Handful of bills could drastically change wildlife management in state

By WALT WILLIAMS, Chronicle Staff Writer

Mountain lions and wolves. License fees and taxidermists. For any issue related to hunting, it's a safe bet that a legislator in Helena has drafted a bill for it.

More than 2,000 bills have been proposed for the current Legislative session. Only a handful concern hunting and other outdoors activities, but a few could drastically change wildlife management in the state.

Recreational groups such as the Montana Wildlife Federation are pushing a number of causes this session, but one of their top priorities is to let hunting advocates have greater say in how game is managed.

Larry Copenhaver, MWF's conservation director, said his organization wants to change the make-up of the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission, which oversees the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

The five commission members are appointed by the governor from across the state. Currently, the only restriction is that one member "must be experienced in the breeding and management of livestock."

The problem, Copenhaver said, is that in recent years the commission has become overrun with people representing the state's agricultural interests.

"It is only appropriate that members of the commission have a hunting or fishing background," he said.

For that reason, MWF is supporting initiatives such as House Bill 352, sponsored by Jeff Laszloffy, R-Laurel, which would require that at least one commission member be an active member of a recreational organization.

Hunting advocates want wildlife management to focus on keeping game populations in high and supposedly healthy numbers.

But farmers and ranchers don't want wildlife eating their crops or competing with their livestock for prime grazing areas. Wildlife management, they say, should be based on sustainability of resources for all interests involved.

"I think it is a little bit risky for us to start specifying the make-up of that commission," said Steve Pilcher, executive director of the Montana Stockgrowers Association.

It's vital for the commission to represent "diverse interests," since nearly every group in the state is somehow effected by wildlife management, he said.

But, at the same time, Pilcher concedes he wouldn't be bothered if the commission was tilted toward landowners, given their "significant role" in land stewardship.

At this point, it's hard to predict the fate of HB 352 or any other proposed hunting legislation.

The bills must first win committee approval - in this case, the House Fish, Wildlife and Parks and Senate Fish and Game committees - before moving on their respective houses.

The following bills are just a sampling of what's to come this session:

€ House Bill 42, sponsored by Rep. Debby Barrett, R-Dillon, would require that FWP calculate the total amount of habitat needed for elk, deer and antelope, but exclude private land from the estimate.

If there isn't enough public land to sustain the current populations of each species, then the proposed legislation orders "reductions" in the number of animals until a viable population is reached.

The bill's sponsor says that wildlife numbers have continued to increase during the past 70 years, and as a result damage to private land has increased dramatically.

But recreational groups claim that any assessment that leaves out private lands is flawed. Animals migrate, and their ranges ignore human boundaries.

"We are all into resource management, but it's pretty hard to get down to an exact number," said Randy Newberg, co-founder of Headwaters Fish and Game Association in Bozeman.

€ Senate Bill 122, sponsored by Sen. Bill Tash, R-Dillon, also addresses the population problem, but in this case it allows hunters to bag a second elk during the season.

Currently, hunters can only take one elk during the year.

The legislation would give FWP the authority to issue B tags to hunters to take an anterless elk.

Unlike the former bill, SB 122 comes at the request of FWP.

€ House Bill 248, sponsored by Joe Balyeat, R-Belgrade, would guarantee that youths receive their first combo hunting license for free.

Currently, young hunters pay a fee for their license just like any other hunter.

Balyeat said he hopes the free license would encourage more young people to take up hunting.

The free license would also ease the financial burden on poor families, he said.

Other proposed bills include stricter regulations for taxidermists (HB 97), adding a "Right to Hunt" clause to the state constitution (HB 306) and delisting wolves as an endangered species (SJ 4 and others).

More bills are still being drafted. Among them, a bill proposed by the Montana Stockgrowers Association would eliminate most seasonal restrictions on hunting.

In its place, FWP would set quotas on the number of animals taken from the population each year. This would allow the agency to better manage game populations, Pilcher said.

The association is still looking for sponsors.

Another bill being drafted would prohibit game farms from bringing in deer and certain other species of herbivores from outside Montana.

That bill has the support of the MWF, which claims these animals could bring in chronic wasting disease that would infect wild populations.

For the most part, hunting advocates such as Glenn Hackett, president of the Gallatin Wildlife Association, don't place much faith in legislators to accomplish anything for their cause.

If anything, it's getting worse, with hunters facing more restrictions and less access to public lands, he said.

"The hunting and fishing community has been on the defensive for years," he said.

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