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Hunters unhappy with FWP regulations |
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Wednesday, 12 March 2008 |
By Buck Traxler, I-O Editor
A packed room at the Moose on Wednesday let representatives from the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) know that they were not happy campers.
One new regulation for the 2008-09 hunting seasons were set by the five-member commission in Helena recently (Feb. 22).
The commission commented that this was the most active comment period in recent memory and that the FWP had received about 3,000 written comments and hundreds more from participants who had attended the 44 public hearings to discuss tentative hunting-season proposals.
The five-member commission is comprised of Willie Doll, Malta; Shane Colton, Billings; Dan Vermullen, Livingston; Steve Doherty, Great Falls, and Dick Workman, Whitefish.
The FWP commission is an appointed board by Gov. Brian Schweitzer.
One item that riled hunters was that the FWP told the local Sportsman Association in January that they would not have an opportunity to speak at the final meeting in Helena. Nevertheless, a number of groups and individuals did get the chance to speak. One member told the FWP, “We feel like we were sold down the river.”
Graham Taylor from the FWP acknowledged and agreed that hunter access will be limited in our area, although that was not the intent of the commission.
It was also noted that two commissioners had no idea that new regulations would impact District 441 and the Bob Marshall Wilderness.
Troy Shirley said he had called the governor’s office and was told that they would be discussing this issue with the commission by week’s end.
Taylor said that was a possibility, but to their knowledge no meeting they knew of was scheduled.
The hunters have their backs to the wall. The FWP said the new adopted hunting regulations were going to the printers on Friday (March 7) and once printed it would be two years before change(s) could be made and they would have to live with them.
Rep. Llew Jones wondered if there was an appeals process. Taylor told the group, “We’re not aware of any, and with all due respect, you don’t want to get the legislature involved.”
Shirley commented, “His (the governor) legacy will be tied to hunter access and we don’t want that.”
Also a contentious point with the hunters was, you can go buy a license but you only get one first choice, one or the other, (archery or rifle) but not both.
Bill McKinley Jr. who helped organize the Wednesday meeting, also commented, “They are restricting access to part of the Bob Marshall in Western Montana by requiring bow hunters to have special permits even though riflemen can go there without permits.”
An unlimited number of either-sex elk archery permits will be available to hunters who apply for them as a first choice this year. In 2009, either-sex elk permits will be limited to the 100 percent of the number who applied in 2008. Archery hunters will still be able to hunt antlerless elk with a general license.
Russ Offerdahl wondered, “What does rifle hunting have to do with archery hunting in the district?”
“This is all very unsettling,” he told the I-O later.
Shirley was in contact with the governor’s office later Thursday afternoon and told the I-O that the governor is asking the commissioners to take another look at how this new change impacts District 441.
He indicated that they did not intend to have the Bob Marshall included and a “Compromise would be worked out or 441 would be eliminated from this regulation all together.”
Shirley went on to add, “They both assured me that the governor is aware of this issue and that he definitely does not want to limit hunter access.”
According to the AP, the governor said, “There will not be any sportsmen that have a decrease in their access.”
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