Environmental Quality Council meeting update
September's Environmental Quality Council (EQC) meeting had updates on several different issues. Much of the subject matter was educational in nature helping those new to the council (such as myself) get their bearings.
With the EQC having general oversight of three departments, there are many ongoing projects that require a short synopsis to understand what it is you are talking about. While the oversight sub-committee spends more in depth time on the projects within the separate departments, the committee of the whole focuses more on environmental hot topics and legislated studies from the previous session.
Studying conservation easements on state lands was the only legislative study this interim for the EQC. Most of the council's remaining time has been allocated to Global Warming discussions.
The oversight committee heard reports from FWP on the Upland Bird Program and the status of the department's progress developing the criterion for the harvesting of wolves and grizzlies.
The Upland Bird program has been working for several years now to help increase fowl numbers for sportsman as well as trying to cultivate relationships with landowners to help provide access to prime hunting grounds. While there has been some success with sportsman/landowner relationships over this time, the program has yet to show any significant increase to the sustainable yield of fowl numbers in targeted areas.
With wolf numbers now far surpassing the recovery benchmark, FWP intends to have the rules and regulations worked out by August '08 to enable hunters the ability to purchase wolf tags for the fall season. The department's report was without many specifics besides admitting that they don't really know how many wolves there are in Montana. Too many is finally the consensus.
If the Grizzly is successfully delisted in the Yellowstone ecosystem, hunters will be able to participate in a lottery for a small harvest quota. The department reported that there will be very few tags available (8 -10) for hunters to compete for. Montana, Idaho and Wyoming will share in this quota.
We spent a few hours beginning the study of conservation easements on state lands. Most of the time was spent looking at current easements on state lands as well as which entities are actively pursuing them. Watching government lobby government for more government is quite the experience.
The Council heard four presentations on the subject of Global Warming. Unfortunately, the discussion centered on whether the planet is/isn't getting warmer instead of addressing the real issue at hand. What is Montana's role in this debate? The Governor's Advisory Council on GW has yet to release its final recommendations for our consideration of this subject. The EQC will be hearing the official report on Jan. 17. I wonder where managing our diseased and overstocked forests will rank among their suggestions?
The special session called to appropriate the necessary revenue to pay our fire suppression costs produced an interim study committee.
The committee will be looking at ways to streamline resources to help mitigate the costs, as well as the policies that are contributing to catastrophic wildfire. The duties will also include holding public hearings in five northwestern communities.
Lincoln County will host one of these hearings in Libby, the date will be decided at the committee's first meeting on Oct 29. I am very pleased to report to you that I have been appointed to this committee. I look forward to discussing innovative ways for Montana to interface with the federal policies that have cumulatively crippled our ability to sustainably manage our public lands.
While we are on the topic of not managing our public lands. Representatives Carolyn Maloney, (D-NY) and Christopher Shays, (R-CT) have introduced HR 1975/NREPA designating 26 million acres of wilderness in five western states.
Eight million of this proposed wilderness designation is in Montana, approximately 1 million right here in Lincoln County. While there have been similar wilderness attempts over the last couple decades, few have generated this level of support; there are 175 co-sponsors at this time. The hearing for HR 1975 is scheduled for Oct. 18 at 3 p.m. Our collective voices of opposition can be registered at both sites listed below. Please ask a friend to do the same.
http://savethewest.net/takeAction.htm
http://www.house.gov/rehberg/survey.shtml .