Wildlife - Montana Wildlife Federation

SCIENCE-BASED MANAGEMENT SOMETIMES MEANS GIVING UP HUNTING OPPORTUNITY

June 3, 2021December 7, 2015 by Guest Profile

Elk sticks out tongue during winter scene.

Hunters are often asked to give up opportunity when a game species is struggling. And as conservationists, we know that it’s the responsible thing to do for the long-term health of our cherished public wildlife resources. In Montana, we have a long history of stepping up and doing just that. An excellent example is with antelope in eastern Montana following the brutal winter of 2010-2011. We went from 13,000 either sex licenses and an additional 7,000 doe tags to a total of 3,000 tags in southeastern Montana. It was a tough change, but that herd is recovering. Future generations will thank us for protecting their opportunity to hunt these antelope.

Hunting District 313, near the town of Gardiner on the north boundary of Yellowstone National Park, is another example where we need to limit hunting in order to support the long-term survival of our big game for future generations. The northern Yellowstone elk herd, which moves between the park and public and private lands north of there, has dropped to an average of just 2.7 mature bull elk per 100 cow elk. The number is below the threshold that Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) considers sustainable, and the agency has proposed to address the situation by going from the current unlimited permit system to a limited draw for 75 bull permits.

This is a dramatic change, but it’s necessary. FWP biologist Karen Loveless has analyzed the data and come up with a science-based recommendation to protection the long-term survival of the herd. That’s what wildlife managers do – they use the best available science to recommend management actions that will keep the herd around for the future.

Unfortunately, FWP’s proposal has encountered some harsh, unwarranted criticism. Last week, the agency held a public information session on the proposal where several outfitters and area hunters criticized Loveless’ data. They pointed to a couple years when the herd wasn’t surveyed, including one year when the agency skipped the survey for budget reasons, to refute all of the data the agency has assembled. One outfitter repeatedly questioned Loveless’ educational background.

We can’t stick our heads in the sand or talk our way out of paying attention to good science. Facts are facts. The herd in HD 313 is struggling when it comes to bull-cow ratios. It’s been on the decline, despite the fact that the overall herd numbers are rising. Some who oppose the proposal are making claims about how much money it could cost the town of Gardiner to limit permits, but doing nothing will cost even more.

The Montana Wildlife Federation supports FWP’s efforts to recover the Gardiner elk herd. As hunters and conservationists, our first priority should always be the long-term survival of the public wildlife resource, managed with the best science. We can thank past generations for limiting their own hunting opportunity so that we can enjoy the best wildlife in the West today. We owe the same to future generations.

Nick Gevock is Montana Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Director.

SHEEP STATION OFFERS WIN-WIN OPPORTUNITY

June 3, 2021October 15, 2015 by Guest Profile

Hunters could gain access to more than 16,000 acres of prime wildlife habitat in the Centennial Mountains with some basic changes to the way a federal research facility is run.

For over a year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been trying to close the Agricultural Research Service’s Sheep Experiment Station based in Dubois, Idaho. The outdated facility doesn’t conduct the type of high-value research that would benefit the American sheep industry, Agriculture Sec. Tom Vilsack wrote in a letter to Congress. He proposed moving the station’s research to a facility in Clay Center, Neb., that is equipped with modern labs and with the capacity to do good research. But twice now, Congress has rejected the station’s closure, at the request of the American Sheep Industry which wants the station maintained.

So how does that affect wildlife, habitat and hunters? The station, founded in 1915, includes 16,000 acres in Montana that sit along the Continental Divide in the Centennial Mountains. The area is just south and above the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, squarely in the middle of the “High Divide, a crucial migratory corridor between the Greater Yellowstone region with the wilderness of central Idaho. The area supports abundant wildlife including elk, moose and antelope, as well as numerous birds and nongame species. It also offers incredible hunting opportunity.

This year the National Wildlife Federation analyzed the research conducted at the Sheep Station. It found that the high-alpine meadows of the station are not essential to the research conducted there. NWF, the Montana Wildlife Federation, and the Idaho Wildlife Federation have urged the congressional delegation from Montana and Idaho to resolve the conflicts with wildlife on the station by permanently removing the domestic sheep from the alpine meadows. Those conflicts are real – in recent years a couple grizzly bears have been found dead on the station lands. In addition, the presence of domestic sheep there precludes the opportunity to reestablish native bighorn sheep. And the area is off limits to hunters.

These high meadows, which sit at more than 10,000 feet elevation, aren’t essential to the station’s mission: for the past two summers, the University of Idaho, which owns the sheep grazed there, has not used the meadows.

This is one of the rare cases in which we can have a win-win solution that benefits everyone. Sheep producers can get better research, taxpayers can get a better return on their money, and we can reclaim an important stretch of wildlife habitat. Whatever the future of the Sheep Station is, it shouldn’t include livestock grazing in an area that is so rich in wildlife.

LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION FUND

June 3, 2021September 16, 2015 by Guest Profile

The Land and Water Conservation Fund has helped secure nearly 70% of the fishing access sites in Montana.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) has been one of our nation’s most successful conservation programs. The program puts aside a portion of federal revenue from offshore oil and gas leasing to fund land conservation. Over the last 50 years, the LWCF has played a crucial role in protecting habitat and opening up public access.

Since 1964, the LWCF has resulted in roughly $16 billion in spending nationwide, protecting everything from backcountry national forest lands to urban parks. Montana has received over $400 million in funding from LWCF. These funds have protected important lands in the Blackfoot Valley, on the Rocky Mountain Front, in the Greater Yellowstone region, and all over the state. LWCF funds have also been used to acquire key parcels that open up large areas of “land-locked” public land for hunting and fishing.

In the 2016 fiscal year, LWCF funding could go a long way in continuing the legacy of Montana conservation. Projects that would benefit from funding include improvements to the High Divide Landscape of the continental divide – ensuring crucial wildlife corridors are kept open, watersheds are healthy and full of native fish, and access is maintained. Montana refuges are also slated to receive funding, keeping some of our most important wildlife habitat areas healthy and accessible for hunters, anglers, and other recreationists. In all, over $30 million from LWCF could go towards improvements and investments in Montana.

However, the federal law that created the LWCF is slated to expire this year. If Congress does not take action, the program will cease to operate. The pressure is on for reauthorization. Senator Jon Tester and Senator Steve Daines have both cosponsored Senate Bill 338, which permanently authorizes the LWCF. Senator Daines has already successfully pushed through an amendment that increases the fund’s current levels by $14 million to $306 million annually – if it is reauthorized. Senator Tester has gone a step further and also cosponsored Senate Bill 890 which both permanently authorizes the fund, and permanently returns it to its original $900 million annual levels.

With the clock ticking, Montana’s hunters, anglers, and other recreationists are watching to see if Congress can get the job done on reauthorizing the LWCF. Our state’s unmatched recreational access – and our $6 billion outdoor economy – depend on it.

Montana sportsmen support sage-grouse conservation

November 27, 2014November 19, 2014 by Alec Underwood

Nov. 19, 2014 – A new poll shows that Montana sportsmen and women want to protect greater sage-grouse habitat because protecting the sagebrush landscape will protect hunting opportunities and other uses of the public lands.

The findings released Wednesday by the National Wildlife Federation show that more than 90 percent of Montana hunters surveyed believe it’s important to protect the bird’s habitat. They were among a majority of hunters surveyed in 11 Western states who back plans to conserve important habitat to maintain state management of the greater sage-grouse and avoid the restrictions that would follow if it’s declared an endangered species.

Jeff Lukas

Conservation Director