FWP Serving our elk up on an APHIS platter April 10th.

[Ben Lamb]

Respectfully,

We had APHIS off of eradication and focused on risk management for the most part during 2008 - 2011. Schweitzer wouldn't sign the MOU for eradication so it went nowhere.Groups like GYC, NRDC, etc were working that angle hard while raising funds for RTR.

 

[katqanna]

Respectfully,

We had APHIS off of eradication and focused on risk management for the most part during 2008 - 2011. Schweitzer wouldn't sign the MOU for eradication so it went nowhere.Groups like GYC, NRDC, etc were working that angle hard while raising funds for RTR.

Respectfully to you as well Ben, but APHIS never goes off eradication, they just go deep and run silent till people arent paying attention. Scullys grilling of APHIS Dr. Tom Linfield at the last Board of Livestock meeting was public confirmation on that point. I am not as concerned with what hunters and other conservations DID in 2008 or with the DSA in 2010, as what they are doing now. No group can ever rest on their laurels, and I have heard that complaint alot about hunting conservation in the last year.

Beginning in the spring, I began contacting hunter conservation groups to get them involved and fighting back on the elk brucellosis working group issue. For months I was on the phone and emails. Not seeing much enthusiasm there I began incorporating my efforts towards the other conservation groups. I was told they didnt do elk. One lady said that there were so many of them that she didnt see the problem. One stated they were a game species to let the hunters take care of it. Others stated they were just about endangered animals, at which point I asked what the population had to be slaughtered down to to be considered threatened or endangered? Another stated that they didnt do elk here but had a guy in their WY branch that did. And then there are the groups that are specific to just one species - elk not being one of them. Me, I am a holistic kind of person so I dont agree with that. They are all on my organization email lists and get my emails, but I dont generally get replies back from them except for a few and y'all might be surprised that one of them is a wolf group that is concerned and encouraging.

Take a good look at the public comments for the 2014 Work Plan and show me the conservation groups? There werent any. Look at this current group of public comments and show me the conservation groups, besides the AWR. I approached the AWR in Oct. about an attorney, not getting anywhere with some hunting groups and seeing this continue to be passed through the FWP Commission. I needed to get this stopped. We were waiting on a document from legislative services in Jan, at which point I was told the conservation attorneys would not touch it because it all goes back to Bullock and they did not want to do anything against a Democratic governor. I was on the phone earlier with a hunter in Helena, having the same issues, on a different problem.

I care about the wildlife and habitat, not party politics. I care about these elk and conservation hunting traditions. I care about public access and public trust. These are all basic issues that should not be swept under the rug for partisan politics or conservation turf wars.

So respectfully, forgive me if I am not impressed with the conservation work of previous years in the face of what is going on now with the APHIS and DOL grip.

I believe livestock can be protected, real productive multi stakeholder working groups can be held, without throwing our elk, hunters and our Fish, Wildlife and Parks to APHIS/DOL. Thankfully, there are other attorneys available, so my week has just gotten much better.

 

[Ben Lamb]

Those who ignore history are destined to repeat it.

 

[katqanna]

I was notified today that a hunter group that submitted public comments against this program was not included in the files FWP sent to me. I got the forward of their submission that was well before the cut off time. I was also told by a hunter whose name was not included, that they had contacted FWP to speak against it. So I have an individual and a sportsmens group missing. I will check with FWP tomorrow, but if any of y'all know of groups not listed above or suspect individuals not included (there was only one out of state from CA), please let me know. We need to make sure they are all accounted for and being submitted to the Commissioners.

I am emailing the commissioners with the breakdown information, especially of the other watershed "working group" members statements, in case it is not being properly presented.

 

[katqanna]

The Public Comments submitted for the Elk Management in Areas with Brucellosis, Paradise Valley Modifications

There was one by an individual that was mailed in and the Gallatin Wildlife Association that was not included in the FWP batch above. As of Friday, FWP was checking to see if there were more that had not been included. Wildlife Divisions in Helena lost two personnel this week and they were involved with compiling public comments, so their computers were being checked by IT for any more. The same occurred with the Mountain Lion comments, they found a few more. Not sure about other issues on the agenda for the April 10th meeting.