Here's Some Good Advocates Doing Something...

"All it takes for evil to succeed
is that good men should look on and do nothing."

Public Access Storm Brewing Over the Crazy Mountains

The Crazy Mountains in Montana have been a public access hotbed, beginning in 1940. As then Forest Service Supervisor G. E. Martin writes (from my FOIA documents) detailing the variety of uses documented in the historic Crazy Mountains, including mining, timber, grazing, trappers, hunters and recreation, "At no time was travel over the roads and trails restricted until October 1940 when Van Cleve locked the gate during the hunting season. In 1941 this was done again. In 1942 the gate was again locked before the opening of the hunting season and was still locked on April 24, 1943."

I have an ask:

If you have been in the Crazy Mountains...

• perhaps you received a citation when you were on a FS Trail on their map;

• perhaps you have been on one of these contested trail and you thankfully did not ask landowner permission or sign in and would like to add your account to the prescriptive easement history;

• perhaps you would just like to share your story and/or some pictures of what these particular public lands and access mean to you?

If so, please contact Kathryn : kathryn@emwh.org or 406-579-7748


Michael Wright wrote an article in the Bozeman Chronicle this weekend -
Advocates outraged over reassignment of Forest Service ranger 

"Landowner concerns over Sienkiewicz’s work to preserve public access to the Crazy Mountains near Big Timber were brought up to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue as recently as late May. Perdue was in Montana for the Montana Ag Summit, and he met with several agriculture groups along with Montana’s Republican U.S. Sen. Steve Daines.

The Montana Stockgrowers Association was part of the meeting. Jay Bodner, the natural resources director for the Stockgrowers Association, said each group in the meeting had a variety of concerns, and that public access conflicts in the Crazies was one issue for his group.

'We did have a number of our members kind of concerned with the access issue there in the Crazies,' Bodner said."


I have been busy digging through my FOIA documents, gleaning proof to refute the false allegations against former District Ranger Alex Sienkiewicz. I composed and provided this refutation letter, with supporting Refutation Documents to Public Land/Water Access Association. They are sending out their official letter and Refutation Documents to the officials below. Please consider gleaning information from both, to send in your own comments, including to the other officials, agencies connected and the organizations involved, such as the Montana Farm Bureau Federation, the Stock Growers Association, the Montana Outfitters & Guides Association.

PLWA's Letter Defending Alex Sienkiewicz as Yellowstone District Ranger

Refutation Documents Defending Alex Sienkiewicz as Yellowstone District Ranger

Please note the following additional points:

• After Lee Gustafson posted the yearly seasonal reminder to FS employees and seasonal help to PLWA's Facebook page, outfitter and Crazy Mountain landowner, Chuck Rein, who is also the Vice-President of the Montana Outfitters & Guides Association, along with MOGA Executive  Mac Minard met with then Yellowstone District Ranger Alex Sienkiewicz and Custer Gallatin National Forest Supervisor Mary Erickson on August 17, 2016. Refutation Documentation PDF pgs. 21 & 22 show, "Chuck Rein presented Alex Sienkiewicz and Mary Erickson with a copy of an EMAIL Alex had sent outto staff with cc to Forest Leadership Team." This is the communication that falsely alleged that District Ranger Alex Sienkiewicz posted directly to PLWA's Facebook post, which he did not - PLWA member with administrative rights, Lee Gustafson - per the screenshot (pdf page 10) "Both Mac Minnard and Chuck Rein asked Mary Erickson if she agreed with my (Alex's) position regarding never signing-in and never asking permission of private landowners at traditional forest access points, and Mary stated that she did support this position."
• On January14, 2017 MOGA sponsored a Montana Access forum in Helena, MT. Region 1 Regional Supervisor Leanne Marten was invited as one of the speakers. This meeting is referenced in the Montana Farm Bureau Federations letter to Sen. Steve Daines on January 30, 2017 (PDF pg. 4). In the closing paragraph, John Youngberg writes, "This issue was brought to the attention of Region 1 Forester Leanne Marten at a recent Montana Outfitters and Guides meeting where she wasn't willing to commit an answer to the question above."
• At that meeting MOGA Vice-President asked Regional Supervisor Leanne Marten, during the question period, "One of the comments I've heard about is partnership and cooperation. How have prescriptive easements and adverse possession lined up with those goals?" Marten began replying, "Something tells me there's a lot more behind that question." Yes, there certainly is, like the privatization of our public lands and resources on them, especially the wildlife that he outfits, restricting the public's access to both the public lands and wildife. I have documents related to this outfitting coming up on another installment.
  

