Bozeman Area Round Table

[Gerald Martin]

I got the Silver Bullet that solves all the problems.

View attachment 192954

If you are going to show up drunk you better bring Bullets for all of us…

 

[BirdManMike]

Bummed I miss this (something came up). Hopefully we get a recap here.

 

[brockel]

How’d it go

 

[Ben Lamb]

If you are going to show up drunk you better bring Bullets for all of us…

If I were able to be there, I'd have a cube for the crowd.

 

[Gerald Martin]

How’d it go

I think the round table was a smashing success. There were @ 12-14 of us that showed up with a lot of passion and ideas for we can help solve some of the landowner problems and protect the resource and hunters’ interest in the process.

I think the biggest takeaway and point of agreement among all of us is that FWP leadership no longer feels any sense of accountability to the average Montana hunters and are more concerned with pleasing legislators than they are protecting the resource.

The political process is having the biggest effect on wildlife management decisions and hunters haven’t had enough seats at the table of influence. This needs to change.
I think we all realize that there’s only a limited amount we can accomplish by speaking with FWP on September 7, but I came away with a strong sense that these are guys who are interested in fighting the long game and all know others who are willing to join whatever momentum can be generated.

I wanted to build straw figures and burn them in effigy as a way of generating unity and demonstrate our unhappiness but cooler heads spoke restraint. Out of respect for Mrs. Fin’s yard and Randy’s neighbors I reluctantly abandoned that idea. For now…..
I think there’s going to a separate thread starting soon with some of the ideas we discussed to try and continue to develop them into something that can hopefully become management policy.

 

[Gerald Martin]

If I were able to be there, I'd have a cube for the crowd.

Your name was mentioned several times. Mostly with respect and appreciation.

There was that small moment when everybody laughed when I called you a pinko commie, but we all miss your help in the Legislative arena

 

[Ben Lamb]

Your name was mentioned several times. Mostly with respect and appreciation.

There was that small moment when everybody laughed when I called you a pinko commie, but we all miss your help in the Legislative arena

Imma need about 60% of the legislative contracts in order to be viable.

 

[KB_]

I mostly listened to gain some knowledge about how everyone felt and to make sure I was in the right group haha.

I largely agree with starting an association/group ASAP Lets say Hunt Talk association of Montana (half joking).

I think our talking points were important and certainly something to fight for. I forget his name but one gentlemen mentioned that going out and improving habitat on state land next to private land would be a good way to win over some hearts and souls. I agree and think boots on the ground is a good way to show we have skin in the game and that we are serious about what we are after. This I believe would also help a ton in recruiting additional people to assist in our cause.

I only have 4 hunting seasons under my belt in the state of Montana (originally from michigan), and I can tell you in just those 4 seasons things are changing rapidly. If the state cant take the real science seriously and starts making up their own science, frankly its time to take matters into our own hands and offer up solutions. We have a good group of knowledgeable individuals, and I think we could provide much more thought out solutions then these half baked ideas being force-fed down our throats.

Look forward to speaking with you gents again soon now that I know what I'm getting into haha.

 

[JT88]

The meeting was fun, mainly because Beau Baty showed up about 15 minutes in so we just decided to have llama races for the remainder of the evening

 

[JT88]

Joking aside...

I thought the meeting was great. We've all seen the writing on the wall with the way our public resources are being mismanaged. The slow fade is clear to anyone who has been hunting Montana for any amount of time. Last night we spent most of the evening discussing potential elk management solutions. I'm looking forward to more of these meetings to talk more about mule deer. Region 3 has become a mule deer wasteland. Randy (and others) mentioned some ideas that have great potential and shared a lot of wisdom.

I think for us young guys it's easy to get frustrated because we just don't know where to begin or what works/what doesn't/what's a waste of time. If we can get a group of guys on the same page I think we can have a lot of success. I hope and feel that these ideas would be shared by a lot of people, not just a small group. Opportunity is great only when the resource exists.

Overall the meeting was refreshing and I think I personally came away with a better grasp on how to focus my time and energy going forward

Thanks again Randy for hosting

 

[BirdManMike]

Overall the meeting was refreshing and I think I personally came away with a better grasp on how to focus my time and energy going forward

This is what I was hoping for. Looking forward to that recap.

 

[Gerald Martin]

Imma need about 60% of the legislative contracts in order to be viable.

Done. I will throw in a super secret,public land, shoulder season, cow elk hunt into the deal.

Pack your bags. Do you want help with a Zillow listing to sell your house?

 

[Ben Lamb]

Done. I will throw in a super secret,public land, shoulder season, cow elk hunt into the deal.

Pack your bags. Do you want help with a Zillow listing to sell your house?

Wife is keeping the House here, so I'll need a bedroll & a couch at your fancy new digs.

 

[Straight Arrow]

Wife is keeping the House here, so I'll need a bedroll & a couch at your fancy new digs.

You can stay in our treehouse spare bedroom with a view and access to the Gallatin.

 

[Gerald Martin]

Wife is keeping the House here, so I'll need a bedroll & a couch at your fancy new digs.

We’ll put an addition on the garden shed/kennel for your dogs. Or is your wife going to keep them with her?

You want the upstairs couch or the downstairs?

 

[Ben Lamb]

We’ll put an addition on the garden shed/kennel for your dogs. Or is your wife going to keep them with her?

You want the upstairs couch or the downstairs?

Which ever one is the most comfortable, I am a man of leisure, after all. No dogs. Just me.

 

[BRI]

I think the biggest takeaway and point of agreement among all of us is that FWP leadership no longer feels any sense of accountability to the average Montana hunters and are more concerned with pleasing legislators than they are protecting the resource.

100% agree and I've been saying it for the last few years. Because we always line up to buy tags, we'll be the constant in the equation. How to change our part of the equation is the tough one to figure out.

I've asked this question several times in the comment period: Why is it when a landowner says there are too many elk, they are immediately taken into consideration. But when a hunter says the elk on public land just aren't there, we're immediately discredited.

 

[mtnkid85]

Great conversation guys and again thank you, Randy, for hosting.

I walked away with the point of having the FWP leadership defend its decision making processes against the public trust doctrine.
It is clear they don't have the data to support the shoulder seasons, they are seemingly ignoring public comment and treating our wildlife like they are a liability that needs to be minimized by any means necessary.
We need to know why they are not being accountable to the hunting public but instead bending over backwards to please the legislature/commissioners/gov.

 

[RobG]

I think the biggest takeaway and point of agreement among all of us is that FWP leadership no longer feels any sense of accountability to the average Montana hunters and are more concerned with pleasing legislators than they are protecting the resource.

I didn't think of it last night, but next session we could line the Capitol halls with herd of hunters just like we did for public lands (and corner crossing).

 

[Eric Albus]

Outfitted hunts typically don't run longer than 7 days right? I don't blame how you think, but it sucks to think the mindset above is going to be the entire basis of MT wildlife management.

I don’t particularly like it either, but as someone on the outside looking in, let’s try it and see if more pressure on the private pushes some elk to the unwashed masses.

Make the license good for 5 days if you don’t like 7.