Land Link Montana, a program to facilitate the transfer of agricultural land to farmers and ranchers, officially opens its doors today. The new initiative will make it easier for those looking for farmland to find it, an increasingly difficult task, given the rapid loss of fertile ground in western Montana.

Beginning farmers and ranchers have a hard time finding affordable land and the right resources to get started. On the flip side, landowners and retiring producers, who want to see their land remain in agriculture, also struggle to find growers to lease or sell their land to. That's exactly where Land Link Montana comes in.

According to Dan Huls, a fourth-generation dairy farmer in the Bitterroot Valley, "The majority of agricultural land in the U.S. is farmed by someone other than the owner. A clearinghouse for people to connect is critical—current farmers, wannabe farmers, and landowners."

Some land-seeking farmers will be starting a vegetable farm, fruit orchard, or livestock ranch. Others will be looking to expand an existing operation, or relocate entirely.

Ethan Smith, a beginning farmer looking for land, said, "I've been working on farms for over seven years, and now I'd like to start my own business growing berries and vegetables. My wife teaches in Missoula, so we're looking for land close to town to purchase or lease long-term to grow food for our local markets."

The program's coordinator, Paul Hubbard, said, "I'm really excited to work with landowners and farmers on an individual level. Keeping farmland in agriculture is vital to Montana's economy and legacy." Hubbard created Land Link Montana after reviewing several model programs around the country.

Land Link Montana's matching service operates in Ravalli, Flathead, Granite, Lake, Missoula, Powell, and Sanders Counties. The program will also connect landowners and farmers to resources that can assist with financing, business planning, land transfer arrangements, local marketing, and legal issues.

Land Link Montana (www.landlinkmontana.org) is a program of the Community Food & Agriculture Coalition ( HYPERLINK "http://www.MissoulaCFAC.org" www.MissoulaCFAC.org. CFAC works to strengthen our local food system, so that the region's farmers and ranchers thrive and all families have access to a fresh food grown close to home.

Unusual wind event in valley

Wind gusts of 58-61 miles per hour were recorded in the Bitterroot in the early hours of Saturday, January 31. Many residents from Hamilton to Florence reported minor damage such as roof tiles and portions of metal roofs blown off, doors and windows blown in, as well as downed tree limbs and some trees. Wind caused some power outages as well. A semi-trailer overturned on Hwy. 93 north of Stevensville and emergency vehicles blocked the northbound lane for a couple of hours.

Doctor to donate book proceeds to hospital foundation

‘About Medicine’ receptions, book signings in Stevensville and Hamilton

Meet Mark Jergens, MD, the author of the just-released “About Medicine” book, at receptions and signings scheduled in Stevensville and Hamilton early in February. Dr. Jergens has over 35 years of medical experience, and is willing to answer your questions regarding “About Medicine,” a collection of newspaper articles about medicine Dr. Jergens wrote during the time he was chief medical officer of Marcus Daly Hospital in Hamilton.

Enjoy this unique medical Q & A opportunity. Bring your questions “About Medicine” and get your answers, enjoy hors d’oeuvres and beverages and find out why Dr. Jergens made the “About Medicine” book project a philanthropic pledge to our community. All proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to the Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital Foundation.

Receptions and book signings in early February:

• Friday, Feb 6, presentation and signing from 5 to 6 p.m. at the North Valley Public Library, in Stevensville as part of that community’s First Friday events for February.

• Friday, Feb 6, signing from 6 to 8 p.m. at Valley Drug and Variety in Stevensville, again, a First Friday event.

• Thursday, Feb. 12, at noon Dr. Jergens will be program speaker at the February meeting of the Stevensville Civic Club, which will be held at the Methodist Church meeting room in Stevensville. This meeting also is open to the public.

• Thursday, Feb. 26, reception and signing from 5 to 7 p.m. at Chapter One Book Store in Hamilton.

