The Montana Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife

We live in rapidly changing times. In recent years we have seen Montana's economy go from boom to bust...forcing many of us to make some real changes in our lifestyles. Many of us may have had to forgo trips out of the country, or the state for that matter, likely cut back on what we spend on a few luxury items, and maybe make an older car or truck last another year...or two. But the one thing Montanans have held on to is the amount of time they spend in the Great Outdoors...and that is because of the diverse bounty of mountains, streams, forests, plains, lakes and fields that offer a tremendous variety of hunting and fishing opportunities.

Now, the quality of the hunting in our state is beginning to see a serious down turn - due to a "Wolf Recovery Project" that has gone bad. We now realize that the "wolf experts" in charge of establishing wolves back into the Northern Rockies weren't exactly qualified for the task - or wolves would have been more closely managed from the start of the program. Instead of getting just the 150 wolves Montanans agreed to back in the mid 1990s, the state is now home to likely 1,000 to 1,200 wolves.

Part of the problem has been that Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks hasn't done an adequate job of keeping tabs on how many wolves we do have. By their best guess, there are only about 500 wolves - which they readily admit is a "minimum" number. That's their way of saying, "We really don't know how many wolves are in the state...and we don't have the ability to establish accurate numbers!"

Each wolf kills and consumes 25 to 30 big game animals annually, especially going after the young of the year. And with near zero calf elk and fawn deer recruitment in the spring, our big game herds are getting older and older by the day. Soon, these herds will begin to die off of old age - and we are now very threatened by the chance of totally losing the past hundred years of sportsman funded big game conservation work.

A major goal of Montana Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife is to make our state's wildlife agency more accountable for its actions, or lack of actions. And we intend to do this by becoming very present, in numbers, at every Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission meeting and hearing to insure that the agency realizes exactly what the sportsmen of this state expects from it, and those who manage our game department.

Our goal is to become the organized voice of the sportsmen of this state, many of whom feel that MT FWP totally ignores their wants and needs. And to get the attention of that agency, Montana Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife will lobby state legislators when the need arises. Wolves are not the only problem plaguing the health of Montana's outdoors at this time...but wolves are the Number 1 issue...and until we get control of getting their numbers down to an acceptable level, any real work on habitat for elk and deer is a waste of sportsman dollars. Montana Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife will also challenge the manner in which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manipulated science, and replaced the native wolf of this region with a totally non-native...larger...and more aggressive wolf.

As we build membership, we will not hesitate to take on other problems, like going to bat for better access to public lands, or to defend the rights of trappers, or working to insure areas for ATV users...while at the same time working to protect areas where the use of off-road vehicles adversely affects the habitat and quality of hunting. We will always push for greater control of predators, which have a very negative impact on big game populations. But we're definitely not just about hunting.

There are many areas in this state that could use a little "hands on" stream improvement, or easier access to prime fishing waters. One aspect that has made Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife so successful in several other states is how these chapters work with private land owners to improve the quality of habitat, to establish access to both private and landlocked public lands, or to just pitch in and help landowners to do whatever it takes to make those properties better habitat for all wildlife.

Montana Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife is about outdoor people who get a lot of enjoyment out of rolling up their sleeves, getting their hands dirty, and knowing that they are working to improve the resources they derive enjoyment from. Also the satisfaction of tackling serious resource issues and making them right. We hope to partner up with other organizations, like the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Montana Trout Unlimited, or maybe Safari Club International on some of these projects, to make things better for our own outdoor enjoyment, and for future generations.