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Putting the "Public" Back In "Public Trust" The Fight For Our Land, Water and Wildlife Sometimes I am in disbelief (there is a 3 letter acronym that better represents the feeling) at the overt disregard for the Public and the public process. First, The IBMP (Interagency Bison Management Plan), whose objective on their main page states, "The Interagency Bison Management Plan is a cooperative, multi-agency effort that guides the management of bison and brucellosis in and around Yellowstone National Park ." One of the following bullet points states, "Manage bison that leave Yellowstone National Park and enter the State of Montana." If you look at the meeting history of the IBMP, for years, you will see that the primary location of meetings have been in Gardiner, Pray and Bozeman, which makes perfect sense, since this is 1. in Montana, and 2. near Yellowstone National Park where bison exit INTO MONTANA. So why is the important Nov. 20, 2014 meeting of the IBMP - remember, this is all about Montana and bison exiting the YNP - being held in Lewiston, IDAHO? Not only is it in Idaho, but just on the border of Washington, at the Nez Perce Reservation Clearwater River Casino & Lodge. The Nez Perce are one of the 3 Native American groups, as advisors, on the IBMP, whose turn it is this year to host the meetings. The first was held by the ITBC in Bozeman, the next will be by the CSKT at Polson, MT in July. But why is the Nez Perce out of the state of Montana altogether? The link from the IBMP site takes you to Idaho. Why are we having to drive to Idaho for a public meeting, over 419 miles away from Bozeman, (over 7 hours), in late November (snow and ice on roads?) for Montana State business that originates near Yellowstone National Park and bison entering Montana?????????? Polson is a bit of a stretch, but Lewiston, Idaho is unacceptable. This needs to be rescheduled back to an area closer to the business at hand - Montana and the Yellowstone National Park (Bozeman, Livingston, Pray or Gardiner). This is the Montana Public's business concerning Public Trust wildlife. Please contact MT's Gov. Steve Bullock and the IBMP members and let them know we need our IBMP meetings in Montana, near the Governor Steve Bullock
_______________________________________ Second, the last (May 29th) and next (June 12th) EQC meetings dealing with the Federal Land Carpetbag Grab were and will be held by phone. 4 members of the EQC SJ15 Work Group dealing with a Federal Land transfer to the State participated in the conference call: Sen. Jennifer Fielder, Sen. Bradley Hamlett, Rep. Ed Lieser and Rep. Kerry White. The discussion focused primarily on creating a draft report, which will be reviewed at the June 12th meeting, to be finalized and presented to the full EQC in Aug. The main items discussed were making this Federal Lands Work Group a permanent group, options being a stand alone group from the EQC and another being a separate committee. They decided on 8 members being from the EQC as voting members and 8 members being advisory, consisting of members of the Public, but their idea of the "Public" are County Commissioners. On top of that Sen. Jennifer Fielder wants the members and advisers chosen, to be from counties that have 40% or more Federal Public lands to heavily influence the process. They also wanted to include compensation for the members. If this is expanded to a stand alone or separate committee, this could possibly include a legislative attorney and assistant, which would add an additional $100,000 to the cost. The adviser participating on the call stated the Work Group has cost a fair amount of money already. Sen. Hamlett stated this this Federal
Land Grab was, "a slow moving freight train, gaining momentum,
in the end, the public is going to push this." Click To Enlarge
TR's
advice still rings true for public lands by
John Gibson My
Thoughts and Observations by Bernard Lea Local
lawmaker requests brucellosis program audit
by Laura Lundquist Concerning Gov. Steve Bullock's issuing a directive saying DOL could no longer enter private property to haze bison without landowner permission, "This week, riders contacted area landowners, some of which refused access, including the Galanis family, MacKay said. By making a commotion near smaller lots in Yellowstone Village, riders could get bison to move to roads or public areas where they could start the haze. 'We’ll look opportunistically, when they come off the private property, to pick them up and move them (into the park),' MacKay said. 'If they stay on that area that we can’t access, they won’t get into conflict.' BFC reported on this in their last update, "On Wednesday we found out it would be business as usual with the DOL and a cohort from USDA-Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service. Nearly 100 buffalo with around forty newborn calves were bedded down, grazing, nursing, and enjoying the day on buffalo-friendly private property. The hazers asked for permission and were denied. Just like they do with their helicopter, hazers caused enough of a disturbance surrounding buffalo on buffalo-friendly private property, that they scared these buffalo off of buffalo-friendly land and hazed them for nearly 17 miles into Yellowstone National Park." Phillips wants to know whether the cost of this sustained effort is justified by the return or the science. In his letter, Phillips requested a summary of the cost of brucellosis management, the decision-making process and the scientific literature on brucellosis outbreaks in Montana and on various prevention actions related not only to bison but also to elk." The
Fight for the Land and Water Conservation Fund
by Rob Drieslein Kline said. 'We have to make sure politicians recognize the importance of this program, and need it to be as close to full funding as possible.' Sportsmen foot the bill for a disproportionate amount of conservation work, Kline noted, and with a backlog in public lands easement and acquisition opportunities, sportsmen should be first in line insisting that Congress keep its LWCF funding promises. A final point: Even if Congress does reauthorize the LWCF, some state congressional delegations do a poor job of bringing those dollars back home. Next time your congressman or woman visits your local habitat banquet, ask if LWCF dollars are funding habitat in your state. '(LWCF) is really nothing more than a savings account to ensure the qualities of a landscape that we cherish exists for the next generation,' Duggan said. 'These are our dollars, and our natural heritage will pay the consequences if we continue to allow Congress to not keep its promises.' " http://lwcfcoalition.org/ Where's the
Scientific Wildlife Management in Helena FWP? Proposed sage grouse options
available for public comment include: Senate Bill 200 Annual Wolf
Quota – Proposed "There is a proposed statewide 100 wolf annual quota for wolves taken under the terms of Senate Bill 200. Senate Bill 200, passed by Montana’s 63rd Legislature, provides for landowners or their agents, without a wolf license, to take wolves that are a potential threat to human safety, livestock or domestic dogs. This quota and take is separate and in addition to any quota or general harvest associated with the wolf hunting and trapping season and in addition to any landowner take outside of the specific authority identified in Senate Bill 200." With many of the recent proposals by Helena FWP and the decisions by the FWP Commission, we might as well drop the facade of a wildlife agency managing our Public Trust and honestly name it "Montana DOL & APHIS Wildlife Services". Coming Soon, a presentation
by Art Canfield of Lewistown on the Federal Land Grab HR 1526.
Thanks to the Public who are keeping an eye out, researching,
and reporting on Public Trust violations.
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5/06/2014 Enhancing
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