Thursday, October 29, 2009

Taking a break

I'm not closing this blog, but I am taking a break. Work requirements are keeping me too busy to stay on top of this. When things change I'll get back at it.


Cheers,
Rob

Friday, September 11, 2009

Surprise, surprise

It turns out hunters in Idaho are finding wolves a lot tougher to hunt than expected. Who would have figured that?

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Wolf hunts will go on

Idaho hunters have already killed four wolves. Now it appears Montana hunters will get their chance to kill wolves as a Missoula judge has refused to block the hunts.

The judge's decision sounds reasonable. He allowed the hunts to proceed due to the fact that there is little evidence the hunt will cause permanent damage to wolf populations in Montana and Idaho. The judge also suggested that the Fish and Wildlife Service's plan to allow the hunts in Montana and Idaho -- while blocking the hunt in Wyoming due to that state's stubborn refusal to set up a reasonable hunt plan -- won't survive a court challenge. But in the meantime. we'll get to see what a wolf hunt in Montana will really look like.

Here's my guess: The state's hunters will be lucky to kill half of the 75 wolves Fish, Wildlife and Parks has set as the state's quota.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Portage routes planned for Mitchell Slough

It's good to hear some of the landowners along a branch of the Bitterroot River are finally accepting the fact that Montana law unequivocally grants the public the right to travel between the high-water marks.

Now if we could just get Huey Lewis to recant his slanderous claim that the Supreme Court issued a "completely political deal" when it upheld Montana's Stream Access Law by a 9-0 vote. I link to this completely failed attempted at doing journalism that appeared in the Missoula Independent only because it includes Lewis' "political" quote. It's otherwise nothing by bird-cage liner.

Monday, August 31, 2009

Wolf hunts still on

At least for now a Montana judge has refused to block planned wolf hunts in Idaho and Montana.

Disasters such as this, rather than managed hunting, pose the greatest threat to long-term wolf recovery.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Will wolf hunt move forward?

A Monday court date looms for challenges to Montana and Idaho's proposed wolf hunts. We can only hope Judge Molloy sets aside these frivolous appeals and finally allows Montana and Idaho to manage these no longer endangered species.

Montana's Gov. Brian Schweitzer wants the hunt to take place.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

North Fork battle continues

Montana Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester brought Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to the North Fork Flathead River Tuesday to make real the threat mining poses to on of America's great rivers.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Gill netting Swan Lake macks

FWP plans commercial netting of lake trout in Swan Lake.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

What's the deal with FWP shakeup?

We're not quite sure what to make of Gov. Schweitzer's leadership shakeup at FWP. Is this some nefarious plot to raise revenues through increased fees? Frankly, we have no idea. The Gov's stated rationale that the department needed reorganization doesn't jive with the rough, and classless treatment handed outgoing FWP Director Jeff Hagener. We'll stay with this story and see what develops.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

North Fork Flathead fishing well



We caught this nice westslope cutthroat just a bit downstream from the Big Creek boat launch a few weeks ago. The North Fork Flathead River have been fishing well all July. When we're not posting on this blog this time of year, it usually means we're guiding on the North or Middle forks. Clients are catching lots of fish on the North Fork, though many of the big cutts are working their way downstream to the lower Flathead River or even Flathead Lake, where they'll put on weight to fuel next spring's spawning run up the North Fork.

The Middle Fork has been a little more challenging, unless you're floating the whitewater section above West Glacier. If you can handle the whitewater you'll be rewarded with some decent fishing.

Mitchell Slough open for fishing

The final rules for fishing Mitchell Slough have been adopted. After 15 years our right to fish this section of the Bitterroot River has finally been restored.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Montana to target 75 wolves

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is preparing to allow up to 75 wolves to be killed by hunters this fall. If the hunt isn't halted by lawsuits, we're betting less than half that number are actually killed.

Idaho is also taking steps to allow the state's first wolf hunt since reintroduction. The Gem State may set its quota as high as 250. With a burgeoning wolf population in the tough to hunt Idaho panhandle, we again expect a lot of tags to go unfilled.

