Montana Wildlife Federation Hosts Lobby Day at Capitol

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 22, 2007

Contact: Craig Sharpe, MWF Executive Director; Phone: 458-0227, (800) 517-7256; Email: csharpe@mtwf.org

Helena – Hunters and anglers from across Montana traveled to Helena today to meet with their legislators and share with them their commitment to maintaining Montana’s outstanding fish and wildlife resource. These everyday citizens took time off from work to share with Montana’s legislators the value of hunting and fishing in Montana, the importance of the Public Trust Doctrine for managing fish and wildlife, and important legislation, such as stream and bridge access for the general public.

Members of the Montana Wildlife Federation and its 23 affiliate clubs, Trout Unlimited and its chapters, the Montana Bowhunters Association, Walleyes Unlimited, and individual hunters and anglers from across Montana will be in attendance. The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks will display the state Enough is Enough anti-poaching program that is supported through partnerships with Montana Wildlife Federation, Montana Bowhunters Association, and the Montana Outfitters and Guides Association.

Chris Marchion, volunteer president of the Montana Wildlife Federation, welcomed the citizen lobbyists and noted that Montana has the highest per capita of hunting and fishing participants in the nation. “Hunting and fishing is a huge part of Montana’s culture and a major player in our economy,” said Marchion. “Hunters and anglers want legislators and decision makers to consider that we hunt, we fish and we also vote.”

“Montana’s hunters and anglers have been speaking out for the fish and wildlife resource since before Montana was even a territory,” said Jim Posewitz, executive director of Orion: The Hunters Institute. “It’s wonderful to see them assembled once again to support the public trust responsibility we hold for the management of fish and wildlife.”

Posewitz stated that following the gross commercial slaughter of America’s wildlife in the late eighteenth century, a process was set in motion by sportsmen that led to the greatest restoration program of any culture in human history. “The pillars of that program, the North American Model of Fish and Wildlife Management, stress the public ownership of wildlife, the public trust responsibilities of the state, and the democracy of hunting and angling,” said Posewitz.

“As legislators evaluate legislation affecting Montana’s wildlife and the public’s opportunity to enjoy that wildlife, they must be driven by the principles of the North American model which has guided the tremendous successes that Montana enjoys today,” said Marchion.

Legislation of importance to hunters and anglers includes Senate Bill 78, currently being debated by the legislature to resolve the public’s access at public bridge crossings to rivers and streams. The bill recently passed the Senate with a large, bi-partisan vote.

“Senate Bill 78 is the latest sincere and good-faith effort by river recreationists to clarify the Montana Attorney General’s opinion that clearly established the right of the public to access our rivers and streams from public bridges and the rights-of-way of the roads approaching these bridges,” said Federation executive director Craig Sharpe. “We encourage the House to embrace the bi-partisan efforts of the Senate and pass this legislation important to the recreating public.”

“Montana’s Supreme Court and our Constitution state that the waters of the state belong to all the people, not just a few special interests. They clarify that the public can enjoy our waterways by being allowed to move up and down our rivers and streams,” said John Gibson, president of Public Lands/Public Waters Association. “If this is true, then why do some legislators always oppose access to this public resource? Hunters and anglers want to work with legislators to ensure our hunting and fishing heritage by being properly represented.”

Thank you for all you do for Montana's public lands, wildlife, and fair-chase hunting and fishing heritage.

Montana Wildlife Federation, with nearly 7,000 members, is the largest and oldest statewide nonprofit wildlife conservation organization of hunters and anglers who work to protect Montana's lands and waters and its hunting and fishing heritage.

To learn more about MWF, go to www.montanawildlife.com.

This message is brought to you by the Montana Wildlife Federation ... Montana's largest, statewide wildlife conservation organization with over 7,000 members.