The “About Medicine” book can be purchased for $12.00 at Chapter One Book Store and Marcus Daly Gift Shop, both located in Hamilton, and Valley Drug & Variety in Stevensville and at the gatherings and book signings.

The receptions are hosted by the Daly Hospital Foundation, a not-for-profit corporation raising funds for Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital in Hamilton. For more information visit http://www.mdmh.org or call MDMH Marketing Department, 363-2211.

Legislative Roundup

Bill would allow wildlife agency to manage bison

By Molly Priddy
Community News Service
UM School of Journalism

Wildlife groups and others squared off with the ranching industry last week over legislation that would strip the state Department of Livestock of its responsibility for managing bison that wander from Yellowstone National Park.

House Bill 253, sponsored by Rep. Mike Phillips, D-Bozeman, would give the job to the state Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. As wildlife, bison should be managed by wildlife professionals, he told fellow legislators.

The switch would allow the Department of Livestock to concentrate more specifically on the fight against brucellosis, a disease that causes cows to abort their offspring.

Many of the bill’s supporters were from rural towns near Yellowstone National Park who said they were tired of the bison being hazed near their property.

But ranchers and their representatives told legislators they feared what would happen if the Livestock Department stopped managing the animals.

John Bloomquist, lobbyist for the Montana Stockgrowers Association, said other states would surely question Montana’s ability to manage brucellosis if FWP, an agency without a disease control department, took over.

Other opponents included the Montana Association of Counties, the Montana Board of Livestock and Citizens for Balanced Use.

The Department of Livestock was given primary authority to manage bison by the 1995 Legislature.

Schweitzer sees hope; pitches surtax on oil, gas

Gov. Brian Schweitzer’s optimistic State of the State address was met with applause from Democrats and hesitation from Republicans on Wednesday night as he outlined his hopes for education, energy development and the federal stimulus package working its way through Congress.

He also urged legislators to pass House Bill 388, which would tax oil and gas production to provide raises for teachers. He said the idea comes from Wyoming but added that Montana will still tax oil and gas at a lower rate than that state.

But Sen. Roy Brown, R-Billings, said the bill would, in fact, be a new tax on oil and gas production, creating a disincentive for business development in the state.

House Minority Leader Scott Sales, R-Bozeman, criticized Schweitzer’s portrayal of increased oil production as inaccurate. “He plays really fast and loose with the figures,” Sales said. “I’m not sure where he gets his numbers.”

Senate President Robert Story, R-Park City, who delivered the Republican response to Schweitzer’s speech, promised that Republicans will create an oversight commission to monitor how the state spends any money it receives from the federal stimulus bill.

Restaurants: Minimum wage should include tips

Citing rising costs and dwindling diners, Montana restaurant owners rallied last week to support a bill that would that would allow them to pay servers less than the minimum wage.

Senate Bill 253, sponsored by Sen. Donald Steinbeisser, R-Sidney, would allow employers to count an employee’s tips toward the minimum wage but only after the wage tops $6.90 an hour. The bill cleared committee last week and is headed to the full Senate.

Critics said the measure would hurt Montana’s poorest workers, but Brad Griffin, representing the Montana Restaurant Association, said continual cost-of-living increases in the minimum wage are impossible to absorb in a tough economy.

Supporters included restaurant owners and representatives of several national chains, including Outback Steakhouse, Applebee’s, Perkins, Famous Dave’s and Pizza Hut. The Bozeman and Great Falls Chambers of Commerce also supported the bill.

Opponents argued that tips are the employee’s property and restaurant owners have no right to ask customers to subsidize their employees’ wages.

Opponents included unions, the Montana Human Rights Network, and waitresses and baristas. The Montana Department of Labor and Industry and Gov. Brian Schweitzer also opposed the bill.

Supporters plead for mandatory seat belt law

State lawmakers heard emotional testimony last week from supporters of a bill that would allow police to pull drivers over for not wearing their seatbelts.

“The ultimate goal of this legislation isn’t to arrest people,” Attorney General Steve Bullock said. “The ultimate goal is to get more Montanans wearing their seatbelts.”

