Montana 2025 Legislative Session

[Big Fin]

One question I have about the conversation yesterday is Representative Hinkle referenced that almost 3/4 of the total applicants to the FWP Mule Deer CAC were members of one organization and that organization had testified in opposition to HB-139.

He said he wasn’t going to name that organization because they were in the room, but the implication I took from that was there was a coordinated attempt to steer the CAC in a pre-determined direction.

The only organization that I can think that fit his description would be the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. That’s about the only organization with enough members in MT to encapsulate 3/4 of folks who might be engaged in wildlife management issues to the extent they might volunteer to serve on the advisory council. If so, that might be a wake up call for the other 25% of us who aren’t members of the Elk Foundation to join up.

Or, he’s talking in hyperbole. My Grandma called that “talking out your ass.”

I know a lot of people who applied for that committee and all but two were unaffiliated with any group. I’d like to see his source of 3/4. I’d be willing to bet it was found between his left cheek and his right cheek.

 

[Gerald Martin]

Well we all have one and most of us are cars carrying members of the mule hole society….

 

[The Hedgehog]

Locals need to reconsider using him for taxidermy.

 

[Straight Arrow]

Or, he’s talking in hyperbole. My Grandma called that “talking out your ass.”

That's my take on it. At that point Hinkle knew he was treading murky waters and the flow was against him. He was grasping for straws.

 

[cgasner1]

One question I have about the conversation yesterday is Representative Hinkle referenced that almost 3/4 of the total applicants to the FWP Mule Deer CAC were members of one organization and that organization had testified in opposition to HB-139.

He said he wasn’t going to name that organization because they were in the room, but the implication I took from that was there was a coordinated attempt to steer the CAC in a pre-determined direction.

The only organization that I can think that fit his description would be the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. That’s about the only organization with enough members in MT to encapsulate 3/4 of folks who might be engaged in wildlife management issues to the extent they might volunteer to serve on the advisory council. If so, that might be a wake up call for the other 25% of us who aren’t members of the Elk Foundation to join up.

It’s almost like the people who care enough to get involved are the ones who apply for the cac

 

[Gerald Martin]

Locals need to reconsider using him for taxidermy.

I disagree. Just because someone holds a “wrong” position on policy doesn’t warrant calling for a boycott or not using his business.

 

[Nameless Range]

One question I have about the conversation yesterday is Representative Hinkle referenced that almost 3/4 of the total applicants to the FWP Mule Deer CAC were members of one organization and that organization had testified in opposition to HB-139.

He said he wasn’t going to name that organization because they were in the room, but the implication I took from that was there was a coordinated attempt to steer the CAC in a pre-determined direction.

The only organization that I can think that fit his description would be the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. That’s about the only organization with enough members in MT to encapsulate 3/4 of folks who might be engaged in wildlife management issues to the extent they might volunteer to serve on the advisory council. If so, that might be a wake up call for the other 25% of us who aren’t members of the Elk Foundation to join up.

I'd wager he was talking about BHA. Not because he's telling the truth regarding any knowledge he has regarding applicants and their affiliations, but because they are a boogeyman in the circles he runs around in.

He reads HuntTalk. He's shared screenshots of it on the facebook.



He's probably reading this and could correct me if I am wrong.

I've spoken to enough non-hunttalkers to believe that if the citizen's proposal is to have any success, it will need a much larger body of folks behind it than currently exists. Many Montanans I've spoken to, many of which are good folks, good hunters, and not coming from a place of entitlement, still want to keep their rut hunts.

 

[TheJason]

Stopping rut hunts = lefty democrats. That is some interesting logic.

 

[The Hedgehog]

I disagree. Just because someone holds a “wrong” position on policy doesn’t warrant calling for a boycott or not using his business.

I’d choose to not give a penny to somebody wanting to handcuff any level of improvement to MT big game via the bullshittery involved.

 

[SAJ-99]

Politics 101 - When you have a bad idea and you bring it forth as a bill, you better find a "boogey man" to serve as the bad guy.

Politics 102 is try to hide the bad idea in a bunch of other bad ideas. Jed had been working fervently for the last couple of years on some of these ideas.

 

[mtmiller]

I disagree. Just because someone holds a “wrong” position on policy doesn’t warrant calling for a boycott or not using his business.

I am more likely to financially award folks that hold the “right correct” position.

 

[cgasner1]

I'd wager he was talking about BHA. Not because he's telling the truth regarding any knowledge he has regarding applicants and their affiliations, but because they are a boogeyman in the circles he runs around in.

He reads HuntTalk. He's shared screenshots of it on the facebook.

View attachment 356927

He's probably reading this and could correct me if I am wrong.

