Lest We Forget

Mail-In Primary Election Ballots are out... please vote for candidates that don't just talk about our Montana public lands & access, stream access, the environment & wildlife - vote for candidates who actually defend and enhance them with action!

Over the years, there are some candidates who keep running for a variety of positions. While they tout their desire for "public service" as their motivation, it is really about power & control - power and control to privatize and profit.

For example, in 2016 a group of Republicans went around Montana campaigning as a group - "Future Land Board". That was the whole bloody point of these candidates running for those specific positions, was to CONTROL our STATE LAND BOARD!!!

 

 

 

 

As far as public lands and access, including stream access, that is where some of these candidates really are dangerous for Montana.

So for a reminder as to how horrible some of these candidates are for Montana and Democracy in general, here is some of the research I have done over the years, made public for y'all on the EMWH website and networked thru the Newsletter...

Greg Gianforte lied, when he last ran for Governor, about our FWP Fishing Access Site Easement in the Gallatin - a perpetual easement, btw. He was trying to make a land grab by filing a lawsuit, demanding FWP give up our deeded public access. I went to the courthouse and clerk & recorders offices in Bozeman, got the lawsuit and the property records to show the truth. Click to view the Easement documentation webpage.

Gianforte also assaulted a journalist on the eve of the Special Election in 2017. Click to view the assault documentation webpage.

Now Gianforte is running for Governor again, whis is a Land Board position, this time with public access partner in obstruction - Kristen Juras.

Kristen Juras ran for the Montana Supreme Court. Once she filed, I looked thru law journals to see what she wrote about. I found a law review - Stop the Beach Renourishment. On page 58 she wrote, "Although the early Montana courts and legislature strongly protected riparian rights (1) by extending riparian ownership to the low-water mark of navigable waters and to the middle of non-navigable waters, and (2) by affirming the riparian owner's right to exclude the public's use of privately-owned stream beds, these rights have progressively eroded. The first erosion was slight (and, in view of Montana's affinity for fishing, caused little controversy) -the adoption in 1933 of the 'angler's statute' allowing fishermen to enter onto the banks of navigable rivers between the low- and high-water marks for purposes of fishing. The second erosion was monumental-the expansion of the public trust doctrine to allow public use of both navigable and non-navigable stream beds for recreational use." She's talking about our Stream Access and Public Trust Doctrine as an erosion!

Click to view the Kristen Juras anti-public access documentation webpage.

Troy Bryan Downing Jr. ran for U.S. Senate in 2018. He is now running for one of those Land Board positions, State Auditor.

A week before Downing was to stand trial for the 9 FWP hunting violations (including purchasing Resident license when he was a California resident, robbing FWP of the funds), Downing plead guilty to 2 charges as part of a plea agreement. Click to view the Troy Downing FWP documentation webpage.

Additionally, Downing hired a Republican opposition researcher from Washington, D.C., who used to work for the Republican National Committee doing oppo research, to research me - not a candidate - as a result of my watchdogging research.

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On an additional political front, in February I attended our Montana Progressive Democrats annual meeting. I was asked to run and was elected for the Communications position. The Montana Progressive Democrats are a chartered & recognized partner organization of the Montana Democratic Party.

I'm gradually working on the Montana Progressive Democrats website, showcasing progressive activism and positions from across the state (be patient). I just recently produced the Candidate Endorsement memes, you can check those out on our MT Progressive Dems twitter page.

Click to be a Contributor or Subscriber to
Enhancing Montana's Wildlife & Habitat

Thank you,
Kathryn QannaYahu
406-579-7748
www.EMWH.org
Helena, MT

Conservation in the Time of Coronavirus

Like many others, I had been sick for weeks. Thankfully, a friend in CA whose company made clothing, retooled to make masks for medical care workers. She sent me 5 yards of a medical grade thermal bonded nonwoven polypropylene filter material that I've been doubling in the masks I've been making, to help protect some of our older populations. I know from other conservation conversations with friends, there are others sewing masks across the state to aid efforts to protect the public and our medical care workers. This is how we step up to help our communities.

To those medical care and essential workers, thank you.

To those making masks - thank you.

To those wearing masks - thank you.

To those not wearing masks - wear a @#%* mask!!!

 

 

 

 

As with all things, I don't rely on MSM for news, I've been researching academic papers. I came across an academic paper addressing need for increased social distancing, staggering or side-by-side while exercising outdoors, for example on populated trails and parks. Towards aerodynamically equivalent COVID-19 1.5 m social distancing for walking and running.

Weather and humidity can affect droplet concentration. "They found that deep exhalation (exercise) yielded a four to sixfold increase in concentration and rapid inhalation a further two- to threefold increase in concentration."

