FWP to consider an increase in license fees

Your Region 1 FWP Citizens Advisory Committee members were made aware during the latest meeting in Kalispell Region 1 Headquarters that there is an ongoing study regarding the decreasing funds for FWP activities statewide, which will ultimately result in an increase in overall resident hunting and fishing licensing fees.

There has not been an increase for the last 10 years, which is causing the Fish, Wildlife & Parks to seriously review all project expenditures. The comment made by Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials is that the department is “going broke slowly.” Fish, Wildlife & Parks is, basically, self-funded through license sales with a very small amount of funds kicked in by federal largesse. This would place the agency into a management culture similar to a private business: funding begins to disappear, something has to be done to either improve the financial picture or reduce expenditures on pet projects such as fisheries enhancements, access to public resources and potential purchases of wildlife habitat for the public trust.

Fish, Wildlife & Parks has prepared a five-minute video and a four-page brochure that will be available for viewing in all Regional offices and will eventually be installed in the agency website that shows the benefits that Sportsmen’s license fees have provided all Montanans and non-resident visitors alike.

The video underscores the benefits that sportsmen, through our license fees, and other sources have been able to enjoy and improve on for many years.

Part of the research performed included a market review of the license-fee structures for resident and non-resident sportsmen, which found that non-resident fees are at or near the top of the market for all states, whereas resident fees are well below market in many cases.

Past history in Montana shows that resident license fee increases are never a slam-dunk, anyone wishing to learn more about the effect that past collections have had on improving recreational, hunting, and fishing access and success needs to contact the FWP website and view the short video or pickup the brochure titled, “Choices For The Future.” If you’re in Kalispell, stop in at the Region 1 Headquarters and ask to see the video; it’s only five-minutes long. All of the Citizen Advisory Committee members and the Fish, Wildlife & Parks personnel at the meeting agreed that Montanans definitely have it good with respect to the cost of our licenses vs. the significant wealth of wildlife that we can pursue to view and harvest.

Another lengthy topic of discussion was the update on the future of illegal walleye introduction in Noxon Reservoir. Currently, there are two predictive studies, but the main crux of the studies is the effect that walleye suppression might have on the entire ecosystem of the reservoir including any economic impact associated with the two studies: 1. Allowing walleyes to proliferate unchecked; 2. Repressing walleye using several methods such as through angler and/or other mass entrapment. Fish, Wildlife & Parks will provide periodic updates to the Region 1 Citizens Advisory Committee members who will forward them on to local newspapers, including The Western News.

Interestingly, Canyon Ferry Reservoir has held some very successful walleye tournaments that I’m sure folks from Region 1 have participated in that could be added as a walleye “suppression” method for Noxon Reservoir, according to another member of the Region 1 committee.   

Gary Wolfe, the new FWP Commissioner for the Western Region, discussed the various hunting and fishing season scoping meetings that have been held recently and mentioned that Region 1 had very few changes or additions proposed for the region. He said we can assume that Region 1’s season has already been well organized and managed for some years, however there will be some changes such as more “B” tags for private lands and that elk “B” tag holders will still be able to harvest their “B” tag animal in the district for that tag, and harvest a bull, elk, but not in the same district as his or her “B” tag. There will be a very limited number of districts where mule deer does can be taken. Hunters will be allowed to take turkeys with rifles and pistols in most areas; and where rifles and pistols are allowed, crossbows will also be allowed.

The suppression of lake trout in Flathead Lake is still a matter of much discussion and interaction between Fish, Wildlife & Parks and the Kootenai/Salish tribal interests, but this subject has been well covered in local media and certain commission meetings regarding the subject can be seen in live-streamed commission meetings via the FWP website.

Fish, Wildlife & Parks Region 1 Game Warden, Capt. Lee Anderson, provided a very enlightening and entertaining presentation on recent successful Region 1 (Sanders, Lincoln, Lake, and Flathead counties) game harvesting infraction investigations of poaching. The most interesting fact is that 90 percent of these investigations have started from tips provided by right-thinking sportsmen and non-hunting/fishing citizens.

Jim Satterfield, Region 1 Fish, Wildlife & Parks supervisor, commented that Montana sportsmen have a high degree of self-policing culture, which is an obviously very valuable intellectual trait for Montana’s outdoor resource users.

Two more factoids: the price of furs is increasing, especially bobcat pelts, some of which have sold for upward of $1,000, thus more trappers have jumped into the forests, causing the quota system to be quickly filled in certain areas. But there has been some thievery of trapped animals. Secondly, wolf harvest only requires the hunter to affix his or her tag to the animal and call the closest Fish, Wildlife & Parks game warden to report the harvest and location of the animal.

Thank you for taking the time to review the preceding and contact one of your local Citizens Advisory Committee representatives: Lee Brundin, Bernie Cassidy, Leo Marnell or Mike Rooney, if you have issues you wish to raise or want one of us to raise at an upcoming Region 1 committee meeting.

(Mike Rooney is a Libby-area resident, outdoorsman and a member of the Fish, Wildlife & Parks Citizens Advisory Committee.)