Grizzly Bear Advisory Council - Public Comments

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http://fwp.mt.gov/fishAndWildlife/manag ... ments.html

The Governor Steve Bullock of Montana assembled a Grizzly Bear Advisory Council a while back. These folks have meetings across the state, and they invite the public to attend and have their say in how they feel grizzly bears in Montana should be managed, and whether they should be taken off the Endangered Species list or not. This group consists of I believe roughly 16 people from diverse backgrounds. This does include a few of the folks who are associated with anti-hunting and radical conservation organizations.

I attended one meeting in Missoula, and I tried to ask a couple of questions and was shut down by the person with FWP who was leading the meeting. In case you were wondering what questions I asked of the Council are as follows: 1.) How many of you on the council are outdoors folks who hunt, and who typically hunt at least a few days each year? 2.) How many of you on the Council would like to see hunting as one of the management tools used if the Grizzly Bear is delisted? 3.) If hunting does become a part of the management of the bears and their population, how many of you on the Council would apply for a permit to hunt one of these amazing animals? I was told that it was too early in the process to consider questions like that. Now they had been having these meetings for a few months by the time of the meeting I attended. I felt that there was no reason that each member of this Council could not answer them. I was just wanting to get an idea of what the make-up of this Council was and what the opinions of the members on this subject was. I was not impressed.

I am a member of a couple different Sportsmans groups in Montana and through that membership, the members were advised that the anti-hunting groups across the United States have solicited their members to send thousands of comments to the Grizzly Bear Advisory Council, in an attempt to prevent any hunting of the bears.

Montana is still working on getting the Grizzly Bear delisted from the Endangered Species list. I feel that hunting should be a part of that management tool and that when they are delisted that a very limited number of permits should be allotted as part of this to control populations in Montana.

You don't have to agree with me as we each can make our own minds up on this issue. No matter what side of the fence you are on, I would hope that as many of you folks as possible write in comments to the Council on this matter. If we do not voice our opinion and are heard, then we don't have any right to complain if this doesn't go the way in which we hoped it would.

One of my fears is that Governor Steve Bullock, who has termed out this year, might make some decisions before he leaves office on what happens to the Grizzly Bears in our State, which may prove difficult if not impossible to change. I will give an example why I'm afraid something like that might happen. I believe it was last year that a couple different groups in Montana wanted to have something put in the Constitution of Montana that Trapping would be an activity to be preserved in our state as a guaranteed right as Hunting and Fishing currently are. He vetoed that piece of legislation to make that happen!

I urge all of you to make comments as you feel called to do. You DO NOT have to be a citizen of Montana to comment on this either. On the top of the page is the direct connection to the link with Montana Fish, Wildlife, & Parks. Thanks for hearing me out.

David
 

Bl704

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Wasn't the court opinion ESA delisting for most of the lower 48 federal not state domain (first) ?

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OP
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Wasn't the court opinion ESA delisting for most of the lower 48 federal not state domain (first) ?

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It is. I guess I'm just worried about the future if the bears population and other requirements are deemed to have been met that they would be delisted, and that hunting would be a part of the management of the bears. At every turn it seems that there are people trying to get fishing, hunting, and trapping ended permanently.

Worried too about what influence if any that our governor and this council would have on the Federal decision to delist the bears.
 

Bl704

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It is. I guess I'm just worried about the future if the bears population and other requirements are deemed to have been met that they would be delisted, and that hunting would be a part of the management of the bears. At every turn it seems that there are people trying to get fishing, hunting, and trapping ended permanently.

Worried too about what influence if any that our governor and this council would have on the Federal decision to delist the bears.
I understand you concerns and if I were a resident, would also be keenly interested.

As a fellow hunter, here's what I'd be thinking or my approach... If it helps any.

Given MT public records and FOIA, I can understand why they may be resistant to offering an answer.

I do see the council bios on the MT FWP page. A quick skim and it appears 3 members are hunters. I suspect they ciuld be more forthcoming on the council dynamics, POVs, etc if you were to meet one of them for coffee, lunch or even 1:1 discussion...outside of a public meeting. Don't be confrontational! Share your concerns, be interested, empathetic to what they can/can't share.

I'd also expect Fwp leaders or biologist may have a position or able to explain what the process may be as they proceed forward...

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bsnedeker

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I understand you concerns and if I were a resident, would also be keenly interested.

As a fellow hunter, here's what I'd be thinking or my approach... If it helps any.

Given MT public records and FOIA, I can understand why they may be resistant to offering an answer.

I do see the council bios on the MT FWP page. A quick skim and it appears 3 members are hunters. I suspect they ciuld be more forthcoming on the council dynamics, POVs, etc if you were to meet one of them for coffee, lunch or even 1:1 discussion...outside of a public meeting. Don't be confrontational! Share your concerns, be interested, empathetic to what they can/can't share.