 

 

 

 

 

15 ft for walking

33 ft for jogging/slow cycling

65 ft for running/fast cycling

While Montanans love our public lands and public access, please be safe outdoors.

You can check this link for FWP coronavirus COVID-19 related closure and suspension news/updates.

Trump seizes on pandemic to speed up opening of public lands to industry

"The secretary of the interior, David Bernhardt, has sped efforts to drill, mine and cut timber on fragile western landscapes. Meanwhile, the EPA, headed by the former coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler, has weakened critical environmental laws and announced in March that it would cease oversight of the nation’s polluters during the Covid-19 crisis."

Rules Change

Notice of Adoption of Administrative Rules Pertaining to Public Access Landowner Agreements

Mike Korn (retired FWP) and I attended the FWP hearing, in Feb., to address a number of concerns about this program's rules. I took my copy of Gov. Bullock's letter with me, in response to my comments during SB 341 and the lack of protection for our public lands access, especially historical prescriptive easements, RS 2477 & RR grants deeds with easement in the public language.

"Accordingly, as my administration implements this bill, I am directing the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks to adopt rules that will require the Department to determine if the public already has access to a property before finalizing any agreement under SB 341."

While the language is better, including language we recommended about FWP exercising "due diligence" to research any pre-existing public access,

"The department may not enter a PALA where there is an existing right of public access over the proposed access route. If the department is uncertain whether the proposed access route is public or private, or if a controversy exists over whether the proposed access route is public or private, the department shall present its findings to the PL/PW for its consideration in its recommendation."

FWP elaborates in RESPONSE #7: "In response to this comment, the department has amended the proposed language to better explicitly state the department will exercise due diligence so as not to enter into any agreements for which a right to public access already exists. In its exercise of due diligence, the department intends to use a checklist of questions and criteria to ensure that there is no existing public access. The department's checklist would include things such as checking county records to make sure the proposed route is not a county or public road and that the county does not do maintenance on it, checking with FWP field staff along with staff of the agency that manages the public land to be accessed to see if they are aware of any asserted claims or controversies related to public access, checking newspaper articles and press, and checking with local or area leaders."

Yet, FWP does not mention unperfected historical prescriptive easements directly, which would not be recorded in county records, or possibly some of the RS 2477 roads/trails. While Railroad Grant Deeds, which may include "easement in the public" language, these also may not show up in county maps of easements. The railroad grant deeds are also not directly addressed.

Without the specifics, the public will not know if "due diligence" is actually being exercised. So my recommendation is for the public to routinely request applications to watchdog and research any existing public access, including unperfected historical prescriptive easements, RS 2477 and Railroad Grant Deed easements. Without individual or group sponsorship to pay for public access research, I unfortunately cannot continue to pour myself out doing this public access research freely, as needed as it may be.

Ups and Downs for Bison Restoration - Proposal by Montana Wild Bison Restoration Coalition

"Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks has solicited site-specific proposals for bison restoration and conservation in our state... Therefore, we have produced a draft proposal to develop a herd entirely within the UL Bend area of the Refuge, north of Fort Peck Reservoir. The herd would be allowed to grow up to 400 animals, contained within about 150 square miles of diverse habitat...

Most Montanans have little or no awareness of this situation. It is urgent to develop public recognition of the precarious status of bison conservation in our state. The Montana Wild Bison Restoration Coalition will do all it can in this regard. But there are many distractions in the public media this year. We implore readers to post bison information on personal websites and to promote forthright public discussion, especially by national and state organizations dedicated to wildlife conservation."

The Rapid Decline Of The Natural World Is A Crisis Even Bigger Than Climate Change

"The study from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform On Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), expected to run to over 8,000 pages, is being compiled by more than 500 experts in 50 countries. It is the greatest attempt yet to assess the state of life on Earth and will show how tens of thousands of species are at high risk of extinction, how countries are using nature at a rate that far exceeds its ability to renew itself, and how nature’s ability to contribute food and fresh water to a growing human population is being compromised in every region on earth."

A Peek at the Party Platforms: A quick look at both political party platforms will indicate their intentions towards our Public Lands by Harold Johns

"Privatizing of our public lands is being promoted by politicians. A two-minute computer search of Montana’s Republican Platform, Page 12, and a two-minute computer search of Montana’s Democratic Platform, Page 8, will clearly reveal the parties' public-lands philosophies. The purpose of this article is to explain to Montanans who use public lands, ranchers in this instance, what could happen if the public land they run cows on were privatized."

Click to be a Contributor or Subscriber to
Enhancing Montana's Wildlife & Habitat

Thank you,
Kathryn QannaYahu
406-579-7748
www.EMWH.org
Helena, MT