Current Montana law allows police to cite a driver for not wearing seatbelts but only after the driver is pulled over for another offense. Senate Bill 237, sponsored by Sen. Dave Lewis, R-Helena, would make driving without a seatbelt a primary offense.

Many supporters who testified had lost family members in car accidents. Others included doctors, emergency personnel, insurance company lobbyists, and officers from the Fort Peck Department of Law and Justice.

Opponents to the bill said it would take away their rights and freedom of choice. Cindy Swank said she opposed the bill because “it seems like another example of government interference in my right to choose.”

The 2005 legislative session failed to pass a similar bill.

House votes to freeze some state workers' pay

The state House of Representatives voted last week to freeze many state employees' salaries for the next two years while offering a slight raise in health care benefits.

The bill would keep most executive branch employees’ salaries at their current level, but it would provide a one-time payment of $450 to any full-time employee making $45,000 or less.

HB 13 also provides a $53 increase in the state’s contribution to each employee’s health-care benefits plan.

Rep. Ray Hawk, R-Florence, said he would not support the bill because the benefit increase will be too expensive. “This really amounts to an 8 percent pay increase,” Hawk said.

HB 13, which carries a $32.5 million price tag, was endorsed by three unions representing nearly 11,000 executive branch employees: the Montana Public Employees Association, the Montana Educators Association/Montana Federation of Teachers, and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

The bill does not apply to university system, legislative or judicial employees. A final vote on the bill is pending.

Democratic Women's Caucus touts equality issues

Democratic women in the Legislature promised last week to work for equality on the job, in health care and in the impending federal financial stimulus package.

The Democratic Women’s Caucus, founded last session and representing 31 female legislators this session, outlined its agenda in a press conference in the capitol.

House Speaker Pro Tempore Franke Wilmer, D-Bozeman said women in Montana earn 70 cents for every dollar a man in the same job earns. She said the Women’s Caucus would work to help close the gap. “This wage gap is not fair and needs to change,” she said.

Rep. Michelle Reinhart, D-Missoula, said the Women’s Caucus sent letters to U.S. Sens. Jon Tester and Max Baucus, both Democrats, asking them to keep women and children in mind when they discuss Montana’s share of the impending federal stimulus bill.

Sen. Carol Juneau of Browning expressed disappointment at the tabling of House Bill 214, which would expand Medicaid eligibility for pregnant women. Juneau also said the caucus would oppose Senate Bill 142, which would repeal Montana’s unisex insurance laws.

The lawmakers also said they support the Healthy Montana Kids Plan, as well as Senate Bill 259, which would create an earned-income tax credit in Montana.

Bill seeks dollars for children's health coverage

A bill that would free up money to implement the Healthy Montana Kids Plan received strong support during its hearing on Monday.

House Bill 157, sponsored by Rep. Chuck Hunter, D-Helena, would allow the state health department to spend $2.6 million to begin implementing I-155, the voter-approved initiative to expand health coverage to children from low- and moderate-income families.

The money would be taken out of a special revenue fund that was created when the initiative was passed, Hunter told the House Appropriations Committee.

The money would be used to update Health Department computer systems, find I-155 community enrollment partners, and clarify the start-up rules regarding eligibility for the Children’s Health Insurance Program and Medicaid.

The bills supporters included the Montana Medical Association, the Montana Hospital Association, AARP, the Montana Human Rights Network, and the Montana Nurses Association.

Montana voters approved I-155 in November.

The initiative would expand Medicaid and the CHIP coverage to approximately 30,000 additional uninsured children in Montana.

Bridge access bill wins initial vote in the House

A bill giving anglers, floaters and others the right to access Montana's rivers and streams at public bridges climbed over a major hurdle last week, passing House by a vote of 97-3.

“This is a vehicle to pass bridge access,” said Rep. Kendall Van Dyk, D-Billings, the sponsor of House Bill 190. “It sends a really important message of compromise.”