____________________

Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, DC 20250 (202) 720-2791

Forest Service Chief, Thomas Tidwell,  ttidwell@fs.fed.us   (202) 205-8439

Region 1, Regional Forester Leann Marten,  lmarten@fs.fed.us   (406) 329-3315

Custer Gallatin National Forest Supervisor Mary Erickson,  mcerickson@fs.fed.us  (406) 587-6949

Senator Steve Daines, steve@daines.senate.gov   (202) 224-2651

Even though Sen. Tester was not evident in the letters, please contact him as well.
Sen. Jon Tester,  senator@tester.senate.gov   (202) 224-2644

Representative Greg Gianforte, 1419 Longworth HOB, Washington, DC 20515

 

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


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

Alex Sienkiewicz Removed as Yellowstone District Ranger

Damned if you do, Damned if you don't...

Photo courtesy the Billings Gazette

East Crazy Mountain Public Access webpage (under construction)

I have been dealing with a situation since Monday. It is a side trail of a bigger issue I began researching in the spring of 2015, about 3 years ago - the intentional obstruction of public access to our public lands in the Crazy Mountains, most specifically, the East Side. I spoke with the Yellowstone District Ranger Alex Sienkiewicz about trails, marked maps, took photos of much older maps. Periodically, I dig back into this situation which has been ongoing for decades.

Some of this research was presented at a BHA meeting this last fall in Bozeman. Rob Gregoire had drawn an elk tag for one of those hunt districts in Sweet Grass County. He scouted the FS Trail 115/136. After his scouting trip, I placed a FS FOIA for that area.Then Gregoire went back to hunt, on returning he was met by a deputy issuing him a criminal trespass citation. Shortly after I received my FOIA, which had abundant documentation of the public aspect of the trail. So I set up a webpage with his story, to help defend his case for public access (thank you to all those that contributed to Rob). See, Rob had taken every effort to avoid intentional trespass, including verifying the trail with Yellowstone District Ranger Alex Sienkiewicz. But the Department of Justice would not allow Sienkiewicz, nor the Custer Gallatin National Forest Supervisor Mary Erickson from testifying during Rob's hearing, without that testimony, everything was hearsay and my FOIA documents were after the fact.

The first deal the Sweet Grass County Attorney Pat Dringman offered to Rob included his paying $250 to the local Crazy Mountain Stockgrowers Association and another $250 to the Montana Farm Bureau (page 2). That pissed me off, this smacked of corruption. What did either of those two groups have to do with Rob's case??? So I wrote an oped - Crazy Mountain Public Access Fight, including that Pat Dringman's wife, Page Carroccia Dringman, owned the ranch at the top end of the FS Trail 115/136 (who has been obstructing access on that end), suggesting Dringman needed to recuse himself. Rob settled for a deferred prosecution, no guilt.

Then I found out that on June 16, 2017, Yellowstone District Ranger, Alex Sienkiewicz, was removed from his position for doing his job, which included advocating on our behalf in the frickin' Crazy Mountains; this removal was authorized by the newly sworn in Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue (April 25, 2017), who was recently here in Montana on a tour.  You might think that with the whole nations ag business to deal with, our local District Ranger doing his job would not be a top priority for him. Sienkiewicz's removal really pissed me off, so I contacted PLWA, Hunt Talk, hunter/anglers across the state and Brett French who had written on some of these Crazy Mountain issues before, giving French the beginning of some documents for proof and the basics. French wrote a detailed article: District ranger faces internal investigation over Crazy Mountain access dispute. 

I began setting up the web pages to deal with the documentation - y'all know - I play the long game. This is rudimentary right now, but I will be setting this up interactively like I did the Durfee Hills map so that you can see who all the players are, timelines and documents.

I have a letter from the Montana Farm Bureau Federation with false allegations against Alex Sienkiewicz, which they sent to Senator Steve Daines, who then forwarded it to Forest Service Chief Thomas Tidwell and carbon copied Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and Region 1, Regional Forester Leann Marten (Montana in Missoula) on May 26th. Another letter, May 29th, from a handful of the landowners adjacent to the FS, some of which outfit like Page Carroccia Dringman and Chuck Rein, Vice President of Montana Outfitters and Guides Association, was sent to Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue and Senator Daines, with many of the same accusations against Sienkiewicz - who then gets removed as District Ranger for doing his job.

Here's the thing - 2 public land hunters: Joe Rookhuizen and Rob Gregoire, contacted Senator Daines about their public access issues in the Crazy Mountain. But privatizing landowners get in touch with Daines, with false allegations and no investigation into a certain matter and Daines is reaching out as far as the Secretary of Agriculture for his removal? Seriously?