The hunt, however, is an important milestone in the remarkable success story of wolf reintroduction in the Northern Rockies. The claims of some that these limited hunts could drive the animals back to extinction are laughable.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Clueless New York Times

The Newspaper of Record weighs in on the elk hunting debate at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. Instead of allowing hunters to cull the herd which has grown to about 900 animals — 300 is the sustainable population estimate — an editorial suggests using sharpshooters. The newspaper's editorial board recommends this, apparently, because most hunters kill bull elk.

Maybe the Times editorial staff doesn't understand this, but the reason most hunters kill bulls, not cows — which the newspaper correctly points out are the sex to reduce if your goal is population control — is because most western states utilize conservative management practices, which focus on hunting bull elk rather than cows. This allows states to avoid the disaster of earlier eras, when market and subsistence hunting nearly drove North American elk to extinction. These conservative management techniques led to the greatest wildlife success story in our planet's history: the 20th century restoration of North American wildlife.

Given the option, hunters will line up to hunt elk at Theodore Roosevelt, be it bulls or cows. And instead of having to spend Federal dollars hiring sharpshooters, hunters will pay the Park Service for the chance. When given the option here in Montana, many hunters prefer hunting cow elk which they know provide meat that tastes better than that of bulls.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Giant Big Hole brown

OK, so maybe we'll rethink our "We can't be bothered with any fish that won't take a dry fly" snobbery.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Elk numbers drop in Bitterroot, Clark Fork

Winter surveys show steep declines in elk numbers in the Bitterroot and Clark Fork basins. Permits for antlerless elk will be cut sharply by FWP in response.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Save jogging for town

Here's a news flash: jogging in griz country is stupid. A Glacier tourist learns the hard way.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Foam fly phenomenon

Nice story in the Missoulian on foam fly designer Tony Tomsu.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

High water on the Bitterroot

There are some great aerial photos of the Bitterroot River during the recent high water posted over at www.wapiti-waters.blogspot.com.

Indy still doesn't get access issue

Editor's note: We apologize for taking so long to get to this, but May has been a busy month at Hook and Bullet. We've been distracted by end-of-the-school-year responsibilities at our jobs that actually provide income, as well as following the exploits of our favorite sports team, the U14 Flathead Force girls soccer team. Flathead's bid for a state championship was thwarted by injuries and a tough Billings team in the semifinals.

The Mitchell Slough/Bitterroot River stream access controversy spawned a cottage industry of bad journalism. Most of it fell into the category we like to call Think Tank Navel Gazing Journalism. TTNG journalism is marked by an inability to draw even the most elementary conclusions about obvious facts. A lot of this kind of failed journalism occurred in the run up to the Iraq War, when the evidence showed quite conclusively that Saddam had dismantled Iraq's weapon of mass destruction, yet the media continued to reported that rationale for invasion even after it was completely debunked. TTNG journalists are prevented from stating the obvious — the rationale for the war was a lie — and punt to the scholars in various Think Tanks who then mull endlessly the "complexities" of the issue, reinforcing the TTNG journalist's lack of conviction.

Which brings us to the latest example of TTNG journalism on the Mitchell Slough issue, published in the April 30 edition of the usually commendable Missoula Independent. The piece was titled "Muddy Waters." Get it, the issue is still clouded in complicity, despite a unanimous decision of the Montana Supreme Court which completely eviscerated the legal arguments that allowed landowners to block public access to the Bitterroot River for 15 years. Muddy Waters. It's just another example of a journalist unable to write that the sky is blue because some powerful interests in Montana say it's really green. Better side step the sky-is-blue reality entirely, and pass this clouded issue on to the hand wringing Think Tank scholars who are better equipped than us mortals to understand the color of the sky.

