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- SENTRYGRAM - |
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TWO BILLS NEED YOUR HELP!SUPPORT
HOUSE BILL 269 |
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Dear Email Sentry: As any other Legislative Session, the dynamics can be very active, and this session is no different even though the potential for good results remains high. The two bills listed below can carry some powerful ramifications, one if passed, one if defeated. Please review them closely. SUPPORT HOUSE BILL 269: HB 269, sponsored by Paul Clark will specify that public roads that lead to public waters cannot be abandoned. State law already prohibits counties from abandoning roads that lead to public land; this bill would extend that protection to our EXISTING access to rivers and streams at bridges on existing county roads. This bill received a good hearing last week where proponents outnumbered and outgunned the opponents. NOW, opponents hoping to diminish public stream access are exerting pressure on committee members to kill this beneficial legislation based on much misinformation that implies that the bill will allow sportsmen to trespass on private property. This bill does nothing of the kind!. It simply recognizes that the public should retain access to streams and rivers that currently exist. This is a Stream Access issue; it assures that Montana anglers will not lose the access they currently enjoy. When you lose access you lose opportunity. The committee is likely to take Executive action on HB 269 on Wednesday. If the opponents succeed in muddying this issue, the vote could split on party lines, thus killing the bill. Send some emails or leave a message for the members of the House Transportation Committee, especially the R's, telling them of your support to retain our access to Montana streams and rivers. Ask them to listen to Montana voters; uphold the constitution, and vote YES on HB 269. House Transportation Committee - Legislative Hot Line 406-444-4800 Chairman - Scott Mendenhall - Clancy - smendenhall@ineva.com
OPPOSE SENATE BILL 312: SB 312 is sponsored by Otter Senator, Keith Bales which amends current statutes to severely punish hunters for the second offense of hunting private land without permission to the tune of a $5000 fine AND be imprisoned in the county jail for a year!!! This bill inappropriately equates the second offense of sometimes unintentional trespass with the intentional violations of our game laws like hunting out of season, spotlighting or taking double the daily limit. Compare this $5000 fine to the $150 to $300 fine that outfitters pay when they operate outside their approved areas. Considering that clients often pay over $3800 per trip, the $300 fine isn't much of an investment for a fine bull or buck to pay for essentially hunting without permission. No-one loses their licenses, neither the hunter, guide nor the outfitter. Senator Bales is a Powder River outfitter who convinced his County Commisioner friends to close down a public road accessing almost 17,000 acres of public land so he could use them exclusively for his outfitting clients in the 90''s. His efforts were thwarted when BLM and Department of State Lands pushed another road into the area known as the Quietus Loop. His efforts have always been spent to commercialize and privatize our public wildlife and public land. This bill is yet another display of his contempt for ordinary Montanans. SB 312 is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Fish and Game Committee on Tuesday at 3PM. Current statutes allow fines up to $1000, 6 months jail time plus the loss of hunting and fishing privileges. We believe this punishment is more than adequate to pay for the crime which often times can be unintentional. Please contact the Senate F&G Committee members and ask them to seriously question Senator Bales' motives; ask them to oppose SB 312. Send your email or call 406-444-4800 and leave a message for the committee member closest to your location. Senate FISH AND GAME Committee Tropila, Joe (D) - Chair - no email - Great Falls For more information: |
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This message is brought to you by the Montana Wildlife Federation ... Montana's largest, statewide wildlife conservation organization with over 7,000 members. |
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Thank
you once more for standing up for Montana's wildlife heritage. |
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| For More Info: | Larry Copenhaver, Conservation
Director Montana Wildlife Federation (406) 458-0227 • (800) 517-7256 Email: lcopenhaver@mtwf.org |
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