These privatizers are not just targeting Alex Sienkeiwicz, they are making him the poster child for any employee who does their job, their public trust stewardship for the public, they are targeting all federal employees - "Do your job and this will be your fate".

One of my FOIA documents spells out one of Sienkiewicz's responsibilities he was fulfilling for the public:
2002 Briefing Paper, National Forest System Trails Across Private Land, Gallatin National Forest

“The growing demand for dispersed recreation on public lands, and the changes and trends in private landownership, have brought considerable attention to the trails issue on this Forest. At an increasing rate, landowners are questioning the status of trails across private land. Private land within and adjacent to this Forest continues to be sold. New owners may or may not recognize the existing public access through their lands. Some trails on private land are being lost through subdivision, closure or obliteration.

As a result, it is critical for the Gallatin NF to continue to have a strong and consistent policy and presence in: (a) signing and maintaining our trail system across private lands; (b) defending historic trail access rights if challenged; and (c) perfecting trail access rights across private lands whenever that opportunity exists.”

In the Direction and Policy section they wrote, “Under FLPMA and FSM 5460 direction...In situation where an existing NFS trail crosses private lands, and no deeded easement exist, the Forest Service position is as follows: The United States has acquired a right-of-way from the trail through development, maintenance and continuous use of the trail. As a matter of law, the Forest Service believes that there is a public access easement for the trail. The Forest Service is a beneficiary of this public right of access, will continue its efforts to defend the public's right of access.

(1) Protect and maintain historic evidence, including trail blazes, signs, maps, photos and maintenance records.

(2) Maintain and sign the trail on a regular basis, and keep records and photos of this maintenance, and

(3) Take prompt action in the event that landowners threaten or take action to close or obliterate the trail.”

As PLWA Vice President John Gibson (retired Forest Service) roared, “Don't reassign him; I say, CLONE HIM! You need more rangers with the intestinal fortitude to protect and enhance access to the national forest.”

Certain Sweet Grass County landowners threatened and took action to close or obliterate public access FS trails in the Crazy Mountains. They have also threatened and taken action against our public trust District Ranger, Alex Sienkiewicz, who was following FS Direction and Policy in defending our public trust from privatization –  doing his public trust job. 

I beg you to show the same level of defense for our public access and Alex Sienkiewicz's reinstatement as Yellowstone District Ranger, by raising your concerns to the same officials that the privatizers just did with false allegations. Because when you see the roll out of information to come and the players agendas, you will agree, this isn't just about one man and his job, it is about what he was doing as a steward of our public lands that others greedily desire for their own.

Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, DC 20250 (202) 720-2791

Forest Service Chief, Thomas Tidwell,  ttidwell@fs.fed.us   (202) 205-8439

Region 1, Regional Forester Leann Marten,  lmarten@fs.fed.us   (406) 329-3315

Custer Gallatin National Forest Supervisor Mary Erickson,  mcerickson@fs.fed.us  (406) 587-6949

Senator Steve Daines, steve@daines.senate.gov   (202) 224-2651

Even though Sen. Tester was not evident in the letters, please contact him as well.
Sen. Jon Tester,  senator@tester.senate.gov   (202) 224-2644

 

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

2017 Montana Special Election, House of Representatives

"I don't think there was a winner in this election.
The democrats lost the vote and the republicans got a loser."
~ Antlerradar, Hunt Talk Forum

 2017 Montana Special Election, House of Representatives

They say hindsight is 20/20, but it is not like there weren't signs along the way. It is not like everything was covered in camouflage, so blended in, that you could not see the issues for what they were. In the end, it wasn't a candidate that lost, it is Montana as a whole, regardless of which way the wind blew.

I read an interesting economics article, over a month ago, about zero-sum game theory or economic theory. Bear with me. Imagine a cake, a fixed situation. For someone to "win", get a larger share than another, they have to increase their share by taking some from another, causing them to "lose". In zero-sum, there have to be losers for someone to be a winner. You very much see this in Trump's world view.

As an egalitarian, I do not have a zero-sum world view. I believe in building up the whole that we all can benefit, building up partners.

Disgusted with all the politics, the partisan bs, here are some of my perspectives of this recent Montana election.

As an Independent, I am revolted that I only get two choices - hell, I have over 1500 font files on my computer because I like choices. Yes, I would like other options, like a Theodore Roosevelt type of candidate!