Muddy Waters, penned by reporter Jesse Froehling, starts with this stunning first paragraph:

This is the siphon. It’s two high-density polyethylene pipes, 36 inches in diameter, 100 feet long and buried about 15 feet under the Mitchell Slough. It’s simple enough, but yet, because of a landmark Montana Supreme Court decision, its existence required the approval of six government agencies and all of its owner’s patience.


Wrong. The approval of six government agencies before drying up a stretch of the Bitterroot River was required because Montanans long ago established laws that protect our waterways from unnecessary and harmful diversions and modifications. The Supreme Court’s ruling simply reaffirmed those laws still apply to the Bitterroot River, much to the chagrin of the landowners who have spent the last decade trying to exclude the Bitterroot River from the Natural Streambed and Land Preservation Act of 1975, otherwise known as the 310 law, and the Stream Access Law.

Or maybe it’s just that Froehling and the editors of the Missoula Independent who waved this on through to print pine for the good ole days when a Montanan could just drive his backhoe into any river or stream and get-r-done, ecosystem health be damned.

So Muddy Waters begins with what is basically a factual error, and slides further into journalism misconduct from there.

A few paragraphs later Froehling writes of the ranch manager, Lane Hutchings, who installed the siphon:

“He motions to a quiet stream—some still say it’s a ditch," but the Indy omits the obvious rejoinder: “They may still call it a ditch, but they’d be wrong.” Froehling makes this clear later in the piece when he writes: Last year, the Montana Supreme Court finally settled the issue for good, overruling the Bitterroot Conservation District and determining once and for all that the Mitchell Slough is a natural, perennial flowing stream.

Later, another factual error.

In 1975, the Bitterroot Conservation District began issuing 310 permits for the Mitchell Slough. The district continued this practice until 1991 when Randy and Robert Rose decided to go fishing.


Not true. The district continued issuing 310 permits on Mitchell Slough well into the 1990s. It wasn’t until the landowners realized the practice of receiving 310 permits directly contradicted their interest in overturning the Stream Access Law that they went back and had the Conservation District remove the Slough from 310 jurisdiction. That did not happen, as the story states, as a result of the Rose Brothers’ fishing expedition in 1991.

Again, Froehling points out his own error later in the piece when he writes:

In 1999, Jack Pfau, a Stevensville resident hoping to work on the shores of the Mitchell Slough, sent a letter to the Bitterroot Conservation District asking for clarification on the status of the Mitchell. If it was a ditch, Pfau could do whatever he wanted. If it was a natural, perennial flowing stream, he had to get a 310 permit. So, Pfau asked, which was it, a ditch or a stream?

Despite the fact that the district had issued 310 permits since 1975, the district shied away from responsibility: “This determination is the responsibility of the State Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, the State Fish Wildlife and Parks, and the State Department of Environmental Quality.”

Then, in what almost seemed like an afterthought, the district determined the status of the Mitchell Slough: “However, until these Departments take on this responsibility, the District will not require any 310 permits. This is based on the fact that the head water begins with a head gate and being that it is diverted water.”


Later, this wording that seems designed not to ruffle the feathers of access denying landowners along Mitchell Slough.

To reach the slough, the Rose brothers had crossed private property, drawing the ire of the landowners.


Actually, the Rose Brothers reached the stream at the intersection of two public right of ways, Victor Crossing road and the Bitterroot River. Maybe Froehling and the editors of the Independent have had their heads in the sand for the last decade. If so, here's a news flash: In 2002 the Montana attorney general confirmed what was common knowledge to anyone with a functioning brain — accessing streams and rivers in this fashion is perfectly legal. And in the just-completed Montana legislative session that bit of common sense was codified into statute.

The Rose brothers did, however, have to cross two fences to fish the Slough. One is the expected barbed-wire fence that usually runs along public roadways. The second is about 30 feet beyond, built, apparently so it would be an extra hassle for anglers to exercise their right to fish the Bitterroot River.

