Montana; Your NR Odds Just got Worse

[netman]

Dukeball33
I have some really good friends that are very wealthy and love to big game hunt. Due to their work load they fly into somewhere and get picked up at the airport. They are driven to the ranch or lodge. They spend a few days or so hunting then fly home.
They don’t go anywhere other than hunting. They are on the phone off and on all day and on the computer in the evening. These are some very powerful people too.
Me on the other hand when I’m on a DIY hunting trip I’m spending money somewhere all the time just getting by.

 

[dukeball33]

Dukeball33
I have some really good friends that are very wealthy and love to big game hunt. Due to their work load they fly into somewhere and get picked up at the airport. They are driven to the ranch or lodge. They spend a few days or so hunting then fly home.
They don’t go anywhere other than hunting. They are on the phone off and on all day and on the computer in the evening. These are some very powerful people too.
Me on the other hand when I’m on a DIY hunting trip I’m spending money somewhere all the time just getting by.

The question was a prompt to provide my opinion that the MT small business owner would be better off with more DIY guys... again my opinion. I think you are saying the same thing.

 

[Bowhunter65]

I do not support SB bill 143. I look at this bill in a hypothetical way as a resident of Montana. My best friend and hunting buddy is my youngest son. Some day after college Dylan will go out into the job world that will either keep him here in Montana or move him out of state. There are the come home to hunt tags, they are not always available, I believe first come first serve. My oldest boy was born out of Montana, moved out to make a better living. We are seeing more and more of our children move out of Montana because they cannot afford to either here or they cannot pass up the opportunity at a great paying job. SB 143 at 60% of 17000 is 10200 tags go to outfitters leaving a pool 6800 tags to family, friends and DIY hunters. I love having my family & friends come to hunt with me. So now even at the 17000 tags they are not guaranteed to draw. I can't agree with that, it pisses me off and it is greedy. I own a archery business that pays for my habits of hounds and bow hunting to pay for just my hunting and give back to the hunting community in a lot of different ways. I also work a regular job to pay the bills. So many of the outfitters are really good friends of mine also. I think it great have the vets in the bill, but the was a ploy to make a bad bill look good. What will this do to our Block Management land, that is what bothers me most about this bill.

In the last session there was a bill that limited DIY houndsmen from coming to montana also, limiting those to 35 total, friends and family to me, another MOGA bill.

 

[caesAR15]

A couple other threads on this already but it’s good to get the word out as much as possible.

Imagine this; 100,000 hunters in a coordinated campaign emailing those commissioners ......THAT would blow this proposal out of the water.

it took me all of 15 minutes to cut and paste emails to all of those commissioners But I bet most hunters are too apathetic to make the effort- sad.

@Beendare I posted this in the general forum last night. But I'll re-post here since perhaps not everyone visits that portion of the site... hopefully this helps get a few more voices in the legislator's ear.

=============

I know there are others like me on this forum who oppose this measure. I also know many people who oppose these kinds of things don't take action. So, in an effort to provide a little value to this great forum I figure I'll do what I can to make it easy for you all to weigh in.

Below is the email I just sent to MT Senate Game and Fish Committee, I've even provided the email addresses. All you have to do open your email, copy and paste into the corresponding fields, add your name to the bottom, and hit SEND. It'll take you 60 seconds or less to do your good deed for the day.

I don't know how to make it any easier. If I could hit send for you, I would

Please spread the word!

TO:​

[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]​

​

SUBJECT​

SB143 - Set aside outfitter licenses​

​

​

​

​

I’m writing to urge you to Vote No on SB143, the bill allocating exclusive licenses for outfitters and guides.​

​

This issue was settled in 2010 when outfitter carve-outs were REJECTED by the voters of Montana via ballot initiative 161. The fact that a special interest group is now trying to use the legislature to reverse the will of the people is an affront to Montana voters. Not only that, by asking for special outfitter license allocation this special interest group is effectively demanding that the Montana legislature guarantee them customers and provide state resources for their businesses.​

​

Hunting is already a difficult and expensive activity that gets more and more costly every year. If the Montana legislature gives special, carve-out licenses to outfitters it will be giving special priority status to wealthy hunters who can afford the extremely high cost of hiring an outfitter. This will be done at the expense of working-class, blue-collar hunters such as myself and those like me.​

​

I respectfully urge you to adhere to the will of the Montana voters, to not give in to special interests' demand for government handouts, and to keep hunting accessible for hunters of all means. Please Vote No on SB143.​

​

​

Respectfully​

JOHN DOE​

 

[E Butler]

Just wondering what the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation has to say about this happening? Who are they looking out for?

 

[Swampcruiser]

Just wondering what the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation has to say about this happening? Who are they looking out for?

That is a great question- wondering the same thing. Im hoping with the DIY guys but my money is on the Outfitters and the other big money players...Livestock Growers.

 

[Tx270WT]

This scenario continues to play out in different states and in different species, unfortunately not limited to just four legged animals. Water fowling along the gulf coast took a hit largely from loss of habitat but also from unrelenting pressure from outfitting services. The commercial fishing industry tried to do the same thing to red snapper in the gulf—after decades of mismanagement by the feds that may finally start improving but still remains to be seen. Best advice I have is to let those public figures hear our voice. The best conservation comes from those willing and invested personally. Not saying some outfitters don’t believe the same but any time income and profit get in the way it seems wildlife are the ones that pay the price. Increasing outfitter tags is just increasing the cost of admission and further excluding the average hunter while also decreasing access. If we want a future generation to be able to do this, reducing access to just the wealthy is very unwise and short sighted for the benefit of only a few.