Breaking this down, I was disappointed in the Democratic Party's choice. I had emailed our local Gallatin County Party with my suggestion for Amanda Curtis - she had governmental experience, had already been vetted, had a previous network of supporters that could be activated quickly, and she is extremely passionate for serving the public and very much exhibits accountability (must be something in the Butte water that breeds such passionate advocates), etc. 5 of Gallatin County's votes went to Curtis.

When someone recently asked who the people were that voted for Quist in the primary, I linked to the Democratic County Committee webpage. That is when it hit me, there were not 56 county committees there - I counted - there were only 28, exactly 1/2 of the 56 counties.

When I grew up, my father had a saying, "Don't do a half assed job." Being a graphically minded person, I couldn't figure out as a very young girl, why a phrase would develop with a one cheeked person in relation to labor effort. As I got older and had ag experience, I figured it had to do with a team of asses for labor, the results greater than the two divided.

Now hearing the rumors that the Democratic party was not wholly invested in the election was bad enough, because my philosophy in life is if you go into a situation believing you will fail, you will make decisions to ensure that you do. Not good strategy in my book. But looking at only 1/2 of the 56 counties represented, that does not speak to me that the party of the "people" is invested in the people of Montana when there are only 28 county committees.

And if you don't think that has bearing on elections, take a look at this New York Times Montana county elections map. I was watching their page live that night because it was faster with more parameters than MT Secretary of States website. Anyway, I took a screenshot of the image, blew it up, added the county names in and added a white D to the counties that are listed as having committees. See for yourself, a picture is worth a 1000 words.

So if anyone wants to take an honest look at being the "party of the people", here is your roadmap to correcting this situation.


Now, I was not in Montana back in the day, but I have read about  Montana's Copper Kings, people trying to buy legislative seats and such. This appears to be a revival effort in a number of the last elections - Dark money made Mont. election ugly before assault , with nearly $5.2 million spent as of May 5th. This election made national news not just because of television shooting candidates talking about the Second Amendment, while Gianforte "allegedly" grabbed a reporter for asking a question about the Health Care CBO numbers, body slammed our First Amendment, freedom of the press, to the frickin ground the night before the election. Some voters had voter remorse, having already sent in their ballots, wanting to know if they could change their vote. The Lee Enterprise newspapers, however, in their voter remorse, were able to rescind their endorsements, while the Missoulian included another example of Gianforte's temper when they interviewed him; in a case of too little, too late, this example was not previously published to help give the public a heads up. Gianforte did not publicly apologize to Ben Jacobs, until after he won the election, nor did he apologize for an attempted bullying lawsuit to force FWP to abandon a perpetual public access site easement.

Did Montana win in any way in this special election? I don't think so.

Because even though a candidate won the election, this candidate will have future issues with the press for one of their own being treated criminally. And the sh*t will continue to roll downhill.

As stated by the Helena IR's article, Gianforte may face extra scrutiny from D.C. press after assault charges -

"At least one longtime D.C. political analyst believes that Gianforte may also be shunned by the Republican leadership and given less important committee assignments in an effort to avoid tying the Republican party to his personal controversy. James A. Thurber, a distinguished professor of government at American University and the founder of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, said the fact that Speaker of the House Paul Ryan had call on Gianforte to apologize was telling.

'For the Speaker to publicly say, "The gentleman should apologize," something generally doesn’t get to this,' said Thurber, who has written 12 books on American politics. 'Therefore, the party leadership may take him aside and say, "You've got to be a little more civilized in terms of the way you interact with the press." '

Thurber said the controversy could affect Gianforte's stature in Congress.

'People that have been around a long time, when they’re judging who should get certain committee assignments, this doesn’t help (Gianforte). There are things that are unsaid that happen. There will be opportunities that don’t come about (for Gianforte) because of things like this, but he’ll never know it.'

He added said that normally, not many people even know who freshmen members of Congress are.

'To pop out like this among freshmen, especially in a special election, is rare,' Thurber said. 'To be a showboat this early is not good. Usually, nobody even knows who they are. They co-sponsor a few bills, do constituent work and vote with the party.'

Thurber also predicted that Gianforte would suffer politically if he becomes a national punchline, especially if his interaction with Jacobs is parodied by Saturday Night Live, which Thurber said on Friday afternoon would 'probably' happen.

'If he turns into a joke, that’s deadly for a public official,' Thurber said. "


So I would admonish, both the Republican and Democratic parties, to get their act together, for the benefit of MONTANA, and provide decent candidates before the midterm election so that Montana does not continue to be a political embarrassment on the state and national scene. And to the voters, I sure as hell hope that "the people" will demand better representatives than what we have been served of late.

