Montana is a paradise for hunters and anglers. Every year residents and non-residents enjoy world-class hunts and fish the best coldwater fisheries in the United States in our state. These activities create lifelong memories for families and support a $6 billion outdoor economy.
The fact that everyone has access to these incredible public fish and wildlife resources is no accident. It’s the result of the investment that sportsmen and sportswomen have made into habitat and access. Our hunting and fishing license dollars have supported the programs of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to protect habitat, manage wildlife, and expand access. These programs have made Montana the envy of the nation.
But now, our state Legislature is trying to undo decades of work by eliminating these key programs from the budget.
It starts with Habitat Montana, a program that uses a small portion of hunting license fees to protect key habitat through voluntary conservation easements and purchases to provide winter range for big game as well as hunting opportunity. The program has helped protect some of Montana’s best hunting grounds.
Montana’s system of state game ranges, waterfowl production areas and conservation easements set us apart from many states. These lands benefit not only our cherished wildlife, but also our livestock industry by helping keep wildlife off private land where they can cause crop damage. And Montana’s hunters share these lands with our friends in the ranching community, with many game ranges available for seasonal grazing at attractive rates.
Inexplicably, the Legislature stripped out the authority for FWP to spend the $10.6 million that is built up in Habitat Montana. Rep. Dave Hagstrom, R-Billings, supported the move in his HB 403.
This will make it impossible for FWP to purchase inholdings of private land within state wildlife management areas (WMA). It would thwart the willing sellers who would like their land to go toward conservation. A great recent example is the Whitetail Prairie addition to the Beartooth WMA, a joint project that brought together numerous conservation groups to add more than 2,800 acres of key winter range. The land could easily have been subdivided, or converted into a private hunting club. Opportunities to put those lands into public hands for public hunting will now fall by the wayside without the authority to use Habitat Montana.
The attacks on habitat and access didn’t stop there. The Legislature also voted to strip out $849,000 for the Upland Game Bird Enhancement program, $460,000 for bighorn sheep habitat and $345,000 for fishing access sites.
These are popular, important programs that provide the access and habitat that make Montana the sporting paradise. They’re the result of sportsmen taking a stand and taxing themselves to pay for something they value. None of these programs are funded by taxpayers, and it won’t save the state budget a cent to cut them. Yet the Legislature has decided to block them.
The irony of the move by the Legislature is that it won’t end these programs at all. In fact, they will continue to accrue the funding, and build up huge balances by the time the 2017 Legislature rolls around. Then what?
The answer is obvious. Legislators will then look at those balances and propose to use those funds for other purposes. In fact, Hagstrom said in the committee hearing on HB 403 that is the goal: to eventually end these programs. He even said we will lose access to some hunting and fishing sites.
Hagstrom is right – these budget cuts will absolutely cut off public access – but Montana’s sportsmen and sportswomen won’t let that happen. Hunters all over the state are talking about the Legislature’s political games. From Broadus to Troy, sportsmen and sportswomen are arguing these cuts are unnecessary and further the combative attitude the Legislature has taken toward the residents and nonresidents who fund these popular programs.
It’s time for the games to stop. We urge our elected officials to hear the voices of the sporting community and restore the authority for FWP to spend the funds we all support.
Skip Kowalski – president of the Montana Wildlife Federation, Joelle Selk – president of the Montana Bowhunters Association, Chuck Hunt – president of Flathead Wildlife, Inc., Tony Jones – president of the Ravalli County Fish and Wildlife Association, John Gibson – president of the Public Land/Water Access Association, Nick Siebrasse – president of the Bearpaw Bowmen, Casey Hackathorn – president of Hellgate Hunters and Anglers, Glenn Hockett – president of the Gallatin Wildlife Association, Stan Frasier – president of Helena Hunters and Anglers, Lorry Thomas – president of the Anaconda Sportsmen