HB 752 MSA Comments to House Natural Resources Committee

HB 752 MSA Comments to House Natural Resources Committee
March 26, 2019

Chairman White and members of the Committee,

The Montana Sportsmen Alliance appreciates the opportunity to provide comment on HB 752. We are in strong opposition to this bill for the following reasons.

The $500 project fee, required of a developer to determine whether or not compensatory mitigation is mandated, is simply excessive. There are numerous individuals or small companies who consult with the Montana Sage Grouse Habitat Conservation Program who would find this fee onerous. The fees if collected, would be better deposited into the Program’s Stewardship account to enhance sage grouse habitat. Whether or not the $500 fee is charged, implementing the provisions of this bill would be time consuming and expensive.  Provisions need to be made, to insure funding is available for implementation.

Of greater concern is the requirement for predator mitigation in the event sage grouse populations, at the lek or FWP region experience a 20 percent decline from the previous year. In some instances, declines in lek attendance may be simply a result of incomplete counts or birds shifting attendance to an alternate lek(s). Lethal control of magpie, corvid or eagle may be required even though the species are not a causal factor in the decline of the said sage grouse population.  Sage grouse population declines are at least in part, a result of other factors such as habitat loss, West Nile virus, and/or severe weather. Removing corvids or magpies when they contributed little to the decline of sage grouse populations may yield few benefits for sage grouse and will require a permit from the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). Non-governmental organizations will likely challenge any permitted removal of avian predators.

Finally, FWP already has a plan which provides guidance as to when sage grouse hunting will or will not be authorized. We believe FWP should continue to utilize their current guidance when analyzing when and where sage grouse hunting is authorized. 

Thank you.

Montana Sportsmen Alliance Leadership
John Borgreen, Great Falls
Steve Schindler, Glasgow
Jeff Herbert, Helena
Don Thomas, Lewistown
Sam Milodragovich, Butte
Joe Perry, Conrad
JW Westman, Park City
Dale Tribby, Miles City
Robert Wood, Hamilton
Doug Krings, Lewistown