And just to add some food for thought, and because I don't advocate zero-sum game or economic theory - being tired of hearing all the polarized party ad hominem attacks of "libruls" and "trumptards" being out of touch with the people, here are some economic visuals based on the 2016 county votes in the national election (I didn't vote for either of these national candidates) and a paper on our public lands county economics. I believe we can build the whole up, but first, people need to have eyes to see what is currently going on.

I expect that some are not going to want to see or hear this, but the below chart showed the economic output by county, correlated with how the county voted in the 2016 presidential election. On a national level, less than 500 US counties, liberal by some political standards, are economically carrying more than 2,600 counties.

 

At a recent Public lands and access meeting I went to in Red Lodge, Mike Haggerty from Headwaters Economics in Bozeman, gave a presentation on western counties economics.Basically, counties with public lands economically do better than counties with smaller amounts and counties with protected public lands do the best. Some of the slides he used are in the following Headwaters paper: Today’s Economy & the Role of Federal Lands.

So those are some of my post election thoughts. We, the people, deserve better; Montana deserves better! 

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


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

 

The Public Trust Doctrine & Montana's Stream Access

Physics - For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction... this is my "equal and opposite" reaction.

Even if you are not from Montana, you need to read this, the applications go beyond our state borders.

For over a year, Rick Berman and Will Coggin (D.C. special interest lobbyists) have been attacking grassroots hunting & angling groups, especially Montanans, labeling them "green decoys". During the 2016 election, I found Montana Supreme Court candidate, Kristen Juras' paper against the public trust doctrine and Montana's Stream Access; PERC (Property and Environment Research Center) put out an oped attacking the Public Trust Doctrine and Montana grassroots hunting & angling groups.  During the 2017 Legislative session, a number of legislators attacked the Public Trust Doctrine, equating it with "a taking", making it sound like a dirty word; Coggin began emailing our legislators attacking the local hunters and anglers that defend our public trust; and certain special interest legislators publicly attacked the grassroots groups attempting to brand them with the slanderous "green decoy" label. Enough was enough. I had to make time to refute all the bullshit.

Despite Juras' belief that Stream Access is a monumental erosion of private property; despite Sen. Jennifer Fielder's "fears" and lack of understanding; the Public Trust Doctrine is not new, it predates our US and Montana Constitutions, and is already in our Montana Constitution. Building on documentation I had been accumulating, I have spent the last couple months on this refutation, to arm the public with the truth about the foundation of the public trust doctrine and our stream access - to change the conversation.

Utilizing my pre-conservation research background, I have woven together this refutation history with endnotes for veracity. Additionally, I set up a webpage to house every piece of documentation involved in PDF for verifying, reading and downloading, including Supreme Court cases and Montana bills that go back to the 1800's.

The history provided illustrates not only the older Public Trust Doctrine foundation, but also examines the present attacks, especially in Montana, by out-of-state dark money interests and local efforts to undermine the Public Trust Doctrine itself, as well as the grassroots hunting/angling conservationists that have long defended the public trust.

To ensure our Montana Stream Access is here to stay, we need to educate and equip ourselves with the Public Trust Doctrine, defending it against private, legislative and judicial attacks; diligently and tirelessly challenge each access violation, in order to preserve our world-class, “Best in the West”, Montana Stream Access, for future generations.

The Public Trust Doctrine & Montana's Stream Access is brought to you for free and is open access for non-commercial use. You may download, view, copy and print and distribute this document as a whole. If you would like to contribute towards the many hours of research and compilation, it would be greatly appreciated, but this is first and foremost a labor of conservation love, to assist in Putting the "Public" Back In "Public Trust".

Click on Cover for the Public Trust Doctrine &

                  Montana's Stream Access report and documentation webpage.

Thank you,


Kathryn QannaYahu

SB 236 Senator Jedediah Hinkle's Washington D.C. Decoy

Who is the real Washington D.C., dark money, decoy here?
Exposing Rick Berman and Will Coogin's Green Decoy Project
 

Today, on Voices of Montana, Sen. Jennifer Fielder and Sen. Jedediah Hinkle were guests, speaking about SB 236. Towards the end of the first segment, 28:43 mark, Hinkle says,

“Senate Bill 236, I would just to let your listeners know out there, One thing I want to warn everyone of, be careful the emails you get, because there's a lot of Green Decoy groups out there, who are really just shills, they may sound like sportsmen, they may advocate that they are sportsmen...” (the announcer cuts in) “Jedediah, I have been tricked myself. Make sure you go to greendecoys.com, check out whose who."

