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Wildlife

Take Action Now to Protect the Smith River!

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If you’ve ever had the pleasure of floating the Smith River, then you know that it is a truly amazing place. Winding its way through rangelands and its iconic canyon, this river gives recreationists an experience that they will never forget, not to mention some amazing fishing. ringing $10 million to the local economy each year, the Smith is a serious economic driver, employing guides, outfitters, and supporting other small businesses. For all of these reasons, it’s easy to see why the Smith is held as one of Montana’s greatest treasures.

Over the past few years the area has been eyed by those seeking a different kind of treasure; copper. Foreign mining company Tintina Resources has submitted their draft mining permit for the Black Butte Copper Project. This proposed mine would be located in the headwaters of Sheep Creek, a major tributary of the Smith.

Last Monday evening, MWF joined other conservation groups at a public scoping meeting in Great Falls put on by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). This was the first of four meetings held by the agency as part of the process in developing the environmental impact statement (EIS) for the project. Over thirty individuals spoke at the meeting, the majority of whom were opposed to the potential negative impacts of the proposed mine.

MWF’s Western Field Representative Alec Underwood outlined the potential impacts to Sheep Creek and the considerations the DEQ should make going forward in the EIS process. “The DEQ should be especially stringent toward any risks to water quantity or quality in the

Sheep Creek drainage”, Underwood said, noting the importance of the creek as a fish spawning tributary and for providing a large percentage of the flow to the Smith River during low water flows. “Dewatering or contamination from mining processes in Sheep creek would likely have detrimental effects on not only fish, but recreational users who float the river during low water.”

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In addition to the potential direct impacts of the mine, Underwood and others spoke about the potential for expansion of other mining operations in the area, citing the over 500 additional mining claims in close proximity to the proposed mine.

Now is the time to take action and attend the remaining public scoping meeting in Livingston. For the sake of the Smith River and to all those who will enjoy it in the future, speak up now and let the DEQ know that the Black Butte Copper Project is simply not worth the risk.

 For information on the remaining meetings or how to comment on the proposed project, please visit

http://deq.mt.gov/Public/PressRelease/scoping-meetings-held-for-environmental-impact-statement-of-proposed-mine.

 

Hunters Crucial for Wildlife Management

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Montana hunters have been giving a great deal of attention to elk in recent years, and for good reason. This year the statewide elk population is estimated at 176,000, an all-time high. We have more than 80 hunting districts where elk are over the targeted “objective” population established by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, which is developed in consultation with landowners based on their tolerances for elk.

The discussion goes on and on about what to do to better manage wildlife. Shoulder seasons that span roughly six months long, second elk tags for cows only and cow elk hunting for all five weeks on a general license – all of these are thrown out as solutions to our elk population and distribution issues. But one method is time-tested, and proven, to lead to sound wildlife management – putting public hunters on the ground to hunt public elk.

A prime example is an area just south of Dillon in Hunting District 325, where FWP struggled for years to manage the elk herd. The adjoining public lands had fewer and fewer elk in them, but the center pivot hayfields on one ranch in the area was overrun with hundreds of elk. Sometimes close to a 1,000 elk were on the ranch, and the landowner charged a fee for elk hunting, both cows and bulls. But finally, after nearly a decade, even the landowner had enough when hundreds more elk showed up, further damaging crops and fences. The rancher three years ago started to allow public hunters.

The response was overwhelming. People were happy to show up and kill a cow elk. Some would drive from all over Montana. And because the landowner was allowing public hunters during the general season, the property qualified for a game damage hunt that started early and ran late. People would take vacation days to come kill an elk, and last season they killed more than 300 elk, according to the area FWP biologist. Two large, adjoining ranches cooperated as well, although they had been allowing hunters for several years.

It helped not only with population control, but also elk distribution. Hunters reported seeing dramatically more elk in the Blacktail Mountains, which are public land and offer good elk hunting. And after three seasons, far fewer elk are showing up on the fields. In fact, this season they have yet to call a hunter off the game damage roster.

At the same time, the hunting district’s population remains healthy. But those elk are in different places, with far more on public land and accessible to public hunters.

The bottom line is that hunters have to be part of the solution to these issues of elk overabundance. It’s not a big mystery. We’ve known it for years. Now it’s time to start the constructive conversations with landowners in other parts of the state struggling to manage their wildlife, and craft some access solutions that benefit landowners, hunters and wildlife.

 

Nick Gevock is the Conservation Director for the Montana Wildlife Federation.

Sage Grouse Conservation

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Sage Grouse

Once numbering in the tens of millions, sage-grouse populations today have decreased drastically as a result of development and habitat loss.