Froehling then ends this howler:

Duck hunters, as long as they stay off private property, may hunt on any public stream. Technically, a hunter could wade the stream as it winds in front of Hutchings’ house. And although the Double Fork owns the land and the water, a hunter, wading the shallow stream, could blast ducks a hundred yards away from the swing set, where Hutchings’ kids usually spend long fall afternoons. It makes Hutchings thankful that conservation districts sometimes side with private landowners. Sometimes, he says, that’s what’s best for those who use the land.


No, not technically or otherwise. Since the ownership of the land remains with the landowner, Froehling’s straw men duck hunters would need the landowner’s permission to blast ducks next to the swing set where Mr. Hutchings’ kids play. The Stream Access Law cannot be used for to hunt on private land: permission must be granted by the landowner. Maybe Mr. Hutchings is glad conservation districts sometimes side with landowners, and maybe he wants some rivers and streams to be private just like they are back in his home state of Wyoming. But personal desire doesn’t trump the law.

Here are a few of questions we wished Muddy Waters had answered:

If the diversion had worked for a decade or so, why was the siphon needed now? And why didn’t they proceed with the more environmentally friendly plan FWP proposed? Was the project retaliation for the smack down the landowners received at the hands of the Supreme Court?

If the Independent had published this story a year ago, we'd probably cut them some slack. Lord knows mistakes this bad — or worse — were made by legions of Montana journalists when it came to Mitchell Slough. But Muddy Waters was published in April of 2009, right on the heels of the Montana Legislature's historic act codifying access rights at bridges, and the Supreme Court's unwavering defense of the Stream Access Law in its 2008 decision on Mitchell Slough. Maybe folks at the Independent haven't been paying attention, but Montana is real clear on the SAL and landowners responsibility not to interfere with that access right. It's time this newspaper joins the rest of Montanans in the 21st century, where it's not OK to dry up a river because you're a salt-of-the-Earth type who displays a photograph of your family on the dashboard of your pickup truck.

Here at Hook and Bullet News we fear this isn't the last time landowners will needlessly dry up a portion of the Bitterroot River at Mitchell Slough. Heck, the landowners have been issuing threats to harm the resource if they didn't get their way on access for as long as this has been a controversy. We hope, however, that this is the last time we'll have to read one of these whiney screeds about how complicated things are down on Mitchell Slough. Here's a bit of advice for journalists interested in wading into this crystal-clear controversy in the Bitterroot Valley: read the Supreme Court decision. It calls the rationale used to block public access an "absurdity." The only reason the bogus claims for blocking access survived as long as they did was that the landowners along that portion of the Bitterroot River are rich, and they could throw money at lawyers in an attempt to make those claims stick.

Now no doubt there will be difficult issues related to access at the Slough down the road. Management is often complicated. But at the heart of this fight was one of the most dangerous assaults on Montana's Stream Access law since its inception. If the lower court ruling that blocked access had stood, the SAL would have been undermined on almost every river in the state. And requiring landowners to jump through a lot of hoops before they dry up portions of Montana rivers is a good thing. We'd like to see the Missoula Indepentdent — one of our favorite newspapers — get up to speed on that.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Bitterroot claims another

Fly shop owner Dick Galli died in a rafting accident on the Bitterroot River on Wednesday. His boat overturned when they ran into some wood in a particularly tricky stretch of the river on the south end of Hamilton.

The Bitterroot is running about 2,700 cfs at the Darby gauge right now. That's way to high to fish, and makes the wood-laden Bitterroot especially treacherous.

Monday, May 4, 2009

Wolves off the list

Wolves come off the endangered species list today, but for how long?

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Great news for stream access

There have been two important developments on the stream access front in Montana in the last six months. First, the Montana Supreme Court ruled unanimously last November that the landowners who had kicked the public off a section of the Bitterroot River known as Mitchell Slough were in obvious violation of the Stream Access Law. Secondly, Gov. Brian Schweitzer yesterday signed House Bill 190 which ensures access to rivers from the bridge crossings of public roadways.

