Moga continues to stick it to the public.
Just thought you folks should know what has been up with the Mont. Board of Outfitters (Boo).
After telling MSA that their legislative agenda was benign, Moga(Mt. Outfitters and Guides Assn)
used every opportunity to further their self serving interests and the Public be damned. They campaigned against Robin Cunningham’s reappointment to Boo. Robin was a fair chairman and worked with all, as was his job. After 10 1/2 years on the board, mostly as chair (elected by the board), Moga decided he had a conflict of interest and paraded their board members into the legislature to attack his character. It was certainly one of the most blatant character assassinations we have seen at the legislature. Moga’s deception was wrong, shameful, and self serving but ultimately successful.
Jean Johnson, their lobbyist, was busy at her usual total lack of honesty. Lots of self serving legislation like SB 264 to reduce the Boo to licensing only….no oversight, no record keeping, etc. The Governor vetoed and included language about the importance of record keeping and sharing data with managers and law enforcement. The Boo has thumbed their nose at the Gov. and the public in passing a rule pkg that includes no record keeping (names of clients, what, when, and where critters are harvested).
The Outfitters Assistant was a bill passed in 2012 I believe. There was significant abuse and no oversight, so MSA put forth a bill adding sideboards. Originally, the OA was a method to allow outfitters to hire, in an emergency, a person with no experience and no first aid and had little for sideboards. The outfitters were required to notify the client that the guide was an OA and if he/she had 1st aid or not (thanks to lobbying by MSA). There has never been any kind of compliance check. MSA’s bill HB 289 included a definition of “emergency”. Moga members fought tooth and nail to kill the bill, then to remove that definition or water it down. When the bill advanced to committee, we found Jean had manipulated the bill, then told the sponsor and the chair of House F&G that all had agreed to her amendment. Jean was left to stew in her dishonest mess. Her amendment did not pass.
Now Moga is pushing the Boo to adopt very vague rule pkgs so there are few sideboards to emergency. They are also pushing for including late season booking as an “emergency” thereby qualifying outfitters to use an OA. Another dandy is pushing for a one time only hands on first aid requirement. They would be allowed to take an online course forever after. Public be damned.
The Boo is now totally dysfunctional. Moga controls the vote. Don’t expect anything for the public as is their charge. We have advocated for training of this board in their primary charge….the health, welfare, and safety of the public. Even tho Moga bills itself as savior of the non-resident sportsmen, the only time they look out for the NR is when it involves their pocket book! Moga is most certainly one of the worst enemies of sportsmen both res. and NR. It is interesting to note that the leadership of Moga is made up of wealthy non-natives who come here because they love Montana but then proceed to try to change it to their model.
If any of this bother you, perhaps it is time to bring it up to NR friends and relatives coming here to hunt with outfitters. Are they being told about OA and if they have first aid? Are they told as early as possible so that they might look elsewhere?
We would urge you folks to let the Boo know we are unhappy and demand the public be served. There are 3 public members and 4 outfitters on Boo. Perhaps we need a level mix? Anyone want to volunteer for a seat on Boo?
Please comment on the rule pkgs, the lack of attention to the “public”, the lack of functionality of the Boo, lack of record keeping, and a need for training. Contact: [email protected]
Joe
Just thought you folks should know what has been up with the Mont. Board of Outfitters (Boo).
After telling MSA that their legislative agenda was benign, Moga(Mt. Outfitters and Guides Assn)
used every opportunity to further their self serving interests and the Public be damned. They campaigned against Robin Cunningham’s reappointment to Boo. Robin was a fair chairman and worked with all, as was his job. After 10 1/2 years on the board, mostly as chair (elected by the board), Moga decided he had a conflict of interest and paraded their board members into the legislature to attack his character. It was certainly one of the most blatant character assassinations we have seen at the legislature. Moga’s deception was wrong, shameful, and self serving but ultimately successful.
Jean Johnson, their lobbyist, was busy at her usual total lack of honesty. Lots of self serving legislation like SB 264 to reduce the Boo to licensing only….no oversight, no record keeping, etc. The Governor vetoed and included language about the importance of record keeping and sharing data with managers and law enforcement. The Boo has thumbed their nose at the Gov. and the public in passing a rule pkg that includes no record keeping (names of clients, what, when, and where critters are harvested).
The Outfitters Assistant was a bill passed in 2012 I believe. There was significant abuse and no oversight, so MSA put forth a bill adding sideboards. Originally, the OA was a method to allow outfitters to hire, in an emergency, a person with no experience and no first aid and had little for sideboards. The outfitters were required to notify the client that the guide was an OA and if he/she had 1st aid or not (thanks to lobbying by MSA). There has never been any kind of compliance check. MSA’s bill HB 289 included a definition of “emergency”. Moga members fought tooth and nail to kill the bill, then to remove that definition or water it down. When the bill advanced to committee, we found Jean had manipulated the bill, then told the sponsor and the chair of House F&G that all had agreed to her amendment. Jean was left to stew in her dishonest mess. Her amendment did not pass.
Now Moga is pushing the Boo to adopt very vague rule pkgs so there are few sideboards to emergency. They are also pushing for including late season booking as an “emergency” thereby qualifying outfitters to use an OA. Another dandy is pushing for a one time only hands on first aid requirement. They would be allowed to take an online course forever after. Public be damned.
The Boo is now totally dysfunctional. Moga controls the vote. Don’t expect anything for the public as is their charge. We have advocated for training of this board in their primary charge….the health, welfare, and safety of the public. Even tho Moga bills itself as savior of the non-resident sportsmen, the only time they look out for the NR is when it involves their pocket book! Moga is most certainly one of the worst enemies of sportsmen both res. and NR. It is interesting to note that the leadership of Moga is made up of wealthy non-natives who come here because they love Montana but then proceed to try to change it to their model.
If any of this bother you, perhaps it is time to bring it up to NR friends and relatives coming here to hunt with outfitters. Are they being told about OA and if they have first aid? Are they told as early as possible so that they might look elsewhere?
We would urge you folks to let the Boo know we are unhappy and demand the public be served. There are 3 public members and 4 outfitters on Boo. Perhaps we need a level mix? Anyone want to volunteer for a seat on Boo?
Please comment on the rule pkgs, the lack of attention to the “public”, the lack of functionality of the Boo, lack of record keeping, and a need for training. Contact: [email protected]
Joe
