Anti-Hunter/Anti-Bison bill up in Senate Fish and Game Tommorrow

[Ben Lamb]

SB 144

Action Alert: Bison in 2011 Montana Legislature
Background:
Montanans have a proud history of restoring our big game, from whitetail deer to pronghorn to elk. Now, a few legislators at the 2011 Montana Legislature wants to stop any conversation about Bison outside of Yellowstone National Park before we even have it. Senate Bill 44 will prohibit Montana Department of Fish Wildlife & Parks from restoring bison, ever. It’s time to stick up for wildlife – and for the future of Montana’s treasured outdoor legacy. It’s time to tell the Montana State Legislature that the hunters of Montana want free ranging Bison on socially acceptable landscapes.

Tell your Legislator: Vote NO on SB144 – and the other anti-bison, anti-hunting bills!

Tell them:
• These bills are bad for the future of hunting, which is already under fire
• Bison are in demand -- 4,000 Montanans apply for bison-hunting permits
• Montanans want more hunting opportunities, not less, in the future
• Wildlife is a billion-dollar-a-year asset for Montana
• Restoring elk, deer and bighorn has been a monumental success in Montana
• Montana is big enough for both bison and cattle
• These bills represent a slippery slope of political interference with state wildlife decisions; it casually overturns a precedent of setting wildlife policy through the FWP Commission, not subjecting it to the whims of politicians.

We should not allow politicians to handcuff Montana hunters – and future generations of Montanans – without giving this idea a fair shake. If other states can benefit from a fair chase hunt for free-ranging bison, we should at least consider it in Montana!

Who to call:
Senate Fish and Game Committee
Chairman, John Brenden (R) Scobey [email protected]
Joe Balyeat (R) Bozeman [email protected]
Debby Barrett (R) Dillon [email protected]
Tom Facey (D) Missoula [email protected]
Steve Gallus (D) Butte [email protected]
Bradley Maxon Hamlett (D) Great Falls [email protected]
Jim Shockley (R) Stevensville no email; use link below
Art Wittich (R) Bozeman [email protected]

All members can be contacted by the Legislative Comment Service as well: http://leg.mt.gov/css/sessions/62nd/legwebmessage.asp; and by calling 406-444-4800 and leaving a voice message.

 

[JCS]

Thanks for the updates. There are so many bill I cant keep up.

 

[Ben Lamb]

Thanks for the updates. There are so many bill I cant keep up.

It's crazy. More pop up every day. The query page on the MT Leg website asks you if you want to see a 175 Fish and Wildlife Bills.

MT Legislature Fish and Wildlife Bills Page

 

[belly-deep]

I'm not sure I see this quite the same way. Maybe I'm a bit jumpy, since our last "reintroduction" turned out to be such a disaster for our big game.

But my first question is:

Where are they going to put free-ranging bison?

Have you ever seen a buffalo fence? It is much sturdier than cattle fence and much harder on the fawn crop. Bison will destroy anything less. Every friggin fence bordering the bison land would have to be replaced, probably with your FWP license dollars. And then the enviros are going to tie it up in court for 15-20 years before you ever get to apply for all 3 of the tags they give out.

As I see it, this is a big money pit with a court-battle quicksand bottom in it.

Buffalo fence is usually about 5-6ft high with several strands of very T-I-G-H-T-L-Y strug barbed wire. Deer, antelope, and elk have a tough time getting over or under the stuff. We hunted a ranch south of Broadus a few years back that had previously been a buffalo ranch. I found plenty of these on there...

 

[Drake4]

If there is a way to do it right, I am all for it. I have no idea what that is though. A free ranging bison herd would be great, but I have a hard time envisioning that happening.

I just really, really hope they don't dump them some place like Spotted Dog, and then fence the whole thing in. In my opinion, that won't accomplish anything, and will be far from "free range." I agree with Belly-Deep in that that fencing issue is a pretty major concern.

 

[MHMT]

While they have the ability to walk right through a normal barbed wire fence, they usually avoid it unless there is better forage on the other side, which (sorry to stereotype) is unlikely on a adjoining cattle producer's land. There would undoubtedly be some problems, but I don't think it would be as bad as everyone makes it seem.

 

[BuzzH]

I think the areas they are considering are the CMR and Rocky Mountain Front.

 

[tjones]

Correct Buzz, also The Spotted Dog.