I'd also expect Fwp leaders or biologist may have a position or able to explain what the process may be as they proceed forward...

Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk

In my opinion every outdoorsman should be keenly interested in this topic regardless of the state that you live in. The grizz is going to be delisted at some point and the question of what happens after that has far reaching impacts in every state. If it is decided that the state of montana will never allow grizzly hunting due to pressure from anti-hunters that is a direct strike against the North American model of conservation. From that point on it's much easier for anti hunters to say, make a push that all black bear hunting should be illegal, and mountain lions, and wolves. Once all the cute cuddly animals (predators) are "protected" then the anti's move onto ungulates. This can happen anywhere.

Bottom line: The anti-hunters are organized NATIONALLY. Most of the people signing this petition will never even step foot in grizzly bear habitat. There are a lot less of us than there are of them so it's even more important for us to stand together on stuff like this.
 
OP
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That's why I hope everyone takes a few minutes to make some comments on the web site. Also spread this to your fellow outdoorsmen and women. We need to work together for sure! Thanks bsnedeker.
 
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I left comments after SCI alerted me to the growing number of emotional outside anti hunting groups posting. I hope FWP and the council' keep to the hard numbers from biologists. The anti hunting groups are well organized at writing mass letters.
 
OP
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GREAT NEWS TO REPORT: Thanks to all that made comments on this issue! There was a livestream meeting yesterday and the Governor's Grizzly Bear Advisory Council voted 14-4 to FAVOR a grizzly bear hunting season. Your voices do make a difference. If you have not made any comments yet but were thinking about doing it, it is not too late to do so. Continue letting your hunting and outdoors friends know about this and keep sending comments. It will do a lot of good to continue to show support.

David
 
OP
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The committee has had virtual public meetings the last couple of days and even after today they are still seeking public input. We hunting folks need to make our feeling known. If you don't speak up no bitching in allowed! I went on-line and sent in an e-mail. I figured that would be simpler than trying to do it on the web-cast. This is what I stated for whatever it's worth.



Thank you to each and every member of this team who has taken time out of their lives to be a part of this conversation. I love Montana and everything about it. We are so blessed to live in a state where we have an abundance of wildlife which also includes the majestic grizzly bear. The grizzly bear numbers are healthy, growing, and they are also expanding their ranges into areas that haven’t seen this great animal for 100 years. We are so very lucky to share the landscape with these majestic animals.


If it were not for sportsmen and women such as Teddy Roosevelt, we would not be so blessed. President Roosevelt helped to establish the Boone & Crockett Club which was the first conservation group of its kind. This is their Mission Statement as noted on their website.


B&C Mission
It is the mission of the Boone and Crockett Club to promote the conservation [boone-crockett.org] and management of wildlife, especially big game, and its habitat, to preserve and encourage hunting and to maintain the highest ethical standards of fair chase [boone-crockett.org] and sportsmanship in North America.

This was their mission in the beginning and this mission continues to this day. In addition thanks to sportsman and women there have been many other organizations such as the Boone & Crockett Club who have put not only their dollars, but boots on the ground projects so that our world continues to not only have big-game animals, but birds, fish, and many others so that our children will also be able to enjoy them in our great outdoors. Just a few of these groups are the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Safari Club International, Trout Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, The Mule Deer Foundation and so forth. According to my latest Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation magazine the following dollars have been contributed by sportsman and women with taxes they imposed on themselves in the form of licenses and gear so that our wild places remain wild and that we have abundant animal populations.

EXCISE TAXES: Serious Coin for Conservation

$22 Billion : generated since 1937 for state fish & wildlife agencies

$1 Billion : revenue per year since 2014


HUNTING & FISHING LICENSES: Another Bonanza for Conservation

$1.5 Billion : license sales generated in 2015

$686 Million : fishing licenses

$821 Million : hunting licenses


Sportsman and women have contributed greatly not only monetarily but in a lot of sweat equity so that WE ALL are able to enjoy the diverseness that is present in our great outdoors of the United States and abroad. I love the outdoors and I love to hunt, fish, trap, camp, and just about anything else you can think of outdoors.

It is my hope that in the near future with the grizzly bear populations continuing to grow that they will be delisted. I also feel very strongly that hunting should be ONE OF THE MANAGEMENT TOOLS that will be used in the future to help manage the populations and their continued growth. There are NO PEOPLE in Montana that care as much about the grizzly bears and their health as do the many women, men, and children who participate in hunting, fishing, and other outdoor pursuits. It is because of people such as these that we will continue our conservation of this great animal and others.

Thank you for your time.

David
 
OP
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I don’t know if it does any good but we can’t let idiots set the management for all of our wildlife on sentiment and not science.
 
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