Many were slow to realize the importance of the Mitchell Slough case, which the Supremes made clear in their strongly worded opinion (authored by a conservative appointee of Judy Martz no less) was a direct assault on the SAL. Fortunately, a ragtag band of Bitterrooters led by the likes of Sen. Jim Shockley, newspaper publisher Michael Howell and former Justice of the Peace Ed Sperry, took on the wealthy landowners who for 15 years successfully denied Montanans their right to access a Montana river between the high-water marks. Eventually Trout Unlimited and the established angling community came on board, but if it hadn't been for the efforts of the Bitterroot River Protection Association, the "No Trespassing" signs would still be up.

Another access-focused organization — the Public Land/Water Access Association — led the battle to ensure the public's right to use a public right of way to access rivers and streams. Remarkably, landowners on the Ruby River argued that a public right of way narrows from 60 feet down to the width of the river when it became convienent for access deniers. The Montana Attorney General shot down that "logic" in an opinion authored in 2000. But it wasn't until this legislative session that a bill codifying what is really just common sense finally made it out of the legislature to be signed by the governor.

Hopefully, the events of the past year will serve as a wake-up call to some of the mainstream organizations which sat on the sidelines for too long, especially in the Mitchell Slough case. Access has become the most important issue for hunting and angling conservationists in Montana and much of the West. It is our central front in the battle to conserve and protect the open spaces where we play and commune with the natural world. Some have argued that conservation is a value that is somehow independent from access. We here at www.mthookandbullet.com find this line of thinking delusional. If the public is denied access, the public's dedication to conservation will crumble. Organizations such as national Trout Unlimited that want to argue they are conservation organizations, not access organizations, are facing a jump-the-shark moment. Stick with that delusion and you'll lose all credibility in the hunting/angling community.

Even though we won these two rounds you can bet the access deniers will be back. When the original Stream Access Law was passed few would have thought someone would have the audacity to go ahead and post "No Trespassing" signs on a major Montana river such as the Bitterroot. Yet that's exactly what happened, and it stood for more than a decade soley because the access deniers had the money to tie up the issue in the courts. Don't fool yourself into believing these recent victories are the final chapter in the saga of the SAL. I'm confident that as I write this, someone, somewhere in Montana with money to burn is planning the next outrage to our state's constitution.

I just hope that next time we're all on the right side from the get-go.

Skwala hatch cools for now


The Bitterroot skwala hatch came on last week just in time for spring break (this is why the staff at www.mthookandbullet.com is so fond of the education profession. But by the weekend things had gotten a little too warm and the river came up. This morning the Bitterroot was measured at 1,130 cfs at the Darby gauge. That's a great level for fast scenic floats, but too high for good fishing. If the the river comes down this week in response to predicted lower temperatures, the hatch could be back on next weekend when the weather is supposed to be nice again.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Geno does good


Cam (right, in the Huck Finn headgear) led Geno to one of his well-trained cuttbows Thursday at an undisclosed location on the Bitterroot River. The 20-plus inch fish fell to a Larkin special as the skwala hatch begins to kick into high gear.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Skwala time


Spring finally arrived in western Montana, and with it came some good skwala action on the Bitterroot River. Temperatures in the 60s warmed the river to the low 40s, which was enough to get the bugs moving. But the sunshine is also cutting lose some lower elevation snow, and the river has come up from about 450 cfs at Darby on Monday to 680 cfs and climbing Wednesday morning. Those rising flows could put off the fishing somewhat, but this is no time to be choosy about which day to launch. This is a great time to be on the Bitterroot.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Bridge access bill awaits gov's signature

The House approved the amended Bridge Access Bill approved by the Senate. With the governor's signature Montanan's right to access rivers at bridge crossings will now be ensured through statute as well as common sense.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Bridge bill clears committee

Could this be the year? The bill clarifying river access at bridge crossings cleared committee and is headed to the full Senate.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Dubious 'honor'

The Canadian Flathead reclaimed the top spot in the Outdoor Recreation Council of British Columbia's list of the 10 most threatened rivers in the province. The Canadian Flathead was just the second-most threatened river in the Council's 2008 list, after taking the top spot in 2007.

