The section on herding wildlife was moved and is still in the bill, but we're still opposed to HB 637 for a host of reasons, including the pheasant stocking program at a cost of $1 million, the removal of the waiting period on black bears and the free hound handler licenses for non-resident...
Hope you've all seen this bill:
SB 354, sponsored by Sen. Steve Hinebauch, R-Wibaux, was amended last week in an attempt to practically end prescriptive easements to reach public lands and cut off public access. This bill as amended by Rep. Barry Usher, R-Billings, would set a deadline of...
Here's the latest bill that claims to tie limited bull and buck permits with over objective ungulate populations. This would be devastating to the FWP budget.
https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/billpdf/LC1761.pdf
Here's another bill that hunters need to pay attention to. It's tough to digest, but appears to be a dozen bills wrapped in one, including pheasant stocking:
http://laws.leg.mt.gov/legprd/LAW0210W$BSIV.ActionQuery?P_BILL_NO1=637&P_BLTP_BILL_TYP_CD=HB&Z_ACTION=Find&P_SESS=20211
Finally, a bill hunters can get behind! SB 256, sponsored by Sen. Pat Flowers, D-Bozeman, would make gating public roads that lead to public land hunter harassment.
SB 256 would tie gating public roads that lead to public land to Montana’s hunter harassment law. Sponsored by Sen. Pat Flowers...
Here's a bill that would remove two sportspersons from the Board of Outfitters, get rid of the specific reporting of leased private acres for hunting, and give the board complete discretion over many other aspects of regulating the outfitting industry...
Here's another bill to restructure the makeup of the Fish and Wildlife Commission, incorporating another bill that requires one commissioner per FWP region, but also requiring that four of the seven be landowners...
So just saw this bill draft, which would bar limited permits in any hunting district with an over-objective elk population. Looks like this is targeting the Missouri River Breaks, and all of eastern Montana...
https://billingsgazette.com/outdoors/cow-elk-season-reopened-until-feb-15-along-east-side-of-crazy-mountains/article_4005a77e-b754-5747-a469-3ce18dea9768.html#tracking-source=home-top-story-1
This appears to be where Montana elk hunting is going. It's especially concerning in an area with...
Andrew McKean wasn't even invited to speak before the Senate Fish and Game committee to introduce himself, and now it's clear that he will be voted down as a commissioner. Just check here:
http://laws.leg.mt.gov/legprd/LAW0210W$BSIV.ActionQuery?P_BILL_DFT_NO5=LC3197&Z_ACTION=Find&P_SESS=20211
A bill to mandate in state law a muzzleloader season is in the draft stage. LC 1512, sponsored by Rep. Caleb Hinkle, R-Belgrade, calls for a "muzzleloader heritage hunt." This looks to be the first of many bills to micro-manage Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, and put into statute things that...
Fellow Montana elk hunters, please take the time to fill out this survey on what you'd like to see in elk management in Montana. We're going into the review of the shoulder seasons after three full years of data, and we want to have strong input from dedicated elk hunters. You can go to...
On Friday Montana Wildlife Federation Executive Director Dave Chadwick debated Ken Ivory in Kennewick, WA, on the transfer of federal public lands. Here's a good rundown of the debate. It was a pretty thorough discussion and interesting to hear Ivory get challenged on this...
http://montanawildlife.org/forget-the-rhetoric-in-montana-we-know-public-lands-mean-access-and-habitat/
Last week, while a bunch of all-hat, no-cow rebels were vandalizing public property and hogging national media attention in Burns, Oregon, the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission quietly...
Who says Block Management areas don't offer great hunting? I've heard it before, but found just the opposite. This program offers not only great hunting on private lands, but also access to adjoining public lands. Here's my perspective:
http://montanawildlife.org/block-management/[/IMG]
This is a big win for hunters, anglers, hikers, photographers, everyone! This will open up roughly 50,000 acres for walk in and horseback hunting along the stunning Rocky Mountain Front. Let's celebrate a victory for the public...
I thought our fellow hunters and anglers would like to see the report just published by the Montana Wildlife Federation and Public Land/Water Access Association. It outlines the issues surrounding public access to public land and water. The pdf is too long for this blog, but I have posted a link...
I just wanted to give an update from Helena. Yesterday SB 237, the "no net gain" of state lands bill, was tabled in the House Natural Resources Committee in a 9-7 vote. This bill would have barred land purchases of larger than five acres. The death of the bill, which the Montana Wildlife...
Today in the House FWP Committee at the Montana Legislature, SB 83 and SB 341 were tabled. These bills would have made it virtually impossible to conduct transplants of game animals. 83 applied to bighorn sheep while 341 would have affected all animals, including game birds and fish. These were...
In light of the recent controversy over Randy’s appointment to the RMEF board, I thought it would be good to look at MOGA’s record this during the 2013 Montana Legislature:
Supported HB 274, which would among many other things strip the requirement that outfitters in Montana report the number...