Author
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University. He was a Western Watersheds Project Board Member off and on for many years, and was also its President for several years. For a long time he produced Ralph Maughan’s Wolf Report. He was a founder of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. He and Jackie Johnson Maughan wrote three editions of “Hiking Idaho.” He also wrote “Beyond the Tetons” and “Backpacking Wyoming’s Teton and Washakie Wilderness.” He created and is the administrator of The Wildlife News.
Comments
Hey, thanks for posting this.
We have a huge resource page on this on our Web site where you can find links to the bill, to the status of the bill, to contact information on members of the HouseFWP committee.
The hearing in the committee is this Thursday at 3 PM in Helena.
For all the info, see http://www.buffaloallies.org/node/139 .
Editor’s note: Salle attended the meeting and took these notes. RM
In West Yellowstone, yesterday, there was a meeting of residents and interested parties. Mr. Glen Hockett-Gallatin Wildlife Association and Lisa Upson-NRDC along with Kerry Taggart-HOBNOB (a citizens group of residents who live and own property on Horse Butte) gave presentations on the Bill, it’s benefits for all stakeholders including private property owners on Horse Butte, town-folk and ranching interests in the area.
There was lively discussion on the merits and a few questions about some specifics but most were in favor of the Bill. A good deal of the discussion was based on the legislative process in drafting, presenting and shepherding a Bill to a floor vote. The rally on Thursday is to give stakeholder comment in support of this Bill in order to convince the committee members at MTFWP to carry it to the legislature. Everyone was encouraged to provide comment in person, over the phone and online with instructions and transportation assistance for those who are willing to participate.
I found the meeting to be positive with insistence that this is a bipartisan effort, encouragement to all parties to accept that some may not share all their values but to please work together to get this Bill through the process intact.
This is a matter of private property rights and trespass issues among the other points made. The private property rights concern is real, the MT Dept of Livestock run roughshod over the rights of property owners when they blast through their yards to haze bison that most of the property owners want left alone when on their property. Helicopters fly low over their homes whenever hazing is in progress with no concern to anyone’s safety. These people are upset that they are ignored and belittled by Dept. personnel who haze and damage these magnificent animals at will on their property and in front of their children.
Main point: Bison are wildlife and should not be treated like domestic cattle. They should be handled by MTFWP who has a history of communicating with all stakeholders with diverse ideas and values; the Dept. of Livestock are only experienced with cattle and ranchers. Indigenous wildlife vs. exotic specie – cattle; ranchers vs. everyone else.
Equally important is the fact that the funds for the hazing operations are taxpayer dollars filtered through APHIS which means that the MT Dept. of Livestock are a defacto branch of Wildlife Services who act with impunity with the blessings of the National Park Service, the State of Montana legislature, MTFWP and the National Forest Service-all parties who don’t want to be seen as the “bad guys” so they pay the DoL to do it instead. This is administratively improper, morally wrong and very expensive to other wildlife in the area, property owners’ rights and the taxpayers of the USA.
Salle,
This is a very helpful report for me. Thank you. Because of a time conflict with the Buffalo Allies meeting, I wasn’t able to attend the meeting in Bozeman the night before.
I want to say more; however, I’m in mourning tonight because a friend of mine has died back in Washington, DC.
Because he was so relevant to all the activism I’m doing now, I’m going to pass along the link explaining his deep significance to my life.
Salle – your report and your activism is so awesome. Thank you for being there for the buffalo. Jim – I wrote a note to your blog about Thomas – you really touched my heart with his story! Thank you for your dedication to the buffalo and to these important values!