Lawmakers Consider Reshaping Fish And Wildlife Commission
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are considering a bill that would change the makeup of the state Fish and Wildlife Commission — a group made up of members of the public appointed by the governor to help shape how the state manages wildlife and public lands.
The commission is also responsible for approving any transfer of land involving the state.
Senate Bill 306 passed the Senate 27-22 in early March. Primarily, it expands the Fish and Wildlife Commission from five to seven members. It also re-districts the state in order to be in line with the Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department’s seven regions.
One key, and controversial, part of the bill is that it also requires four of the members be landowners “involved in agricultural production,” which the bill defines as farming, ranching or logging.
Current law only stipulates that members must be picked without regard to their political affiliation. Additionally, one of them must be experienced in breeding and managing livestock. Four opponents to the bill representing sportspeople and conservation groups said while they supported the first two parts of the bill expanding the commission, they had issues with the section demanding two thirds of the members be from the agricultural sector.
Nick Gevock is the conservation director for the Montana Wildlife Federation. “We’ve had school teachers, attorneys, fishing outfitters, conservationists, and farmers and ranchers serve on the commission,” Gevock said. “And that diversity has been a good thing. You know, all Montanans care about wildlife, and should be eligible to apply for these seats at the governor’s discretion with the approval of the state Senate.”
Two supporters for the bill representing farmers and stockgrowers said having four land-owning members on the commission would help better reflect Montana’s lands.
Nicole Rolf spoke on behalf of the Montana Farm Bureau Federation. “Many farmers and ranchers participate in Fish, Wildlife and Parks activities and are directly impacted by decisions made by the Fish and Wildlife Commission,” Rolf said. The bill’s sponsor, Sen Mike Lang, R-Malta, pointed out that two thirds of seven is about four, and if two thirds of Montana’s land is for agricultural use, then two thirds of the commission should be from production agriculture.
( Publisher’s Note: James Bradley is a reporter with the UM Legislative News Service, a partnership of the University of Montana School of Journalism, the Montana Broadcasters Association, the Montana Newspaper Association and the Greater Montana Foundation.)
