Veto Montana HB 635

 Subject: HB 635

Date: April 3, 2023 at 4:12:29 PM MDT

To: Governor Greg Gianforte <governor@mt.gov>

Cc: Michael Freeman <michael.freeman@mt.gov>

April 3, 2023

 

Gov. Greg Gianforte

1301 E. Sixth Ave.

Helena, MT 59601

 

RE: Veto request for HB 635

 

Dear Gov. Gianforte, 

The Montana Sportsmen Alliance is a Montana-based organization of more than 700 hunters, anglers, and outdoors enthusiasts. We care deeply about our public fish and wildlife resources, and the sporting opportunities they offer for all Montanans and people from around the world. 

Our group works toward common sense solutions to solve the complex issues around elk management. These are valued public wildlife to all Montanans, and one of the most coveted game animals in the country. They provide meat for Montana families, and a highly valued trophy for many hunters. We have been engaged for over 15 years in the tough issues around balancing their populations on both public and private lands, the interests of landowners who have them on their property, and hunters who want opportunity. 

While MSA was not part of the Citizen’s Elk Coalition, we commend some of the ideas that came out of it. Those include increasing the payment cap under the popular Block Management program, and other proposals to reduce the number of nonresident big game hunting licenses to reduce hunting pressure.

However, HB 635 is not a concept we support. 

We welcome non-resident hunters, but also, like all other states, set limits on how many. It’s a careful balance that we strike. However, once we decide how many non-resident tags to offer, everyone should have an equal chance of drawing those licenses, regardless of their social status, wealth or landownership. 

HB 635 violates that principle. It creates a new, special pool of the nonresident big game licenses for a special class – people who own at least 2,500 acres of land. While the concept that this could reduce hunting pressure on public lands sounds good, it’s extremely doubtful these people are hunting public lands and would reduce pressure there. And the numbers are too insignificant to make any difference across the landscape. 

This bill, while well intentioned, has no real public benefit, sets a precedent of special treatment for a special class of people, and erodes decades of Montana tradition in treating everyone the same for hunting opportunity. It’s a bad bill coming from a well-intentioned effort. It’s not necessary at this time, has caused deep division within the conservation community and will not help improve elk management for Montanans and everyone who values Montana’s wildlife. 

For those reasons, we respectfully ask that you veto HB 635.              

 

Sincerely, 

Joe Perry

President

SB 356 Requires terms for Conservation Easements using state funds.

 Mr. Chairman and Committee,

We thought maybe this committee would like to hear from folks who have sizable easements.   We are a farm/ranch couple living SE of Conrad on Circle S Ranch.  We pay property taxes in 4 counties.  

We donated a perpetual easement on all our land.  We have wildlife habitat we don’t ever want disturbed.  We want our place to remain in agriculture.  We have our own reasons.

It surprises us that legislators not wanting big government in our lives and wanting to limit paperwork, would support this kind of legislation. 

Please allow landowners flexibility to do the easements WE want without government making choices for us.

Joe and Debby Perry

Circle S Ranch

406-450-3013

HB 547-Provide penalties for selling data/images from trail cams on public lands

 

HB 547 -Provide penalties for selling data/images from trail cams on public lands

Mr. Chairman and members of the House Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee

  The Montana Sportsmen Alliance is a coalition of resident hunters, anglers and sportsmen and women. We stand in support to HB-547. Technology is rapidly changing how many hunt in Montana and across the US. In some states, it is legal and acceptable to use trail cams and when that buck walks in front of the camera, the image is immediately sent to a cell phone. What an opportunity for a hunter to learn of a “trophy” animal is on a particular piece of property. You can imagine what these images might be worth! Also, we preach the value of “fair chase”. How could this possibly be recognized as fair chase. Please vote green on HB-547.  Thank you

Thank you

Montana Sportsmen Alliance 

Leadership Team

Jeff Herbert    Helena

Tim Thier   Trego

Dale Tribby    Miles City

Joe Perry    Conrad

JW Westman   Park City

Don Thomas    Lewistown

Steve Schindler   Glasgow

Harvey Nyberg   Lewistown

Andrew McKean   Glasgow

Ray Gross   Dillon

Robert Wood   Hamilton

Greg Munther   Missoula

HB 522- Provides landowner preference bison tags for landowners near YNP.

 HB 522 

Mr. Chairman and members of the House Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee.  

