Governor-Elect Gianforte Names FWP Transition Team

[d-edward]

I don’t know all of these folks, but I know some of them... just announced this evening.
——

Montana's Republican Governor-elect Greg Gianforte announced his transition advisory team for the department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks.

A press release Monday says the team will review candidates for the next director of FWP.

The team includes several hunting and fishing industry members, former and current county and state elected officials, several ranchers and the director of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

Gianforte said in the press release that Montana’s landowners, hunters, and anglers share a tradition of working together to protect lands and conserve wildlife, adding, "We need a leader at the Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks who is committed to strengthening this tradition."

FWP is currently led by Martha Williams, who was appointed by Gov. Steve Bullock in 2017. Gianforte campaigned on a comprehensive review of state agencies with likely leadership changes.

Members of Governor-elect Gianforte’s FWP transition advisory team are:

Cheryl Arnaud – owner of Montana Hunting Company

Ed Beall – president of Capital Sports & Western; bowhunter education instructor

Shane Gorder – Richland County Commissioner; former president of Montana Association of Counties; rancher

Steve Harada, MBA – faculty member at Ft. Peck Community College; former president of Walleyes Unlimited of Montana

John Lane – rancher and co-founder of Devil’s Kitchen Management Area

Matt Lumley – vice president of the National Trappers Association

Chuck Rein – president of the Montana Outfitters and Guides Association

Lesley Robinson – former Phillips County Commissioner; rancher

Scott Sales – Montana state senator (SD-35) and president of the Montana State Senate; former speaker of the Montana House of Representatives

KC Walsh – executive chairman of Simms Fishing Products; director of the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation

John Way – fishing guide and owner of the Tackle Shop in Ennis

Kerry White – executive director of Citizens for Balanced Use; Montana state representative (HD-64)

 

[Gerald Martin]

That last name on the list has me so happy I have to sit on my hands to keep from clapping.
I wanted to be hopeful, I really did.

 

[Carnage2011]

Oh boy...that’s rough.

 

[MTLabrador]

The last name is very disappointing.

 

[JLS]

John Lane is a very good name to see on there.

 

[MTGomer]

There’s some good names on there and a whole bunch that I don’t know but there’s also that sniveling, insufferable maggot at the end.

 

[timmy]

FWP is set on the status quo and is mainly worried about catering to landowners. I don’t see anything changing for the foreseeable future. Democrat or republican year after year nothing will change.

 

[come2elmo]

Lots of Director of this or that.
What about:

Randy Newberg - Hunter?
Regular Joe - Hunter?
Joe Six Pack - Fisherman?

 

[The Hedgehog]

Regardless of these folks, I’m pretty sure that Montana, today, 2020 is the best we’ll see access to, opportunities for and the quality of hunting on public land for the remainder of my life. It’s not a good thing unless you have money to throw at, or connections to well managed private property - which may or may not stay as good as it is today.

 

[Wildabeest]

FWP is set on the status quo and is mainly worried about catering to landowners. I don’t see anything changing for the foreseeable future. Democrat or republican year after year nothing will change.

I’d submit that it can get worse. And this cast of characters is exhibit 1 in defense of that. Especially the last one. Typical current politics - a blatant “middle finger to all of you who didn’t support me” move. Sore winners is our new normal.

 

[timmy]

Agreed I think we can agree it’s going to get worse. But think about all the opportunity!!

 

[shrapnel]

FWP is set on the status quo and is mainly worried about catering to landowners. I don’t see anything changing for the foreseeable future. Democrat or republican year after year nothing will change.

Balance is hard to achieve when there are so many varied concepts on how to manage a resource such as the all the species we have in Montana to hunt and fish. The law says the state owns the game and fish, yet people still own large tracts of property where they roam and live.

How do you consider the opportunities for everyone if you don’t like someone or organization on the board? There is always going to be some dissatisfaction with the results, no matter who is in charge or makes decisions for everyone that wants access to the game and fish.

Everyone here shares a love for outdoors and hunting, yet criticism is apparent in many forums as people still disagree with others and their means of hunting or the equipment they use. There is no solution to make everyone happy about every issue that arises, we need to understand how diversity among friends is still acceptable.

Montana remains the best state in the union for hunting/fishing opportunities with the access to those resources and we need to be optimistic about improvements to an imperfect system and department. I am happy with the way the state elections turned out and I am also hopeful that Gov. Gianforte will consider all the groups and individuals as we move forward with his administration.

 

[JEL]

My only hope is that since KW is on the list to pick the Director he won't be the Director. The team for DNRC/DEQ transition is in the link below. Not much better is you value the environment.

https://helenair.com/news/state-and...a5dd26a.html#tracking-source=home-top-story-1

 

[BigHornRam]

My only hope is that since KW is on the list to pick the Director he won't be the Director. The team for DNRC/DEQ transition is in the link below. Not much better is you value the environment.

https://helenair.com/news/state-and...a5dd26a.html#tracking-source=home-top-story-1

Steve Marks and Chuck Roady are excellent picks.

 

[Brian in Montana]

I don't know of Kerry White beyond just hearing the name. A quick Google search didn't really turn up anything to get my dander up. What's he done?

And what's with that moustache? Looks like he's chewing on a ferret.

 

[HighWildFree]

Not a very diverse group, which speaks volumes about the direction the Gov. elect wants to go with wildlife management in this state. Lots of business interests, no scientist, no habitat conservation groups, nobody that has experience leading or working in a public agency.

 

[Kneetopia]

Regardless of these folks, I’m pretty sure that Montana, today, 2020 is the best we’ll see access to, opportunities for and the quality of hunting on public land for the remainder of my life. It’s not a good thing unless you have money to throw at, or connections to well managed private property - which may or may not stay as good as it is today.

Agreed. Lets just hope that Gianforte's entrepreneurship/heavy business success does not overpower our existing access to public lands. The guy loves to make money and save money (which isn't always bad). But Montana public lands and access has an intrinsic value that he may not be able to see past. Or he may be inclined to bend to the wealthy landowners and outfitters that stroke him off for support. I don't know many of the names on his transition team, but first glance I'm a bit concerned at the lack of science or biology connections. I know that hunting and fishing makes the state a boatload of money, but science and biology should not be discounted.

 

[Wrong Burgundy]

I don't know of Kerry White beyond just hearing the name. A quick Google search didn't really turn up anything to get my dander up. What's he done?

And what's with that moustache? Looks like he's chewing on a ferret.

Here is one example: https://www.greatfallstribune.com/s...ntana-based-citizens-balanced-use/3791046002/

 

[longbow51]

Lots of Director of this or that.
What about:

Randy Newberg - Hunter?
Regular Joe - Hunter?
Joe Six Pack - Fisherman?

You know, I tried this decades ago. I was appointed to a Governor's panel on river conflicts due to overcrowding. During introductions, I said I was just a regular fisherman, which brought laughs and a lot of approval. Subsequent folks said that they were just regular fishermen too, who just happened to be the head of this, that, or the other thing. Nice discussion without solutions, as no measures were taken. They all went back to their other meetings, their staff and organizations, and I went back to work to pay taxes to pay their salaries.

 

[shrapnel]

I don't know of Kerry White beyond just hearing the name. A quick Google search didn't really turn up anything to get my dander up. What's he done?

Kerry started what became CBU to keep public lands accessible to various forms of activities. This is on the website:

Citizens for Balanced Use was founded in December 2004. Since that time, CBU has advocated for more open space for recreation through education and working with the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of government.

People may disagree with this focus on public land, but it is about keeping public lands available for public use and more access to public lands that have lost that access.