For those that may not know, some of us have been watching and researching a couple of players in this game for years on Hunt Talk - Rick Berman and Will Coggin (transfer federal public lands to states), both from Washington D. C. In fact, their orchestration of slandering and attacking average hunter/angler groups in the western states became so large, as well as their other activities, journalists and organizations began investigating them. There is now a whole website dedicated to exposing Rick Berman's organization and the many fronts he operates on Rick Berman Exposed. SourceWatch also has a wiki page.

“Richard 'Rick' Berman is a longtime Washington, D.C. public relations specialist whose lobbying and consulting firm, Berman and Company, Inc., advocates for special interests and powerful industries. Berman and Co. wages deceptive campaigns against industry foes including labor unions; public-health advocates; and consumer, safety, animal welfare, and environmental groups.”

One of his front group projects is Green Decoys. “Green Decoys is a project of the Center for Organizational Research and Education that claims several sportsmen, hunting, and fishing groups are actually fronts for environmentalists.”

If you go to their Green Decoy site, you will see a video with Montana's Land Tawney on it. Green Decoys wants to fearmonger your support by stating that these hunting/angling groups are green decoy's because they are sportsmen in name only, targeting Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, Trout Unlimited and TRCP. In Montana they target local groups like Montana Sportsmen Alliance, Montana Hunters & Anglers, and Montana Wildlife Federation. In true McCarthyism style they attack any groups grant funding and associations. Hell, they even have me listed on the MSA section. “MSA’s website was designed and is maintained by Kathryn QannaYahu. QannaYahu is a member of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, a Green Decoy, and the Public Land/Water Access Association, an anti-property rights environmental group.”

Yes, as a public trust advocate, I work with MSA, Helena Hunters & Anglers, quite a number of other grassroots hunting/angling groups in MT; am a BHA, MT Trout Unlimited and PLWA member and am damn proud of it! 

Recently, in a classic psychological projection, one of the bull$h*t green decoy originators, working for Berman from Washington D.C., Will Coggin (public land transfer), who likes to blanket western states with disparaging letters to the editor about our local groups, took to emailing our MT legislators, stating, “There are several groups active in the state who claim to represent sportsmen. But our research points to these groups simply being camouflage for radical environmentalists.”

Here is a screenshot below.

 

The fact that one of our Montana Senators, Sen. Hinkle has thrown in with the likes of Berman and Coggin, publicly brought up “Green Decoys”, in relation to SB 236, speaks volumes to me, as if I wasn't already convinced to oppose it.

Sen. Hinkle owes the conservation hunters and anglers of Montana an apology!  Sen.Jedediah.Hinkle@mt.gov   if you are so inclined to let him know.

 

SB 236 has little to do with any of us being able to hunt and more about the big corporations funding this nationwide “rights” movement, to guarantee themselves a market and fearmongering based sales. 

Don't be deceived by Hinkle's publicly maligning tactic against a number of Montana's grassroots hunting/angling groups.

See SB 236 for what it is.

Constitutional Amendment
SB 236 - Oppose - Passed the Senate 30 to 20, on the 28th, has a hearing before House Judiciary 4/3. Fielder's Constitutional referendum to safeguard right to hunt, fish, and trap wildlife. Current text. Various suggested text amendments have been proposed, from various sportsmens groups and the Sportsmens Caucus group, but nothing agreed on by all. Which speaks to me, that this bill (or one similar), which affects our Constitution, needs much more work and vetting before going before the legislature in such a rushed manner this year. (reported on 2/15)

Please email opposition to Representatives before 4/3, addresses below.