The Montana Sportsmen Alliance is a coalition of resident hunters, anglers and sportsmen and women. We stand in opposition to HB-522. The idea of providing preference to a landowner owning a minimum of 20 acres adjacent to YNP and allocating up to 15% of the annual licenses to these individuals is unfair. Drawing a bison tag is essentially as difficult and as coveted as drawing a moose, bighorn sheep or mountain goat tag. To provide preference to someone owning as few as 20 acres used by bison and who may never or rarely have bison on the property is a taking from the many Montanans who desire an opportunity at this license. Is this encouraging subdivision of important habitat?   There is no definition as to what constitutes use by bison. Is this meant to be one animal for one day in the past five years? This needs to be revised and clarified. Please do not diminish the common Montana resident with an opportunity to hunt bison adjacent to YNP.  Vote no on HB-522. 

Thank you

Montana Sportsmen Alliance 

Leadership Team

Jeff Herbert    Helena

Tim Thier   Trego

Dale Tribby    Miles City

Joe Perry    Conrad

JW Westman   Park City

Don Thomas    Lewistown

Steve Schindler   Glasgow

Harvey Nyberg   Lewistown

Andrew McKean   Glasgow

Ray Gross   Dillon

Robert Wood   Hamilton

Greg Munther   Missoula

HB 593-Revise FWP laws related to publishing the number of nonresident

 HB 593 

Mr. Chairman and members of the House Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee

  The Montana Sportsmen Alliance is a coalition of resident hunters, anglers and sportsmen and women. We stand in support to HB-593. The need to publish the number and means by which non-resident hunting licenses are sold is an important step to get a handle on how much use is occurring in Montana. In addition to the items included in this bill, we encourage the bill to be amended to clearly define how many non-resident licenses are issue to non-residents utilizing an outfitter, not just those who acquired a preference point. Without this information, it will be difficult for future legislatures, FWP or the Commission to get a clear idea on how many and to whom these licenses are going to. We urge a do pass on HB-593. 

 Thank you

Montana Sportsmen Alliance Leadership Team
Jeff Herbert    HelenaTim Thier   TregoDale Tribby    Miles CityJoe Perry    ConradJW Westman   Park CityDon Thomas    LewistownSteve Schindler   GlasgowHarvey Nyberg   LewistownAndrew McKean   GlasgowRay Gross   DillonRobert Wood   HamiltonGreg Munther   Missoula

Mont Wildlife Federation Shoulder seasons are being abused by FWP

 

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Montana Wildlife Federation" <mwf@mtwf.org>

Subject: Shoulder seasons are being abused by FWP

Hi John, When Montana began extended elk “shoulder seasons” in 2015, they were not meant to be permanent, and more importantly they were never meant to replace the harvest of elk during our archery and rifle seasons.    But under a proposal from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, that’s where shoulder seasons are heading in 18 hunting districts. They include HDs 262, 290, 298, 390, 391, 393, 411, 417, 502, 510, 511, 520, 530, 540, 560, 575, 580 and 590. These are areas with very limited public hunting access during the archery and general seasons to help us manage elk populations.   The Commission last year shortened these seasons because they weren’t meeting the criteria that were agreed to with the hunters of Montana. Those included data collection on how they’re working, whether we’re seeing the increase in elk harvest during the 11-week archery and rifle seasons, and whether we’re getting half of the needed harvest in the longstanding archery and rifle seasons.     If the Commission considers accepting these recommendations, it has yet to provide the public the data on how these seasons are working, and whether they’re meeting the criteria for a shoulder season.   The shoulder seasons in the long run encourage some landowners to harbor elk. They can sell trophy bull hunts for six weeks of archery hunting and five weeks of rifle, then get hunters in for winter cow elk hunts to address the over population.   Contact the Commission today and tell them to stick to the agreement with the hunters of Montana. The deadline to comment is July 26, so please send your message by emailing the Commission at fwcomm@mt.gov.   PLEASE WRITE YOUR OWN MESSAGE, but hit these main points. Shoulder seasons aren’t meant to replace the harvest during Montana’s archery and rifle seasons. Hunters support fair chase and ethical hunting. Chasing elk in deep snows and bitter cold when they’re just trying to survive is not supported by hunters, or the general public. We need to see the data on whether these hunts are opening up more hunting access in the archery and rifle seasons, when we need the most elk harvest to effectively manage them, including by getting elk back onto public lands. This was never the deal that FWP made with the hunters of Montana, and it’s wrong to extend these hunts another month after elk have already been hunted for five months. Shoulder seasons mean fewer elk on public lands, more leasing of private lands and de facto game farming of our public elk for private interests to profit off of it. DONATE   Montana Wildlife Federation PO Box 1175 Helena , MT 59624 United States If you believe you received this message in error or wish to no longer receive email from us, pleaseunsubscribe.

