Bonasababy
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Land management agency impact stories...
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Nameless Range
Well-known member
This was published in the local paper, and sent to Steve Daines by the working group.
Dear Honorable Senator Daines,
The Elkhorn Working Group (EWG) is an advisory council chartered by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks and USFS Region-1 in 2002 to develop and provide collaborative recommendations on wildlife/livestock management strategies and other issues in the Elkhorn Mountains (Hunting District 380, Lewis & Clark, Jefferson and Broadwater Counties). The EWG is composed of volunteers who meet six times a year in facilitated meetings. It works collaboratively with a steering committee composed of supervisors from the Helena-Lewis & Clark National Forest, the Bureau of Land Management, Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, and the U.S. Natural Resource Conservation Service.
We are communicating with you to urge your continued support of permanently funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). As you know, this fund gets its monetary support from the fees from offshore drilling of oil and gas. The most recent budget bill drastically reduces these funds that are so important to all Montanans, and even more so, rural Montanans.
Since its inception over 60 years ago, the LWCF has awarded over $66,500 in Broadwater County (via four projects) and over $1,266,000 in Jefferson County (22 projects).
Statewide, Montana has received over $649 million from the LWCF in that time, supporting over 800 projects — everything from parks to fishing access sites, swimming pools to baseball fields, access for hunting and hiking, and a myriad of other recreational sites. This matching grant funding was requested and granted to cities, counties, and state organizations.
In 2020, you saw the importance of steady funding for recreational activities and access for hunting and fishing in Montana, and you personally influenced President Trump to sign a bill that made the LWCF a permanent source of funding for all states.
In FY2025, the LWCF project list includes over $50 million in Montana-specific investments. We as Montanans value our public access for hunting and fishing. We value our ability to enjoy city parks, swimming pools, and access to open spaces.
We urge you to reconsider the cuts to the Land and Water Conservation Fund, vote to add back the funding, and continue to permanently fund needed projects that Montanans depend on.
Joseph Cohenour
Chair, Elkhorn Working Group
Dear Honorable Senator Daines,
The Elkhorn Working Group (EWG) is an advisory council chartered by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks and USFS Region-1 in 2002 to develop and provide collaborative recommendations on wildlife/livestock management strategies and other issues in the Elkhorn Mountains (Hunting District 380, Lewis & Clark, Jefferson and Broadwater Counties). The EWG is composed of volunteers who meet six times a year in facilitated meetings. It works collaboratively with a steering committee composed of supervisors from the Helena-Lewis & Clark National Forest, the Bureau of Land Management, Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, and the U.S. Natural Resource Conservation Service.
We are communicating with you to urge your continued support of permanently funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). As you know, this fund gets its monetary support from the fees from offshore drilling of oil and gas. The most recent budget bill drastically reduces these funds that are so important to all Montanans, and even more so, rural Montanans.
Since its inception over 60 years ago, the LWCF has awarded over $66,500 in Broadwater County (via four projects) and over $1,266,000 in Jefferson County (22 projects).
Statewide, Montana has received over $649 million from the LWCF in that time, supporting over 800 projects — everything from parks to fishing access sites, swimming pools to baseball fields, access for hunting and hiking, and a myriad of other recreational sites. This matching grant funding was requested and granted to cities, counties, and state organizations.
In 2020, you saw the importance of steady funding for recreational activities and access for hunting and fishing in Montana, and you personally influenced President Trump to sign a bill that made the LWCF a permanent source of funding for all states.
In FY2025, the LWCF project list includes over $50 million in Montana-specific investments. We as Montanans value our public access for hunting and fishing. We value our ability to enjoy city parks, swimming pools, and access to open spaces.
We urge you to reconsider the cuts to the Land and Water Conservation Fund, vote to add back the funding, and continue to permanently fund needed projects that Montanans depend on.
Joseph Cohenour
Chair, Elkhorn Working Group
That’s a great letter. Almost lost in the fight to strip the Lee language out of the Senate bill is the degree to which the President’s budget proposal, that the House and Senate are working on, redirects and reduces LWCF funding that was part of the 2020 Great American Outdoor Act.This was published in the local paper, and sent to Steve Daines by the working group.
Dear Honorable Senator Daines,
The Elkhorn Working Group (EWG) is an advisory council chartered by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks and USFS Region-1 in 2002 to develop and provide collaborative recommendations on wildlife/livestock management strategies and other issues in the Elkhorn Mountains (Hunting District 380, Lewis & Clark, Jefferson and Broadwater Counties). The EWG is composed of volunteers who meet six times a year in facilitated meetings. It works collaboratively with a steering committee composed of supervisors from the Helena-Lewis & Clark National Forest, the Bureau of Land Management, Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, and the U.S. Natural Resource Conservation Service.
We are communicating with you to urge your continued support of permanently funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). As you know, this fund gets its monetary support from the fees from offshore drilling of oil and gas. The most recent budget bill drastically reduces these funds that are so important to all Montanans, and even more so, rural Montanans.
Since its inception over 60 years ago, the LWCF has awarded over $66,500 in Broadwater County (via four projects) and over $1,266,000 in Jefferson County (22 projects).
Statewide, Montana has received over $649 million from the LWCF in that time, supporting over 800 projects — everything from parks to fishing access sites, swimming pools to baseball fields, access for hunting and hiking, and a myriad of other recreational sites. This matching grant funding was requested and granted to cities, counties, and state organizations.
In 2020, you saw the importance of steady funding for recreational activities and access for hunting and fishing in Montana, and you personally influenced President Trump to sign a bill that made the LWCF a permanent source of funding for all states.
In FY2025, the LWCF project list includes over $50 million in Montana-specific investments. We as Montanans value our public access for hunting and fishing. We value our ability to enjoy city parks, swimming pools, and access to open spaces.
We urge you to reconsider the cuts to the Land and Water Conservation Fund, vote to add back the funding, and continue to permanently fund needed projects that Montanans depend on.
Joseph Cohenour
Chair, Elkhorn Working Group
So much bad stuff coming our way that there’s not enough people to stop even a portion of it. In a normal situation we’d be pushing back hard on the LWCF redistribution. Comparatively, the Lee land sale language is the equivalent of your house on fire, while LWCF pilfering is your garage doors falling off.
