current structure was reached after much debate and compromise. This issue was settled at that time, and as we have seen from the hunting seasons’ results, this structure has generally worked well for most Montanans and the wildlife we care about. Therefore, there is no need, other than to line the pockets of a few, to change the current management strategy. 

This amendment deviates from the intent of the “Heritage Muzzleloader Season.”  

• Given the growing popularity of the “Heritage Muzzleloader Season” and the coming push from the legislature to unilaterally insert more effective modern inline muzzleloaders, this proposal deviants once again from what was promised to the public. If this amendment were to pass, the thousands of hunters that used to apply for the late Gardiner rifle hunt that was discontinued would now be able to line up with their highly effective, modern muzzleloader as these bulls try to make it to the wintering grounds around Daily Lake and Dome Mountain. In a year such as the one we are experiencing in 2022, the impact on the bulls of that herd would be devastating with rifles and compounded during the “Heritage Muzzleloader Season.” The current season structure is the only thing that protects the age class and number of bulls in this herd for the winter of 2022-23.

We understand the complexity of issues that influence the Commission and Department’s decisions and efforts to carry out its mandate to manage wildlife and public hunting opportunities. MWF appreciates the Commission’s work on this and other issues; it is challenging. The hunting public, commission, and others put years of work into this most recent round of season setting, the appropriate venue for such a drastic change. MWF has heard from many Montanans who said such moves continue to erode their trust and faith in FWP and the FWP Commission. MWF believes that a good faith effort is to withdraw this amendment and address this issue in the upcoming elk plan or in future season setting where the public can provide comprehensive, fulling informed comments and feedback.

We need people to participate in the commission meeting and voice their opposition to this misguided amendment. Sign up to participate by Zoom HERE. As always, the Commission will take public comments on agenda items both in person and via Zoom. If you wish to make a comment via Zoom, you must register by noon on December 19. If you have any questions, please contact MWF Director of State Policy and Government Relations, Marcus Strange, at mstrange@mtwf.org. As always, we appreciate all you do for Montana’s wildlife.

By Montana Wildlife Federation Director of State Policy and Government Relations Marcus Strange