 

GUEST VIEW

Guest view: Republican claims about outdoor legislation are inaccurate

• SKYLINE SPORTSMEN'S ASSOCIATION

The June 15 guest view published in the Montana Standard titled Our outdoor heritage, authored by Representatives Wylie Galt, Casey Knudsen, and Sue Vinton, suggested that Republican legislators worked to improve Montanans' recreational opportunities during the 2021 legislative session. They claimed to have improved wildlife management, expanded elk hunting opportunity, reduced efforts to shut off access to public lands, improved habitat, and reformed Montana’s outdoor management agencies. They accused Montanans, frustrated with their actions, of generating false claims about their work.

As a group of Montana resident sportsmen, the Butte Skyline Sportsmen’s Association respectfully disagrees with many of these claims. From our perspective, the 2021 legislative session was one of the most demanding and frustrating experienced, because of Republican-sponsored legislation. We do appreciate Republican-sponsored HB 353, which authorized replacement hunting licenses for harvested game deemed unfit for consumption, and the portion of HB 637 that increased Block Management reimbursement to landowners. We also appreciate funding allocated to the Habitat Montana Program through HB 701. However, funding allocation to the Habitat Montana Program — a program Butte Skyline Sportsmen's Association views as one of the most beneficial to Montana resident sportsmen and general public lands users — was not the result of Republican effort. Montanans spoke clearly, through their votes on Ballot Initiative 190, regarding our desire for this funding. Subsequently, Montanans had to fight Republican legislators to include this funding in HB 701.

From our perspective Republican-sponsored legislation also attempted to or did:

- commercially privatize our public elk to the benefit of some private landowners and wealthy nonresident hunters (HB 505, SB 143);

- increase the nonresident big game hunters in Montana (HB 637);

- reduce the public's ability to collectively purchase land for our interests (HB 677);

- reduce the public's ability to provide comment on environmental reviews by allowing financial charge for our comments (HB 695);

- require hunters to financially compensate some private landowners for crop damage resulting from over-objective elk populations even if hunters had no legal access to harvest those elk (HB 697);

- reduce the public's opportunity to pursue mature bull elk on public lands by removing long-established limited entry bull elk permits (HB 417);

- remove voter-approved conservation funding generated by taxes on marijuana (HB 670);

- complicate the public's ability to acquire private land conservation easements by adding layers of government hurdles (SB 115);

- remove administration of sportsmen-purchased Wildlife Management Areas and Fishing Access Sites from our Fish and Wildlife Commission (SB 153);

- secure a perpetual voting majority for some private landowners on the Fish and Wildlife Commission (SB 306);

- remove the public's ability to legally challenge disputed public rights-of-ways to public lands (SB 354);

- spend large amounts of sportsmen's funds on pheasant raise and release efforts that have long been proven ineffective (HB 637);

- remove hunters' ability to donate permit and license refund monies to the Habitat Montana Program (amendments to SB 208);

- prevent sportsmen-supported Andrew McKean from serving on the Fish and Wildlife Commission (SR 61);

- remove Montana resident sportsmen representation on the Board of Outfitters (SB 275);

- and overturn voter-approved Initiative 161, which made clear that the majority of Montanans don't support outfitter-guaranteed hunting license allocation (SB 143).

Throughout the session, Montana sportsmen overwhelmingly commented to the Senate Fish and Game committee on bills that were not in our best interest that were then moved out of committee on 7-4 party-line votes, with Republican legislators voting against Montana sportsmen's interests. Republican avoidance of Montana resident sportsmen input was clearly demonstrated when sportsmen-opposed elk management legislation that increased nonresident elk licenses was amended into HB 637 and voted out of committee in the final hours of the session without soliciting any public comment.

If the authors of "Our Outdoor Heritage" truly worked to benefit Montana resident outdoor opportunity last legislative session, what’s the need to write guest editorials explaining public benefit? Shouldn't the results of your work and the responses from the public speak for themselves?

The Butte Skyline Sportsmen's Association wants to emphasize these are our perspectives of the 2021 legislative session. We encourage Montana resident outdoor enthusiasts, especially resident hunters, not to blindly accept our perspectives or the perspectives of politicians, regardless of party affiliation. We encourage you to review the bill introductions and voting records from the 2021 legislative session and develop your own perspectives on how ongoing legislation is impacting your outdoor heritage. Information on introduced bills, bill amendments, and bill votes can be found at https://www.leg.mt.gov. If you need assistance navigating the Montana State Legislature website, please contact the Butte Skyline Sportsmen's Association at skylinesportsmen@gmail.com or our Facebook page at Skyline Sportsman’s Association Butte, MT.

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