_________________________
Legislative call number 444-4800

Senate addresses below

House of Representatives addresses

Rep.Kim.Abbott@mt.gov, Jbachmeier4hd28@gmail.com, nancyballance@aol.com, Danbartel2@gmail.com, becky4hd80@blackfoot.net, bennettforhouse@gmail.com, Rep.Seth.Berglee@mt.gov, Rep.Laurie.Bishop@mt.gov, randybrodehl57@gmail.com, Rep.Bob.Brown@mt.gov, brownformontana@gmail.com, Rep.Tom.Burnett@mt.gov, Rep.Rob.Cook@mt.gov, vcourtforlegislature@yahoo.com, Rep.Mike.Cuffe@mt.gov, Rep.Willis.Curdy@mt.gov, Amanda@amandaformontana.com, Rep.Geraldine.Custer@mt.gov, alandoane@midrivers.com, kimberly.dudik@gmail.com, Rep.MaryAnn.Dunwell@mt.gov, Rep.Jenny.Eck@mt.gov, Rep.Ron.Ehli@mt.gov, Rep.Janet.Ellis@mt.gov, jessmann@mt.gov, Rep.Dave.Fern@mt.gov, Rep.Ross.Fitzgerald@mt.gov, JohnFlemingStIgnatius@gmail.com, Rep.Kelly.Flynn@mt.gov, Rep.Moffie.Funk@mt.gov, wyliegaltformt@gmail.com, frankgarnerhd7@gmail.com, Rep.Carl.Glimm@mt.gov, edgreef@hotmail.com, rep.bruce.grubbs@mt.gov, Rep.Steve.Gunderson@mt.gov, Rep.Jim.Hamilton@mt.gov, Rep.Bradley.Hamlett@mt.gov, Rep.Bill.Harris@mt.gov, Rep.Denise.Hayman@mt.gov, Rep.Adam.Hertz@mt.gov, greghertz11@gmail.com, elliehillhd94@gmail.com, Rep.Ken.Holmlund@mt.gov, Mikeformontana@gmail.com, Rep.Tom.Jacobson@mt.gov, donjonesmt2@gmail.com, Rep.Jessica.Karjala@mt.gov, Rep.Kathy.Kelker@mt.gov, Rep.George.Kipp@mt.gov, Rep.Jon.Knokey@mt.gov, austinforhouse@yahoo.com, Rep.Casey.Knudsen@mt.gov, Rep.Steve.Lavin@mt.gov, Rep.Dennis.Lenz@mt.gov, Denleylogehd14@gmail.com, Rep.Ryan.Lynch@mt.gov, Rep.Forrest.Mandeville@mt.gov, Rep.Theresa.Manzella@mt.gov, kelly@bigskytech.net, Rep.Nate.McConnell@mt.gov, Rep.Wendy.McKamey@mt.gov, Rep.Shane.Morigeau@mt.gov, Rep.Dale.Mortensen@mt.gov, marknolandhd10@gmail.com, Rep.james.ohara@mt.gov, Rep.Andrea.Olsen@mt.gov, Rep.Jimmy.Patelis@mt.gov, Rep.Rae.Peppers@mt.gov, Rep.Zac.Perry@mt.gov, Rep.Gordon.Pierson@mt.gov, jeanbigskybigwin@gmail.com, Rep.Alan.Redfield@mt.gov, Rep.Matt.Regier@mt.gov, Rep.Vince.Ricci@mt.gov, Atomicrosie@gmail.com, Rep.Marilyn.Ryan@mt.gov, Rep.Walt.Sales@mt.gov, Rep.Casey.Schreiner@mt.gov, Rep.Ray.Shaw@mt.gov, Rep.Lola.Sheldon-Galloway@mt.gov, Rep.Derek.Skees@mt.gov, repbsmith@gmail.com, scottstaffanson@gmail.com, Rep.Sharon.Peregoy@mt.gov, Rep.Kathy.Swanson@mt.gov, Rep.Jeremy.Trebas@mt.gov, Rep.Brad.Tschida@mt.gov, Rep.Barry.Usher@mt.gov, Rep.Sue.Vinton@mt.gov, Rep.Kirk.Wagoner@mt.gov, Webb4house@gmail.com, Rep.Susan.Webber@mt.gov, Twelch1213@gmail.com, winwithwhite@gmail.com, tomwoods4mt@gmail.com, Rep.Daniel.Zolnikov@mt.gov, 

Thanks for Your Comments. Now, Go Away. HB 651

-Or-

What is it About “No!” That You Don’t Understand?

On Friday night, the House Natural Resources Committee passed on HB 651 to the House floor for a vote. This bill establishes a position of “Public Lands Advocate” under the State Land Board. The funding for this position comes from a $200,000 appropriation from the General Fund. In addition, 651 amends the Habitat Montana statute (87-1-242) so as to add “…and to secure public access to wildlife habitat” to the responsibilities of the program. In essence, this bill taps Habitat Montana for activities that are not part of the aim of the program, opening it up beyond its dedicated purpose.

To start, Rep. Zack Brown (D- Bozeman) objected to the bill being heard as it violated rules that requires adequate time for public notification between when a bill is introduced and then heard in committee. The bill was introduced on March 23^rd and the hearing was the next day. Chairman Cary White (R-Bozeman) thanked Rep. Brown for his comment and then proceeded with the hearing. Additionally, the bill had been put together and pushed through so fast that there was not a fiscal note, the standard official and statutorily-required document that analyzes what the monetary impact the bill would likely be. This also provides basis and insight for discussion, both by the public and legislators. The hearing continued.