 

[caesAR15]

This scenario continues to play out in different states and in different species, unfortunately not limited to just four legged animals. Water fowling along the gulf coast took a hit largely from loss of habitat but also from unrelenting pressure from outfitting services. The commercial fishing industry tried to do the same thing to red snapper in the gulf—after decades of mismanagement by the feds that may finally start improving but still remains to be seen. Best advice I have is to let those public figures hear our voice. The best conservation comes from those willing and invested personally. Not saying some outfitters don’t believe the same but any time income and profit get in the way it seems wildlife are the ones that pay the price. Increasing outfitter tags is just increasing the cost of admission and further excluding the average hunter while also decreasing access. If we want a future generation to be able to do this, reducing access to just the wealthy is very unwise and short sighted for the benefit of only a few.

Yes. Sign me up for your newsletter.

 

[Scrappy]

@Beendare I posted this in the general forum last night. But I'll re-post here since perhaps not everyone visits that portion of the site... hopefully this helps get a few more voices in the legislator's ear.

=============

I know there are others like me on this forum who oppose this measure. I also know many people who oppose these kinds of things don't take action. So, in an effort to provide a little value to this great forum I figure I'll do what I can to make it easy for you all to weigh in.

Below is the email I just sent to MT Senate Game and Fish Committee, I've even provided the email addresses. All you have to do open your email, copy and paste into the corresponding fields, add your name to the bottom, and hit SEND. It'll take you 60 seconds or less to do your good deed for the day.

I don't know how to make it any easier. If I could hit send for you, I would

Please spread the word!

TO:​

[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]​

​

SUBJECT​

SB143 - Set aside outfitter licenses​

​

​

​

​

I’m writing to urge you to Vote No on SB143, the bill allocating exclusive licenses for outfitters and guides.​

​

This issue was settled in 2010 when outfitter carve-outs were REJECTED by the voters of Montana via ballot initiative 161. The fact that a special interest group is now trying to use the legislature to reverse the will of the people is an affront to Montana voters. Not only that, by asking for special outfitter license allocation this special interest group is effectively demanding that the Montana legislature guarantee them customers and provide state resources for their businesses.​

​

Hunting is already a difficult and expensive activity that gets more and more costly every year. If the Montana legislature gives special, carve-out licenses to outfitters it will be giving special priority status to wealthy hunters who can afford the extremely high cost of hiring an outfitter. This will be done at the expense of working-class, blue-collar hunters such as myself and those like me.​

​

I respectfully urge you to adhere to the will of the Montana voters, to not give in to special interests' demand for government handouts, and to keep hunting accessible for hunters of all means. Please Vote No on SB143.​

​

​

Respectfully​

JOHN DOE​

Thank you Sir for taking the time.

 

[Bobbyboe]

How about BHA, they take a stance? Seems they could care less about non resident hunting, so I doubt it.

 

[Tradchef]

I hope everyone took the time to write these folks in office. If it passes it’s going to be a shame and unfortunately set a bar for other western states to follow suite. They don’t realize how it impacts local economy and as said above.....take away the hotel, lodging, camping, shopping for groceries, gas, ammo, clothes in some instances, accessories that may have been forgotten, restaurants etc..... All I see from this is public land grabs by outfitters guiding the wealthy. It happens all the time and this will most certainly cause more of that to happen. I also foresee it trickling down to resident hunters as well at some point in some way. People and their families should be able to afford a western hunt and enjoy everything about being out here. Its crazy to me that someone of modest income anymore might never get that chance.

 

[hobbes]

How about BHA, they take a stance? Seems they could care less about non resident hunting, so I doubt it.

Actually, the Montana BHA spoke in opposition to the bill.

 

[Bobbyboe]

Actually, the Montana BHA spoke in opposition to the bill.

That’s good. Other chapters seem to like to bend over NR’s whenever possible.

 

[Hoopwse]

This scenario continues to play out in different states and in different species, unfortunately not limited to just four legged animals. Water fowling along the gulf coast took a hit largely from loss of habitat but also from unrelenting pressure from outfitting services. The commercial fishing industry tried to do the same thing to red snapper in the gulf—after decades of mismanagement by the feds that may finally start improving but still remains to be seen. Best advice I have is to let those public figures hear our voice. The best conservation comes from those willing and invested personally. Not saying some outfitters don’t believe the same but any time income and profit get in the way it seems wildlife are the ones that pay the price. Increasing outfitter tags is just increasing the cost of admission and further excluding the average hunter while also decreasing access. If we want a future generation to be able to do this, reducing access to just the wealthy is very unwise and short sighted for the benefit of only a few.

If there are people that think the everyday guy raising hell doesn’t work, take a look at the grassroots efforts of various recreational fishing groups/clubs in the Gulf of Mexico states fighting back against NOAA and the commercial fishery lobbyist groups.

Squeaky wheel gets the grease.

 

[Bowhunter65]

How about BHA, they take a stance? Seems they could care less about non resident hunting, so I doubt it.

they were against it.