In recent years, the sage-grouse was proposed for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act. A historic conservation effort across 11 Western states is helping reverse the decline and keep the species from becoming endangered. That effort is threatened by politicians who want to hijack the sage-grouse conservation plans and transfer control of public land to states.

Sagebrush Steppe: Good for Sage-Grouse, Mule Deer, and People

The sage-grouse depends on large expanses of healthy sagebrush steppe. This habitat dominates much of the West’s countryside, thriving in the arid deserts through dry, hot summers and cold winters. The sagebrush is one of the dominant plants in the steppe and provides food and shelter for many species. Besides the sage-grouse, the sagebrush steppe provides habitat for 350 other species including mule deer, pronghorn antelope and elk, and numerous nongame animals. These lands also provide a significant public opportunity for hunting and other recreational activities like hiking, biking, and camping.

States & Federal Government Work Together to Protect Sage-Grouse

In order to keep sage-grouse off of the Endangered Species List, Western states and the federal government worked together to conserve the species and its habitat. The ten states in sage-grouse country adopted plans at the state-level to adopt conservation actions on private and state land and provide funding to protect habitat private land. At the same time, the federal sage-grouse plan was created to establish protections for the species on Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service lands.

The state and federal plans were written through an unprecedented effort by land managers, conservationists, hunters, landowners, and other stakeholders to work together and find common ground. This coordinated effort being fully implemented was key to the Department of Interior’s determination that the sage-grouse did not need to be listed under the Endangered Species Act in 2015.

Needed Now: Implementing the State & Federal Sage-Grouse Plans

The State of Montana is leading on many aspects of sage-grouse conservation on private and state trust land. However, the state plan does not account for the roughly 35 percent of sage-grouse habitat that is on federal public lands. Sage-grouse conservation is not an either-or choice between federal plans or the state plans: it will take aggressive effort and full funding for both state and federal plans in order to succeed.

The Risk: Politicians Trying to Throw Out the Plans and Take Over Public Land

Some in Congress have seized the sage-grouse issue as a way to push an extreme agenda to transfer public land management away from the federal government. Bills have been introduced in Congress that would remove protections for sage-grouse and allow state governors to invalidate federal land management plans with the stroke of a pen. Multiple-use land management that protects public input, wildlife habitat, and public access would get thrown out.

Now is the time for hunters and hikers, backpackers and mountain bikers, ranchers and farmers, and all who value our public lands to draw a hard line and let those our elected officials know that the sage grouse shouldn’t be used to score political points.

 

Easements Benefit Agriculture and Wildlife

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Mule Deer on Montana Ranch CC by Scott Akerman
Conservation easements mean more access. Mule deer by Scott Akerman.

The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission recently gave the go ahead for the state to pursue three large-scale conservation easements in the eastern part of the state that will open up tremendous hunting opportunity.

Taken together, the Ponessa Ranch, DeCock Ranch and Horse Creek Complex easements will permanently protect more than 39,000 acres of private ranch and crop land. It’s an incredible conservation achievement that will benefit wildlife, keep traditional farms and ranches in operation and provide more hunting opportunity. And the reach of these easements extends well beyond the deeded acres that will be protected.

That’s because these lands adjoin in several cases state and federal lands, as well as other private land that is open to the public for hunting under the state’s popular Block Management program. It’s like a giant jigsaw puzzle that, once fully finished, helps maintain our Montana outdoors heritage, rural agricultural economy and ultimately our way of life.

Take the DeCock Ranch near Hysham. It borders the Isaac Homestead Wildlife Management Area. But it also adjoins state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation lands that are open the public, and private lands that are enrolled in Block Management. Taken together, this block would be more than 250,000 acres of contiguous land open to the public hunter.

It’s an example of an incredible public-private partnership. It’s also one that is often the case with easement projects that use Habitat Montana program funds. Habitat Montana uses a small portion of hunting license fees to pay for conservation easements as well as targeted land purchases to protect important wildlife habitat and grow public access. That includes access to adjoining public and private lands that builds up public hunting opportunity.

The other two easements, Horse Creek Complex near Wibaux and Ponessa near Miles City, are also large-scale land protection projects. Both would help working agricultural operations while opening up hunting access to private lands. And these type of arrangements are good for hunter-landowner relations, because they illustrate that we have far more in common than we do differences when it comes to protecting our way of life.

Habitat Montana came under fire in the 2015 Legislature, when its use for land purchases was restricted. While big land buys get a lot of attention, the three easements proposed this month show that the conservation easements funded by Habitat Montana are just as important for wildlife, habitat, hunters, landowners and all Montanans.

Nick Gevock is MWF’s Conservation Director. You can reach him at ngevock@mtwf.org.

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.