Schaaf
Well-known member
In light of the UPOM Lawsuit I think it's more important than ever to get your comments into the Elk Citizens Advisory Group.
I really think this group might be our best bet to make some meaningful changes.
The group has consistently been open to the public's input and suggestions about how to deal with our current issues and I guarantee that groups and people from the other side are in their email inbox. Their next meeting is Wednesday, May 25 and public comment can be emailed to [email protected]. You can also provide public comment via Zoom but the deadline to register is noon on Tuesday, May 24.
My email will dive into two main issues where I think the group can make suggestions.
1. Season Structure: No other western state manages Elk the way Montana does with an 11 week General Season across most of the state and seasons on either end resulting in 6 months of pressure. This management style might have worked when Montana had 400k people but in 2022 this style is no longer working and is in fact making our problems worse by teaching elk to find the safety zones on private land. I will recommend that the group look to our neighbor to the South to see how they structure the elk seasons and separate the season from deer.
2. My second suggestion is that the group advises FWP to make a more concerted effort on habitat restoration projects on public lands working with the BLM, FS, and USFWS. We need to allocate more resources into our public lands and make it so elk don't have to leave public land for habitat purposes. In my opinion, FWP has done a good job over the last decade of conserving acres of land but I haven't seen the habitat side of that keep up.
There's some good people on the group that are interested in your thoughts but they need to hear from you.
fwp.mt.gov
I really think this group might be our best bet to make some meaningful changes.
The group has consistently been open to the public's input and suggestions about how to deal with our current issues and I guarantee that groups and people from the other side are in their email inbox. Their next meeting is Wednesday, May 25 and public comment can be emailed to [email protected]. You can also provide public comment via Zoom but the deadline to register is noon on Tuesday, May 24.
My email will dive into two main issues where I think the group can make suggestions.
1. Season Structure: No other western state manages Elk the way Montana does with an 11 week General Season across most of the state and seasons on either end resulting in 6 months of pressure. This management style might have worked when Montana had 400k people but in 2022 this style is no longer working and is in fact making our problems worse by teaching elk to find the safety zones on private land. I will recommend that the group look to our neighbor to the South to see how they structure the elk seasons and separate the season from deer.
2. My second suggestion is that the group advises FWP to make a more concerted effort on habitat restoration projects on public lands working with the BLM, FS, and USFWS. We need to allocate more resources into our public lands and make it so elk don't have to leave public land for habitat purposes. In my opinion, FWP has done a good job over the last decade of conserving acres of land but I haven't seen the habitat side of that keep up.
There's some good people on the group that are interested in your thoughts but they need to hear from you.
Elk Management Citizen Advisory Group | Montana FWP
As elk populations continue to be a concern across the state, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is convening a citizens advisory group to address the future of elk management. The 12-member group will be tasked with developing new and creative ideas and recommendations and helping build new...
fwp.mt.gov
