Finally landed in our new place, and was reading this while enjoying a cup of coffee.
1.) Give GG a chance. He's the Gov and you have to try and work with him, and influence his administration's direction. Yes, some of the folks on the transition committee are worrisome, but there are good names in there as well.
2.) It's funny to think that MT hasn't had a strong sportsmen's lobby, but I may be biased here.
When I started in 2009, we were fighting on stream access & bridge access, playing only defense while trying to increase 1 access area. In 2011, we had over 150 bills introduced on fish & wildlife issues - alone. 150. Most of those were bad bills that would have eroded the public's right to participate in government, would have severely depleted access programs and would have made getting wolves delisted impossible. In 2013, we had fewer introduced bills, and the focus against Habitat MT continues because Gov. Schweitzer used the program aggressively to secure new WMA's, etc. We also had an all out war against bison, with over 13 bills introduced to elimiate wild bison in MT forever. In 2015, we formed the Sporting coalition, which included all of the major conservation groups in MT from RMEF down to MT Bowhunters and that still continues today. We also fought off, successfully, the transfer and sale of public lands while also wrestling with a ton of other bills that would have been detrimental to the agency's ability to manage all species. 2017 wqas much the same, but with better outcomes, as we had the building blocks of success coming together, and a strong contingent of Dems and Reps who value conservation and access. 2019 saw the largest investment in DFWP infrastructure, increased FTE's for game managers, and a new access program using $1 million of General License Account funding.
It took 10 years to turn the legislature from pure awful into a working group of solid conservationists. There were a ton of people on this board who led that effort, and to say that they weren't effective is simply ignorant considering what we were up against.
3.) If your guy lost the election, it doesn't mean picking up your ball and going home. It means suiting up and getting back in the game to help the new governor be successful, since his success is yours. Starting from a spot of pure adversarial combat is a sure-fire way to eliminate your voice in the future of these discussions.
4.) I like Kerry, personally, but he plays fast & loose with the truth, and a fantastic demagogue. But he's also only one voice. When you see folks like John Lane, KC Walsh, etc, then you should take hope there. It's not the list I'd put together, but I know most of the groups who work the legislature have reached out to GG's transition team and are eager to meet with & work with the incoming administration.
5.) Going back to watching deer out by office window. Think I need to get my buck tag and drag out the 33 WCF next week. It's deer season in Michigan.