Cline Mining's proposal for a coal mine immediately adjacent to the richest bull trout spawning site in the entire North Fork Flathead River (what we call it south of the border), and BP's on-again, off-again coalbed methane plans in the drainage could destroy what is considered by many to be the wildest river in the lower 48.

Friday, March 20, 2009

No action in Senate on bridge access bill

The usual characters, or should we say character, spoke out against the bridge access bill in a Senate hearing on Thursday. Attorney John Bloomquist, who always seems to find a reason to oppose public access, led the opposition. But this bill passed by a 97-3 vote in the House, and should finally find its way to Gov. Schweitzer's desk for a signature this year.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Dam good news

The final pieces of the Milltown Dam are being removed. This spring the Clark Fork may behave like a free-flowing river again.

Setback law dies in committee

Not a big surprise, but a disappointment. The streamside setback bill has been killed on a party-line tie vote in committee.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Bridge access bill goes to Senate

Thursday the Senate Fish and Game Committee will hear public comment on the bridge access bill that sailed through the House. The Public Land and Water Access Association is urging hunters and anglers to let their legislators know they support the bill

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Obama admin backs delisting

Wolves are biologically recovered in Montana. Now it's time for social and political recovery to commence. Delisting is an essential part of that process.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Wolf protest misses the mark

Hunters gathered in Kalispell over the weekend to protest continued delays in the delisting of wolves in Montana. If that was as far as it went, we'd have no problem here at mthookandbullet.com. But as is too often the case, hunters decrying the lack of wolf management (known in impolite but honest society as killing them) do as much harm to their cause as good.

Yes 2008 was a tough year for hunting, and elk and deer numbers are down in some cases. And yes, we've exceeded the wolf recovery targets for a number of years now. But when I see a bunch of hunter-orange clad nimrods waiving signs that read "No More Wolves" I worry about the the message that sends to the vast middle, the 80 percent or so of citizens that are neither hunters, nor anti-hunters. These are the folks we need to have a conversation with, to keep on our side so that they remain passive supporters of hunting rights. And we're convinced the message on display this weekend: "Kill more wolves so we can kill more deer" is a losing message.

Now you could argue that "No More Wolves" just means don't let the population get any larger, rather than re-exterminate the critters. But I don't think that's the message non-hunters hear. And that's especially the case when hunters wave signs with silly statements such as "Elk — The next endangered species" or post comments on newspaper message boards about how they kill every wolf they see.

There are complex interactions between game and predators species, and their are complex interactions between those animals and the landscapes they inhabit. As wolves have reestablished themselves in northwest Montana, they have changed the elk and deer humans are found of hunting. Elk will always be a tougher target for human hunters if those elk live in the presence of wolves. It's the difference between hunting a truly wild animal (an elk in wolf country) versus a semi-tame animal (elk that only have too look out for predators in the fall).

Yes, let's manage, I mean kill, more wolves to keep that population in check and avoid the kind of boom-and-bust ungulate population cycles more common in unmanaged systems. But hunters need to remember wolf reintroduction is popular with the public, and necessary to restore our ecosystems to a more wild state. And if that wasn't our goal, we'd spend our falls pursuing trophy elk in enclosed game parks where we could count on success. Oh yeah, Montanans rightfully ended that dreadful practice in our state years ago.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Streamside setbacks

A column on the Big Sky Rivers Act, which would control development along rivers in western Montana.

Idaho moves on wolf kill in Lolo

Idaho Fish and Game is proposing to kill about 100 wolves in the lands that border Montana on the Lolo National Forest. While removing the wolves won't fix all of the problems with declining elk numbers in the Idaho panhandle, it will help. Elk and wolves can coexist when the habitat is in good shape, but the quality of the elk habitat in this country is on the decline.

Reducing the burgeoning wolf population here should be part of an overall landscape restoration effort. Depress the wolf population, reintroduce fire to improve elk grazing conditions, and keep a lid on elk permits until the population rebounds.

