Governor-Elect Gianforte Names FWP Transition Team

[TheJason]

Then why did you bring it up?
And I think you understand the "sky falling" comment was sarcasm.

I obviously did not convey my message in a way that was clear to you. You made the assertion Bullock has done little for public land elk hunting. My response was based on the fact it doesn’t matter what partisan affiliation he is when he’s battling a legislature that is hell bent on war with elk and public land hunters.

Simply remove the term partisan from my statement if that all of a sudden makes you feel better. A governor is limited in his or her abilities when they are simply trying to maintain damage control with an antagonistic legislature.

My apologies if it was sarcasm. Poor attempt at it IMO and I’m reluctant to believe it really was.

Now, are you taking my bet or not?

 

[BWALKER77]

I obviously did not convey my message in a way that was clear to you. You made the assertion Bullock has done little for public land elk hunting. My response was based on the fact it doesn’t matter what partisan affiliation he is when he’s battling a legislature that is hell bent on war with elk and public land hunters.

Simply remove the term partisan from my statement if that all of a sudden makes you feel better. A governor is limited in his or her abilities when they are simply trying to maintain damage control with an antagonistic legislature.

My apologies if it was sarcasm. Poor attempt at it IMO and I’m reluctant to believe it really was.

Now, are you taking my bet or not?

Wound a little tite are we?

 

[TheJason]

Wound a little tite are we?

Actually no. I’m polishing off a carton of Tillamook ice cream. Hazelnut and salted caramel.

Bet or no?

 

[The Hedgehog]

...

 

[The Hedgehog]

In the last 5-10 miles before you hit national forest land - it is really nothing unusual to see hundreds of elk and deer, at any time of the day, while driving 60mph towards the hills..

 

[Irrelevant]

Here, I'll represent all of WA now...

"OH boy I can't wait! Here we come!"

 

[Hem]

Quit your griping Greenhorn...200 elk right off the interstate between Manhattan and Logan. Cops should be distracted citing someone. Not much cover for the sneak but you could lay your 6.5 over the hood in the breakdown lane.

 

[BigHornRam]

Looks like Mr. White tried to take it back?

Lawmaker apologizes for Facebook comments about Kamala Harris

A state lawmaker just asked to serve on one of governor-elect Greg Gianforte’s transition advisory teams apologized Thursday for some postings on social media.

www.greatfallstribune.com

Exhibit A: Getting drunk and going on facebook is a bad combination.

 

[Straight Arrow]

The AG lobby us much smaller in numbers than the hunter lobby. I guess the question I have is why dont hunters in MT have an effective lobby?

Depending on context, that statement is not accurate. The numbers affecting lobbying are preceded by $.

 

[BWALKER77]

Depending on context, that statement is not accurate. The numbers affecting lobbying are preceded by $.

That may or may not be true, however there are a hell of a lot more hunters than ranch owners. Votes count.

 

[Straight Arrow]

That may or may not be true, however there are a hell of a lot more hunters than ranch owners. Votes count.

Montana 2020 hunters' votes did not count high enough. Some would say the gubernatorial race was settled to a large extent by a successful candidate's self-funded campaign blitzkrieg!
Furthermore, it's not the number of ag owners; it's their party affiliation and obvious support that generated the vote count.

 

[shrapnel]

This thread has exposed a lot of hatred toward various factions and individuals. It will always be a balance of hunting where you are able according to laws that pass the legislature. Some people like it some don’t, that will never change.

Public land is and always will be an issue as to access and use. Private land is recognized as owned by the individual or entity that claims title to that land. Game belongs to the state and is regulated accordingly.

Hunters and fishermen will have a choice to hunt or fish on one or the other as laws permit. The legislature makes laws that allow access in accordance with the powers that exist in Helena and this is where the rub seems to start.

Years ago, I talked with a well established outfitter about bringing these groups together (sportsmen, FWP, outfitters and landowners) to try to gain some solidarity with the resources and access for hunting/fishing to help advance better relationships to all those parties concerned. It never got past the discussion stage.

Here we are at the cusp of a new beginning with a new governor that is probably more receptive to issues unresolved than he would later in his administration, wouldn’t it be advantageous to try as an organized group to appeal to his decision making process before it came to gridlock?

My guess is Gianforte isn’t reading any comments on Hunttalk, so it might be better to organize and approach him as a group. Whining about Kerry White and what isn’t or won’t be, doesn’t get anything done but raise blood pressure...

 

[The Hedgehog]

Shrapnel is right. Give’m a chance. They’ve been handed a steaming pile of dog crap and let’s see if new leadership can turn it around.

As for Mr. White, he said he meant ..

 

[BigHornRam]

Quit your griping Greenhorn...200 elk right off the interstate between Manhattan and Logan. Cops should be distracted citing someone. Not much cover for the sneak but you could lay your 6.5 over the hood in the breakdown lane.

5 years and that hayfield will be a subdivision.

 

[Straight Arrow]

"Hatred" is a strong term and serves to exacerbate the division. However, I do agree completely with Shrapnel's assertion that approaching the Governor with a solid rationale as an organized group with positions which support hunters, wildlife, outfitters, and the large landowners is the optimum way to improve the situation.
Likewise with respect to the Legislature.