 

[cowboy]

All of you that think that this proposal is good for the general hunting public are dreaming - you're starting to think/talk like all the wolfers I listened to at the meetings prior to the wolf introduction. Number one is the fact that every person in agriculture is going to fight this tooth and nail. Number 2 is the fact I don't care what kind of fence you put up - it'll be a wreck. Back in the early '60's the in thing with cattleman was the Herfalo or so called Beefalo. Neighbor had 2 buffalo bulls for breeding purposes and a 6 ft. fence when they were pressured never even slowed them down. My dad had 2 head in the corral for about 2 weeks - didn't work out. The money spent on fences, studies, EIS's, etc. not to mention the lawsuits will fast approach the money invested in wolves. Now lets throw in the "Early American Heritage" that will be used as a trump card and all I see is "Hunters" against everyone else. THIS IS ONE BAD PROPOSAL.

Oh by the way - the wolfers main approach was there is plenty of room in Mt., Id., and Wy. for wolves to run free and not cause problems and there would be no reason for them to leave the Park.

It's time to do some real hard thinking about this before trying to rally the troops.

 

[tjones]

Are you comparing bison to wolves?

 

[cowboy]

Are you comparing bison to wolves?

I'm comparing the introduction process only in how we ended up with wolves and how we're heading towards ending up with buffalo without knowing what to expect in the future. I have no problem with the concept of free ranging buffalo to hunt - in fact I'll be the first speaker to support it as long as someone can tell me they will be free ranging with no side effect to other wildlife grazing available on winter grounds. This is in essence another reintroduction of a previous animal that was once on the land - it may not be a predator but it will cause a completely new set of problems for hunters before it settles down in 10-15 years. My fear is they will put them in a fence and if they propose a hunting season somewhere down the road then the feces will hit the rotator - a State owned high fence area. Not much difference than the Game Farms we voted out a few years back here in Montana.

 

[belly-deep]

they usually avoid it unless there is better forage on the other side, which (sorry to stereotype) is unlikely on a adjoining cattle producer's land.

Have you looked at our public lands lately? They are usually grazed right down to the dirt. Meanwhile, the private land has lush alfalfa fields and such.

My guess is, these buffalo would be truly FREE RANGING and would go wherever the heck they want.

We have buffalo in YNP...I think they are best kept there, just like the wolves should have been.

The West was won, or settled, or whatever you want to call it. The animal species that didn't jive with modern human habitation were exterminated. As sad as that may be, it is a fact, and our forefathers didn't go to all of the trouble of erradicating the wolves or killing off the bison for nothing (even if the bison had survived the market hunting and the indian wars, they would have been all gone once barbed wire fences were put up anyway). We just got to live with the fact that it will never be like it once was instead of trying to "make it right" again, which will never happen.

 

[MHMT]

Have you looked at our public lands lately? They are usually grazed right down to the dirt. Meanwhile, the private land has lush alfalfa fields and such.

That depends on where you are... IF this plan would ever work it would have to involve a lot of cooperation with private landowners, which like everyone is saying is going to be next to impossible with some people. O well. I'd like to see it happen eventually. Of course it will never be like it used to be, but seeing more bison around and having more hunting opportunities would be cool.

 

[tjones]

Thanks Ben, this has been sent to all of our group. I am sure they will be on it. Trying now to find someone to make the bus ride to Helena.

 

[Ben Lamb]

All of you that think that this proposal is good for the general hunting public are dreaming - you're starting to think/talk like all the wolfers I listened to at the meetings prior to the wolf introduction. Number one is the fact that every person in agriculture is going to fight this tooth and nail. Number 2 is the fact I don't care what kind of fence you put up - it'll be a wreck. Back in the early '60's the in thing with cattleman was the Herfalo or so called Beefalo. Neighbor had 2 buffalo bulls for breeding purposes and a 6 ft. fence when they were pressured never even slowed them down. My dad had 2 head in the corral for about 2 weeks - didn't work out. The money spent on fences, studies, EIS's, etc. not to mention the lawsuits will fast approach the money invested in wolves. Now lets throw in the "Early American Heritage" that will be used as a trump card and all I see is "Hunters" against everyone else. THIS IS ONE BAD PROPOSAL.

Oh by the way - the wolfers main approach was there is plenty of room in Mt., Id., and Wy. for wolves to run free and not cause problems and there would be no reason for them to leave the Park.