By the way, there's nothing wrong with a state wildlife agency trying to boost ungulate populations and with it, hunter success rates. Hunters and anglers remain the primary funding source for game and fish departments across the West. Happy hunters pay for wildlife conservation in western states.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Streamside setbacks get state hearing

The House Local Government Committee will consider a bill that would establish streamside setbacks on 10 rivers in Montana. Setbacks will happen, eventually. But I'm not sure there's enough wind behind the idea this legislative session.

The bill has rekindled the predictable debate about property rights in the Bitterroot Valley, where there has been vocal opposition to setbacks, as well as some of the most damaging examples of streamside development in the state.

Let's not forget, if you build along rivers and streams, you eventually need to armor the bank in some way to protect your dream home. When you do so, often with rip rap, you simply shove the erosion problem off on your downstream neighbor. And you usually intensify the probelm in the process. This, of course, is where your right to swing your fist colides with my right not to be punched. Property rights are not absolute. There is a balence to be reached between the absolute right to build where ever and what ever you want with the rights of neighbors not to have their property harmed in the process.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Amazing

So the Supreme Court hands the landowners along the Bitterroot River who blocked rightful recreational access for 15 years a complete rebuke and what do they do? Why they find a screw-his-constituents-first legislator to introduce a bill that undoes what the court just ruled.

While the bill has no, repeat NO chance of becoming law, it may help end once and for all all the whining about how the Mitchell Slough case was so complicated and the the poor landowners were just misunderstood. How they're just a bunch of noble ecological restorationists suffering at the envy of all those coveting what they've created. Well no, they're not. The Mitchell Slough case is what it has always been, just the latest round in the battle by the wealthy few to deny the constitutionally protected right for all Montanans to recreate in our public water ways.

The Governor will never sign this legislation, which has little chance to make it through the legislature anyway. But rest assured, these folks won't quit trying to deny Montanans their rights until the succeed.

It's time to decide: Are we with them, or against them?

UPDATE

Sen. Rick Laible now says he's sorry and is rewriting his bill, but he won't tell the truth about who wrote the first draft, which was essentially the argument recently made by landowners in the courts.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Wilderness Bill equals economic stimulus?

I'd like to see a Northern Rockies Wilderness Bill because it's well past time we settle the wilderness debate. Providing full wilderness protection for areas that have been managed as such for years just makes sense.

But I also like the jobs creation elements of ecological restoration mentioned in the bill. Lets put folks to work removing poorly designed forest roads and the damages of clear cuts. Connecting jobs with restoration is a good thing.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Property rights versus wildlife management

The good thing about creating economic activity around hunting and fishing is that it expands the advocate base for wildlife resources. The bad thing is that often the folks who make a living based on that activity begin to expect management decisions based on economics rather than biology.

UPDATE

SB162 was defeated in the Senate.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Access bill gets overwhelming support in House

The bill designed to clarify the public's right to access rivers and streams at bridge crossings picked up a lot of momentum Monday when the House gave it initial approval by a 95-5 vote. A final vote is expected today in the House, before the bill moves on to the Senate.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer has already said he'll sign the bill if it reaches his desk.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Obama administration reviewing delisting

Let's hope the Obama administration officials reviewing the Bush admin's last-second delisting proposal for wolves allows those regs to take affect. There are plenty of wolves out there, and even if hunting has the disastrous effect the anti-delisting crowd claims, wolves have shown they can increase their numbers quickly.

This quote is particularly rich:

“Wolf recovery has been successful, but that can be reversed very quickly,” said Louisa Willcox, senior wildlife advocate at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “The population numbers bounce around a lot. You can have a big down-bounce. If you manage for the minimum, kill 500 in Idaho, and then you have a disease year, it makes it hard to crawl out of that hole.”


Hard to crawl out of that hole? There were about 60 wolves released in the northern Rockies in 1995 and 1996. Today there are about 1,500. The minimum population target of 300 animals was reached in 2002, six years after reintroduction.