Once the hearing began no one appeared in support of the bill, except the bill’s sponsor, Matt Regier (R-Kalispell.) His testimony extolled the need for access to the 1.5 million acres of state lands in Montana. He pled the need to be able to access our land. He said that this bill would be the answer.

Immediately following that, 15 people, representing various conservation groups, state agencies and individuals testified in no uncertain terms against it. Sportsman’s groups, Montana DNRC, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and private citizens all spoke against the bill, objecting to the diversion of Habitat Montana funds for dubious purposes and the redundancy and duplication of establishing yet one more government position with overlapping duties to existing successful programs. It was crystal clear that the supposed beneficiaries of HB 651 were adamant that this was not the ultimate solution.

In his closing, Regier tried valiantly to support his bill. He reiterated the need for access to public land and argued that this bill would solve the problem. Ironically, he stated that the turnaround from the time the bill was introduced to the hearing was insufficient for him to rally together anyone to appear in support of the bill. Hmmm. A nod is as good as a wink…..

Later, during Executive session (the time when committee members discuss bills among themselves, do not take any further testimony and then vote up or a down to passing a bill to the floor) the committee passed House Bill 651. The vote was, with one exception, along party lines, with Rep. Kelly Flynn (R-Townsend) opposing. During committee discussion, Flynn held up a fistful of slips, messages sent him by citizens opposing HB 651. He said, “Look at this! 100S and 100s and 100s more.“ He recognized this bill was not widely supported. Also during that discussion Rep. Wylie Galt (R-Martinsdale) broke into a commentary dissing public hunters, the conservation movement, and FWP concerning Habitat Montana. Why would someone with such fierce contempt for the very people HB 651 was supposed to benefit would then turn around and vote for it?

HB 651 is part of a bigger “package” that Republicans in the legislature announced to make access to public land as a banner of the party. Most every candidate, regardless of political stripe running in last year’s election featured photos of him/her swathed in hunter orange, wrestling a wild trout from a stream or sojourning into the Great Outdoors. The governor’s race was in part framed in issues regarding access to public land. Over a thousand people showed up at the capitol recently to demand that public lands remain in public hands. It's unquestionably an issue whose time has finally come. But HB 651 misses the mark…by a long ways.

Certainly, the most egregious part is the diversion of Habitat Montana funding to another agency and for things afield from its intent. Since its inception, Habitat Montana has been used for a wide range of conservation habitat projects including acquisition, conservation easements and leases. It is nationally-recognized and arguably, the most successful program of its kind anywhere. Many who disapprove of the state owning property have objected to this program and have, over the years tried various means to end, or at very least cripple it. HB 651 is one more transparent shot at that. It’s important to note that although not statutorily required, public access has been a requirement in all acquisitions, leases, agreements and conservation easements that are funded all or in part, by Habitat Montana.

HB 651 establishes an “access advocate” position under the State Land Board, ostensibly to promote existing programs, identify opportunities to increase access and propose projects. However, by definition, this overlaps, duplicates numerous existing programs and efforts of other state agencies. FWP has numerous programs such as Block Management (which since 1985 has opened over 7 million acres of private and public land to free hunting) and Fishing Access Sites (over 300 statewide) which are ongoing in their efforts to open state, federal and private lands and waters to the public. DNRC’s recreational use section along with a dedicated Access Coordinator enables and expands public use of state lands. Each of these agencies have numerous other programs where public access is either a dedicated goal or collateral benefit of their work. The simple fact is that HB 651 comprises just another cog of bureaucracy doing the same thing and is simply not needed. And one only wonders why those who presume to be such strong advocates of reducing government and ending duplication and waste would propose more, rather than less. That, at an additional cost not only to Habitat Montana but now, to the General Fund and at the tune of almost a quarter of a million dollars ($200,000). So what gives guys?

If anything, the legislature should be doing everything it can to help the existing programs be sustainable, encouraging efforts to coordinate work across agency lines and view access in a comprehensive fashion. Access to private land often leads to access to state lands which in many cases leads to access to federal lands. Making these gears mesh better should be our priority and goal- not to further clutter the access landscape.

HB 651 will hit the House floor next week and it is critical that representatives get the message loud and clear that this bill is not worth further consideration. They need to be emailed and called with unequivocal messages to vote down this attempt at raiding Habitat Montana and duplicating other, already successful access efforts. 

by Mike Korn, retired FWP