It's time to do some real hard thinking about this before trying to rally the troops.

Cowboy,

Nobody is saying that they want bison running around willy-nilly. What folks are asking for is to allow the people of Montana to have a discussion about where, and when, it would be feasable to put bison. What Brenden's bill does is eliminate the public dialog. That's a damned shame. To think that Montanan's can't come up with a plan that respects private property rights and allows for small herds of bison on the landscape, where appropriate (Like the Gallatin, where a large number of grazing allotments have been voluntarily retired or bought out) is like saying the people of MT are not mature enough to engage in that debate. It also violates the public trust.

As for where to put bison, I'm not sure anyone knows that answer right now. But until we have that conversation, nobody will know.

Listen in today at 3 pm to hear who is standing up for a reasoned debate on the issue.

I'm off to the capitol. Man I hate wearing ties.

 

[cowboy]

http://billingsgazette.com/news/sta...cle_78f3ff3e-2418-11e0-b656-001cc4c002e0.html

This was a front page article in the Billings Gazette today on the release of YNP buffalo onto public land. The gentleman quoted (Billy Hoppe) is a 3rd generation outfitter and you can see his take on buffalo being released. I have known Billy for 30 years and he's not the type of individual to be politically correct or sugar coat a response.

 

[Ben Lamb]

If you look at what bison we're talking about, the brucellosis issue fades away. Those quarantine bison have been held for 5 years, and have been tested more than any livestock in MT. They are the cleanest animals in the world.

Besides, APHIS just changed their rules related to brucellosis and now a single hit from elk or bison will not lead to the loss of brucellosis free status, or require whole herd depopulation.

 

[BuzzH]

I'm all about cooperation between landowners and sportsmen, but this is getting ridiculous.

I personally dont really care what a couple whining landowners have to say. The CMR is largely public land and instead of landowners thinking its their god-given right to do what they want with MY PUBLIC land, they should be looking big picture. I'd much rather have my public land being grazed by bison, an animal that the country in the breaks evolved with. There is NO question, none, that cattle and sheep are much tougher on the land than bison. For starters, cattle will park their fat butts right in the nearest riparian areas, bison prefer the uplands. With cattle you have to haul salt up on the tops to lure them out of riparian areas...and that requires a road. The only other way to keep them out of riparian areas is to either have a range rider or fence the riparian...neither of which welfare ranchers are willing to do as it cuts into their subsidized profits.

Its high time that MT hunters, and the American public take back what is rightfully theirs...that being the public domain. I find it an insult to the ideals of a free nation that priority of how our public lands are administered is given to ranching interests.

Its ridiculous that a guy that owns a thousand acres of land and leases several thousand more thinking his input on public lands and how they are utilized is more important than mine. I'm tired of the "land baron" mentality that runs rampant in the West.

I have a deal...I wont tell you how to run your private land...and they can save their breath telling me how I should manage my public land.

I've already drafted a letter and will be sending it to all the above as well as making phone calls. Its pure crap that some dimwit state legislator is stripping MT residents of actively participating in public lands management and wildlife management all because of a few whining landowners.

Oh, and like the recreational rancher, Billy Hoppe, in the article...I dont sugar coat things either.

 

[cowboy]

Keeping this civil please read the following:
http://billingsgazette.com/news/sta...cle_1d0bebde-621b-56d3-8b5a-7fbf2bd84fea.html

24 hrs. after the release that cost 3 million bucks for the right of way to transfer them to public land. That didn't take long now did it. I guess 2500 acres wasn't near enough room for these 25 buffalo.

So BuzzH: "Don't sugar coat things" - just tell us locals up here in Montana what your out of State solution is to our little problem. We know you can rant and rave about your public rights and public land but let's hear some solutions.

I 'll post another article here in a minute when I can find it from another newspaper in the State today that just kind of follows along these same paths.

Really looking for your positive solutions Buzz - we need all the help we can get up here.

Take care.

 

[cowboy]

Not very good at my old age using these new fancy computers but I did find the article in a couple of other newspapers from today:
I guess maybe we better reconsider that fence idea - either that or we better go higher than 6 ft
.

http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/article_4af41b20-25ab-11e0-8677-001cc4c03286.html

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/ar...=JCSPcuS5v0ITnr18VaegtEkDtvrVOmN7NBu6a0tp92A=