The notion that wolf populations are somehow fragile and could easily be wiped out is ridiculous. What is fragile is the social/political dynamic that creates an environment of support for wolves in the human populations that surround wolf country. If the anti-delisting crowd keeps playing games with wolf management they run the risk of turning that social dynamic against wolves. Maybe they don't care. Maybe they think they can say the Hell with what the locals think.

We think wolves are better off if the local human populations favor the wolf's presence. We think that's an environment that promotes long-term sustainability of these magnificent predators.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Access foes keep playing the game

What do you do when you lose in court? If you've got enough money, you keep hiring lawyers and keep throwing bogus arguments at Montana's citizen legislature in hopes that you can delay, and maybe prevent, the LAW OF MONTANA from ever being enforced.

At least that seems to be billionaire landowner James Cox Kennedy's startegy when it comes to bridge easements for river access in Madison County.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Wolves delisted?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service again moved to delist wolves from Endangered Species Act protection, a decision that is almost certain to be challenged in court. Delisting is the right call, while the likely legal challenges and delays to hunting seasons for wolves in Montana and Idaho will continue to threaten the the long-term viability of wolf recovery. The deal was that once these critters were recovered, management would move to the states and limited hunting would be allowed.

By the way, Wyoming was excluded from delisting due to the fact that that state has yet to present an adult-drafted management plan. Wyoming's shoot-on-sight policy everywhere but Yellowstone National Park is childish nonsense.

Wolves are now recovered in Montana and Idaho. Period. Their fecundity has exceed all expectations. But some of the environmental groups involved in the lawsuits seem less interested in wolf recovery, and more interested in the cottage industry of conflict that the continued battle over delisting provides. In the mean time, they threaten to shatter the fragile coalition that paved the way for successful reintroduction and recovery.

The recovery goal for the program was at least 300 animals in Montana, Wyoming and idaho, with 30 breeding pairs. That goal was reached in 2002. There are now more than 1,500 wolves in the Northern Rockies by official estimates, a number that probably understates the population.

The recovery of this species — once eliminated from the lower 48 in one of the ugliest campaigns of extermination in American history — is nothing short of miraculous.

“The bottom line is wolves are fully recovered, and they should be delisted,” federal gray wolf recovery coordinator Ed Bangs was reported saying by the Missoulian during the teleconference announcing the decision. “It's the right time and the right thing to do.”

Bangs is right to a point. Wolves are recovered, biologically. But social and political recovery is still on hold. Full recovery waits for Wyoming to put some adults in charge of drafting its management plan, and for environmental groups to stop playing politics with the species.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Get er done

This may be the legislative session where the issue of river access at bridge crossings is finally settled. It sounds as though a coalition of interest groups is behind this common-sense solution for creating safe access to rivers, while keeping cattle behind the fence where they belong.

We especially appreciate this comment from bill sponsor, Rep. Kendall Van Dyk, D-Billings:

“If a rich, out-of-stater wants to buy access to rivers and streams, I know some incredibly pretty places in Wyoming they can look at."

Montanans cherish our Stream Access Law. A final ruling on bridge crossings, coupled with the Supreme Court's slam dunk decision not to allow landowners to deny the public access to the Bitterroot River (know as the Mitchell Slough Case) means the Stream Access Law is stronger than ever.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Access, other issues top agenda

Stream access tops the list of proposals the legislature will consider this session that have particular importance to hunters and anglers. Another proposal would fine landowners who string barbed wire across rivers. That seems like a no brainer issue of public safety.

Wilderness fans gear up

Anticipating a more friendly president will soon reside in the White House, wilderness advocates are polishing up proposals for a new Montana wilderness bill. Sure to be considered is this proposal for the Rocky Mountain Front.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Plum Creek the good guys?

Leave it to the Bush administration to make even one of the environmental movement's favorite whipping boys look good in the waning days of this dismal presidency. Plum Creek officials now say the timber company won't use logging road easements to access forest lands for development, even while Agricultural Undersecretary Mark Rey keeps pushing for the deal.