SECRETARY’S MESSAGE

Sectretary’sMessage

If you attended this year’s Carp Safari, I want to thank you all for supporting MBA. I hope you all had fun and had plenty to eat. Even though I did not shoot carp this year I had a great time cooking and visiting with friends.

I also want to welcome our new board members, welcome to the board and I hope you find the experience rewarding.

Now on to Legislative business. Here are some of the bills that passed this session that may impact bowhunters. I will leave it up to you to decide if they are favorable or not. The information I am posting is largely from Montana Wildlife Federations web site bill tracker and from my personal knowledge.

Please review and take note of each bill’s sponsor. I will try to compile a voting record for the next issue. I hope you find this useful, and I suggest you keep it on hand for reference when it comes time to again vote for those that represent you in our State Government. Jerry Davis

HB 108 Revise trespass laws regarding permission for hunting by Rep Denely Loge.

Requested by the Private Land/Public Wildlife (PLPW) council to discourage hunter trespassing on private land. It makes penalties for trespassing more severe and can include the loss of hunting privileges.

HB 119 Requiring FW Commission approval of certain landowner elk licenses Rep Denely Loge.

Restores the requirement of Fish and Wildlife Commission approval for these non-transferrable elk licenses that are given to landowners who open their property to public access. It is a cleanup bill that the Commission asked for after last session.

HB 120 Revising laws related to bonus points by Rep Denley Loge

Clarifies that a hunter must be eligible to draw a license before they can apply for a bonus point in years in which they want to buy that point.

HB 138 Revising trap and snare tagging requirement laws by Rep Paul Fielder

Makes verbal permission acceptable for trapping on private lands and it removes the requirement that phone numbers be on traps.

HB 224 Allow for the snaring of wolves in Montana by licensed trappers by Rep Paul Fielder.

Requires that the Fish and Wildlife Commission allow snaring of wolves during trapping seasons.

HB 225 Establish wolf trapping season dates by Rep Paul Fielder

Allow the Fish and Wildlife Commission to expand the wolf trapping dates and adjust season lengths based on regions.

HB 242 Establishing a muzzleloader heritage hunt season by Rep Caleb Hinkle

Creates a nine-day traditional muzzleloader season that starts after the end of the general rifle season.

HB 271 Revise County Road adoption procedure re: subdivision plats by Rep Ron Marshall

A road on a final subdivision plat that is dedicated to public use is not considered a county road until the board of county commissioners approves by resolution the adoption of the road as a county road.

HB302 Require County approval to relocate bison by Rep Joshua Kassmier

Give County commissioners control over any efforts to restore buffalo.

HB318 Clarify definition of bison by Rep Kenneth Holmlund

Redefines buffalo that come out of Yellowstone National Park and are held in a quarantine facility as livestock, as well as any bison held anywhere and ends the possibility of ever translocating them in Montana to reestablish a wild buffalo herd.

HB 353 Authorizes replacement hunting license when harvested game is unfit for consumption by Rep Steve Gunderson

Hunters can receive a replacement license when their game tests positive for chronic wasting disease and is therefore unable to be eaten.

HB 45 Revise come home to hunt license requirements by Rep Brian Putnam

Make rules more stringent for nonresident hunters to qualify for a half price big game combination license to hunt with family members by making it mandatory to have taken hunter education and previously purchased a resident license.

HB 468 Allowing hound hunting and chase seasons for black bears

by Rep Paul Fielder

Creates a hound hunting season for black bears, as well as a spring chase training season.

HB 48 Removes occupation from hunting/fishing license application requirements by Rep Steve Gist

A hunter’s occupation will no longer be part of the record while applying for a license.

HB 54 Revises who qualifies to accompany nonresident youth combination license hunters by Rep Kerri Seekins-Crowe

Adds stepparents and legal guardians to the people who can legally accompany a nonresident youth hunter.

HB 637 Generally revise fish, wildlife, and parks laws by Rep Seth Berglee

Includes spending $1 million per year on pheasant stocking, removing the waiting period to use black bear and mountain lion licenses, and gives some special treatment to non-resident landowners.

HB 647 Revises nonresident student hunting and fishing fees by Rep Steven Galloway

Allows nonresident full time college students in Montana to get deer, elk and fishing licenses for resident rates. It requires that their home state extends similar courtesy to Montana residents attending college there.

HB 701 Generally revise marijuana laws by Rep Mike Hopkins

Diverts all the funding generated by the voter-approved marijuana initiative away from Habitat Montana.

SB 115 Establish acquisitions requiring land board consideration by Sen Keith Regier

Requires conservation easements under Habitat Montana receive State Land Board approval.

SB 116 Revising antlerless elk tag license laws by Sen Duane Ankney

Lowers the acreage requirement to 160 acres to qualify for free, nontransferrable elk licenses for landowners who allow free public hunting access.

SB 267 Authorize reimbursement for wolf trapping and hunting by Sen Bob Brown

Allows for reimbursement of costs associated with trapping wolves by Montana trappers, by some this is considered a bounty.

SB 275 Generally revise the board of outfitters and outfitting laws and enforcement by Sen Jeff Welborn

Removes the two sportspersons from the board, removes reporting requirements for clients, and takes away the reporting requirement of leased private land acres. SB 314 Revise laws related to wolf harvest by Sen Bob Brown

Allows night hunting for wolfs on private land and allows the take of multiple wolves on one license.

SB 314 Revise laws related to wolf harvest by Sen Bob Brown

Prevents the Montana FWP staff from relocating grizzly bears that are in conflict situations outside of the federal recovery areas.

SB 354 Revise laws related to land servitudes and easements by Sen Steve Hinebauch

Seeks to make the use of prescriptive easements by to public to access public lands much more difficult.

SB 60 Requiring trapper education for certain resident trappers by Sen Patrick Flowers

Institutes mandatory trapper education.

SB 62 Revise unlawful possession laws Sen Bob Brown

Strengthens game laws by making clear it is a violation to illegally possess animals even when it is left in the field to waste.

SB 98 Revising laws related to grizzly bear take in defense of persons and livestock by Sen Bruce Gillespie

Grizzly bears seen as threatening livestock can be killed. This may preclude delisting of grizzly bears from the ESA.

Hope you find the above useful. Thanks