I've spoken to enough non-hunttalkers to believe that if the citizen's proposal is to have any success, it will need a much larger body of folks behind it than currently exists. Many Montanans I've spoken to, many of which are good folks, good hunters, and not coming from a place of entitlement, still want to keep their rut hunts.

I’d be all for talking muzzy season with him as a guy that has hunted all of them but 1 due to other tags

 

[Gerald Martin]

Stopping rut hunts = lefty democrats. That is some interesting logic.

I already owned that truth earlier in this thread where I said that Joe Biden (and by extension lefty democrats) are the ones who support hunting mule deer in the rut. If you look, I said “fact” after my assertion. This is the internet so all you need to do is say “fact” and that makes it true. Fact.

 

[Beignet]

Stopping rut hunts = lefty democrats. That is some interesting logic.

This other party boogeyman shit is the laziest scapegoat and has gotten out of control.

 

[DFS]

I’m probably biased but I didn’t think it was a good look for Hinkle.

 

[The Hedgehog]

Pretty obvious that HB is going nowhere.

The poor “snivel snivel how dare you suggest my poor kids shouldn’t be shooting mule deer bucks on Thanksgiving week, it our God given right and heritage” crew!

… says the guy who’s son shot a buck on Thanksgiving this year.

 

[cgasner1]

As far as hb 139 goes it’s still our fight to lose. You can still send a letter to the committee against it. Keep in mind to be nice and you only get 1000 letters I had to redo the one I sent this morning for being over.

 

[Big Fin]

I'd wager he was talking about BHA. Not because he's telling the truth regarding any knowledge he has regarding applicants and their affiliations, but because they are a boogeyman in the circles he runs around in.

He reads HuntTalk. He's shared screenshots of it on the facebook.

View attachment 356927

He's probably reading this and could correct me if I am wrong.

I've spoken to enough non-hunttalkers to believe that if the citizen's proposal is to have any success, it will need a much larger body of folks behind it than currently exists. Many Montanans I've spoken to, many of which are good folks, good hunters, and not coming from a place of entitlement, still want to keep their rut hunts.

He reads Hunt Talk. His pals read Hunt Talk. Like your screen shot, I get sent plenty of messages with comments where our platforms or I am the focus of comments from his circle of friends. They are entertaining, for sure.

Every legislative session the lurkers with Helena-based IPs goes way up. Legislators and the Department drop in regularly with “State of Montana” IPs. I post things at times to validate my suspicions of who is lurking and reading Hunt Talk, and not just related to Montana. I’m often surprised when those suspicions are confirmed by a phone call or email that starts with, “Hey, I read what you wrote on Hunt Talk.”

I hope Rep. Hinkle does read this. I, like most here, would like to work with him on good ideas. Given his coziness with some who claim to know so much about me, our audiences, and our platforms (though they’ve never spoke a word with me) I suspect he’ll continue to rely on those same sources for “his facts,” and boogey man tactics. It would be great if the Chair of that Committee was open to ideas from experienced hunters and access advocates and would work together to employ political capital that could be positively employed to the benefit of wildlife, access, and conservation.

 

[Elky Welky]

I'd wager he was talking about BHA. Not because he's telling the truth regarding any knowledge he has regarding applicants and their affiliations, but because they are a boogeyman in the circles he runs around in.

He reads HuntTalk. He's shared screenshots of it on the facebook.

View attachment 356927

He's probably reading this and could correct me if I am wrong.

I've spoken to enough non-hunttalkers to believe that if the citizen's proposal is to have any success, it will need a much larger body of folks behind it than currently exists. Many Montanans I've spoken to, many of which are good folks, good hunters, and not coming from a place of entitlement, still want to keep their rut hunts.

Odd cite for him to use, given that the BHA boogeyman he's citing in that instance wasn't the person writing the response. And in fact, said BHA boogeyman was originally in favor of the muzzy season before realizing/agreeing that these things should be left in the commission's hands. Not that it should require saying, but the green decoy nonsense about BHA has got to stop. It's one of the most politically diverse orgs out there, and Land Tawney has been gone for a while now. I suppose to Montana's new ultra-right contingent, any nonprofit group required to be nonpartisan by law is still somehow left wing. And if anyone is wondering, not a single BHA board member was on the mule deer citizen advisory committee.

Regardless, I've reached out to Rep Hinkle and hope to have a good conversation with him about a lot of this. To @Nameless Range's point, I can't say I'm all that surprised by this response. Change, particularly to longstanding traditions, is scary for a large portion of Rep. Hinkle's constituency. And right now he's looking at FWP's survey, which represents a far greater number of Montanans than just the HT crowd. As much as many here might not like it, he's going to represent the majority, and there's some work to do to get the majority aligned with what the mule deer group is trying to do.