The bill would allow public access at bridges while also allowing landowners to connect fences to bridges and abutments to contain their livestock. Landowners would have to modify those fences to allow access. The state Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks would have to approve such changes, and FWP would pay for the work.

Rep. Ken Peterson, R-Billings, failed to persuade a majority to amend the bill to give the state's 56 county commissions the responsibility for overseeing ranchers' plans for allowing access through or over their fences.

Bill would allow some 17-year-olds to vote

Lawmakers heard a bill last week that would allow 17-year-olds to vote in primary elections so long as they turn 18 by the general election.

House Bill 277 was described as a “kitchen table” bill by its sponsor, Rep. Mike Menahan, D-Helena, because the idea came to him during an argument his 14- and 16-year-old daughters were having at home.

HB 277 has the support of Secretary of State Linda McCulloch, who told lawmakers the change would increase accessibility to the polls and lead to higher voter turnouts. “Once a voter, always a voter,” McCulloch said.

The bill had no direct opponents, but several members of the House State Administration Committee wondered about its constitutionality.

Menahan said none of the 18 states that have such a law have had to change their constitutions. He also said lawmakers should not be afraid to test the idea's legitimacy in court.

Tree thinning proposed for popular Charles Waters Campground

The Stevensville District Ranger is considering a proposal to thin and remove trees in the Charles Waters Campground. The purpose of the thinning is to protect the remaining trees from mountain pine beetle damage.

Trees in the campground are experiencing numerous attacks from bark beetles which bore into the bark and eventually kill the tree. As a short term treatment, the campground was sprayed with carbaryl, a preventive insecticide, in the spring of 2008. The insecticide is effective for 18 months and helps suppress beetle activity until additional thinning treatments could be planned and completed. Prior to spraying, approximately 25% of the trees in the area had been impacted by beetle activity. Thinning of various-sized trees would help protect the larger Ponderosa pines, maintain the scenery and shade in the campground, and minimize the need for future insecticide treatments.

If approved, the project is anticipated to start after the campground closes in September 2009 and be completed prior to the 2010 operating season.

The Charles Waters Campground is located northwest of Stevensville. The project area would encompass the Charles Waters Campground administrative site which is approximately 20 acres in size.

Written comments will be accepted until March 5, 2009 and can be submitted to Dan Ritter, District Ranger, 88 Main Street, Stevensville, Montana, 59870 or via email at dritter@fs.fed.us.

For more information about the project, contact Cheri Hartless, Silviculturist, or Gary Richtmyer, Recreation Specialist, at the Stevensville Ranger District.

Members sought for wolf-livestock board

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is seeking nominations for the board directing the state's program to reduce livestock losses caused by wolves and to reimburse ranchers for wolf-related losses.

The seven-member Livestock Loss Reduction and Mitigation Board was established in 2007 by Montana Legislature in response to recommendations made several years ago by the Montana Wolf Management Advisory Council, and to provisions in Montana's Wolf Conservation and Management Plan that call for the creation of livestock loss-reduction and reimbursement programs.

The purpose of the board is to administer programs and funds to minimize livestock losses caused by wolves and to reimburse livestock producers for wolf-depredation losses.

The board consists of three members nominated by the Board of Livestock, three members nominated by the FWP Commission, and one member from the general public.

Prospective board members must be knowledgeable or experienced in at least one of the following subjects: raising livestock; livestock marketing, sales, or breeding associations; wolf and livestock interactions; wildlife conservation; administration; or fundraising.

The addition of fundraising experience to the list of qualifications reflects the board's leading role in generating financial support for the program.

Nominations for the board must be submitted by Feb. 15. Address nominations to Livestock Loss Reduction and Mitigation Board Nominations in care of Wildlife Division; Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks; P.O. Box 200701; Helena, MT 59620-0701. E-mail nominations to FWP at HYPERLINK "mailto:fwpwld@mt.gov" fwpwld@mt.gov.

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