 

[tjones]

Years ago, I talked with a well established outfitter about bringing these groups together (sportsmen, FWP, outfitters and landowners) to try to gain some solidarity with the resources and access for hunting/fishing to help advance better relationships to all those parties concerned. It never got past the discussion stage.

Did it surprise you that an outfitter couldn't bring a group of folks together to discuss the thing you mentioned? IMO an outfitter would have been the worst possible choice to try and get this accomplished.

My guess is Gianforte isn’t reading any comments on Hunttalk, so it might be better to organize and approach him as a group. Whining about Kerry White and what isn’t or won’t be, doesn’t get anything done but raise blood pressure...

You do realize there are plenty of very organized, public land sportsmen doing this exact thing and have been doing it for decades. Many of the opportunities you and all the other sportsmen in Montana enjoy today are in fact the direct result of all the heavy lifting these - mostly volunteers - have been doing for a damn long time.

 

[longbow51]

You know, Kerry White, whom I never met, sounds like a real jerk. Why is it, though, that it's been perfectly fine to call any Republican every name in the book for 4 years, and he makes what, for sure, is a reprehensible remark, and suddenly he must go? The game seems to have changed so quickly. So, "all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others,".

 

[Ben Lamb]

Finally landed in our new place, and was reading this while enjoying a cup of coffee.

1.) Give GG a chance. He's the Gov and you have to try and work with him, and influence his administration's direction. Yes, some of the folks on the transition committee are worrisome, but there are good names in there as well.

2.) It's funny to think that MT hasn't had a strong sportsmen's lobby, but I may be biased here. When I started in 2009, we were fighting on stream access & bridge access, playing only defense while trying to increase 1 access area. In 2011, we had over 150 bills introduced on fish & wildlife issues - alone. 150. Most of those were bad bills that would have eroded the public's right to participate in government, would have severely depleted access programs and would have made getting wolves delisted impossible. In 2013, we had fewer introduced bills, and the focus against Habitat MT continues because Gov. Schweitzer used the program aggressively to secure new WMA's, etc. We also had an all out war against bison, with over 13 bills introduced to elimiate wild bison in MT forever. In 2015, we formed the Sporting coalition, which included all of the major conservation groups in MT from RMEF down to MT Bowhunters and that still continues today. We also fought off, successfully, the transfer and sale of public lands while also wrestling with a ton of other bills that would have been detrimental to the agency's ability to manage all species. 2017 wqas much the same, but with better outcomes, as we had the building blocks of success coming together, and a strong contingent of Dems and Reps who value conservation and access. 2019 saw the largest investment in DFWP infrastructure, increased FTE's for game managers, and a new access program using $1 million of General License Account funding.

It took 10 years to turn the legislature from pure awful into a working group of solid conservationists. There were a ton of people on this board who led that effort, and to say that they weren't effective is simply ignorant considering what we were up against.

3.) If your guy lost the election, it doesn't mean picking up your ball and going home. It means suiting up and getting back in the game to help the new governor be successful, since his success is yours. Starting from a spot of pure adversarial combat is a sure-fire way to eliminate your voice in the future of these discussions.

4.) I like Kerry, personally, but he plays fast & loose with the truth, and a fantastic demagogue. But he's also only one voice. When you see folks like John Lane, KC Walsh, etc, then you should take hope there. It's not the list I'd put together, but I know most of the groups who work the legislature have reached out to GG's transition team and are eager to meet with & work with the incoming administration.

5.) Going back to watching deer out by office window. Think I need to get my buck tag and drag out the 33 WCF next week. It's deer season in Michigan.

 

[Hem]

5 years and that hayfield will be a subdivision.

Isn't that the truth.

 

[shrapnel]

Did it surprise you that an outfitter couldn't bring a group of folks together to discuss the thing you mentioned? IMO an outfitter would have been the worst possible choice to try and get this accomplished.

You do realize there are plenty of very organized, public land sportsmen doing this exact thing and have been doing it for decades. Many of the opportunities you and all the other sportsmen in Montana enjoy today are in fact the direct result of all the heavy lifting these - mostly volunteers - have been doing for a damn long time.

What you don’t realize is your disdain for everyone that doesn’t do it your way. The outfitter I worked with was involved with the Hunter Ed program when I was chief instructor for the county. He funded a program that I ran outside of Hunter Ed, that involved taking 2 boys on a completely guided and outfitted antelope hunt on private property. Local business assisted with support of goods and services to give these young men a memorable hunt to last a lifetime including mounting their antelope and keeping the gun they were given to hunt with.

We did this for 5 years and decided we needed to try to develop a program to reach a larger segment of prospective young hunters. In all the years we did this, we discussed how we could improve the landowner, hunter and outfitter relationship to a more homogeneous solution to a severely scrutinized activity.

He had a very large business to keep running and I had my own life and job and those factors ended the advancement of a great opportunity to unite all sorts of individuals that can’t seem to get along.

Meanwhile people like you run down everyone that doesn’t fit your mold and add to the problem, not solving anything. Don’t make comments with a broad brush due to your narrow philosophy on how things should be, get out and do something besides typing on your computer and complaining, while you hope someone else fights your fight for you...