Tough decisions ahead for new FWP commissioner

For the last 40-odd years, Vic Workman has enjoyed the view of Montana from a saddle or while chasing white-tails around the forests.

He's about to get a whole new look on the state he calls home.

Workman, from Whitefish, was sworn in last week as the new commissioner representing Region One of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer, a friend of Workman and a fellow Whitefish resident, appointed Workman to the post, replacing Michael Murphy of Wolf Creek as the regional commissioner.

Workman and his wife, Puck, are horse enthusiasts and log upwards of 400 miles a year on the trails in Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness. He's a die-hard hunter and fisherman raised in the woods of Northwest Montana.

His family settled in the Eureka area in the early 1900s, and his father ran a mobile sawmill that he pulled around the national forests, sawing and milling small-diameter logs. While his father was busy running the mill, Workman was given free rein to roam the forests.

"My dad told me to go chase white-tails," Workman said. "If I got into trouble or got lost, all I had to do was wander back to the sound of the mill. I've been running around the woods all my life."

It was during these days growing up in Montana that the hunting and fishing tradition was instilled in Workman. His Boone and Crockett black bear record is the largest in Flathead County and the seventh largest in Montana. Now, as part of the powerful five-member commission that helps set hunting and fishing regulations and oversees Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, it's time for Workman to do something for the state he grew up in.

"I have appreciated all those opportunities I've had, so I thought it was time to give something back in an area I have a lot of knowledge and lot of interest," he said. "I have no agenda other than to continue the heritage that all Montana people enjoy, especially children."

Workman hopes to better represent the district he lives in than his predecessor. Many sportsmen felt that Murphy, from the east side of the Continental Divide, did not represent the territory that stretches from Ravalli County in the south to Flathead County in the north.

PERHAPS no other issues can be as controversial as hunting and fishing. Workman will have to balance the polarized extremes on many issues, from endangered species protection to warmwater fishing - even bison hunting.

In his first week on the job, Workman's first vote was controversial. The commission voted last week to cancel a bison hunt in Southwest Montana near Yellowstone National Park. The hunt, which was to have started last Saturday, had been created by the former commission under then-Gov. Judy Martz. That commission set up a 30-day hunt with a drawing for 10 permits. Over 8,300 people applied for those 10 permits, including anti-hunting activists who said they would not use the permits in order to save a bison's life. The hunt was to run for 30 days and only in an area north of Gardiner.

Workman and his fellow commissioners decided that because of the small hunting area and the possibility of negative publicity surrounding the hunt, they would shelve the idea until next year, when additional land might be devoted to the hunt, as well as more bison permits.

"This hunt was going to lead to nothing more than somebody standing around and shooting a buffalo at 40 yards," Workman said.

The intent of the 2003 law authorizing a bison hunt was to allow Montana hunters a chance to harvest wild, free-roaming bison under fair-chase conditions and to reduce damage to private property by altering bison distribution. The hunt was not expected to regulate bison populations - something else Workman had a problem with.

"We're way overpopulated with bison," he said. "We're not managing a herd by shooting 10 buffalo."

Public bison hunts are established in several Western states, including Alaska, Arizona, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming. In Montana, the last public bison hunt took place in 1990. Workman said he intends to work for bison hunt that is conducted in fair-chase conditions. "I want to have a buffalo hunt that runs from November to February and have enough space to do it in," he said.

The commission vote was met with controversy, with some people saying the commission was caving in to anti-hunter interests. Workman countered, saying the hunt was poorly planned and did not offer the 10 hunters - or the bison - a fair chase.

Another controversial issue is the expanding warmwater fisheries west of the Divide, and the plan by Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologists to remove non-native fish in wilderness lakes.

That plan is intended to rid high-mountain lakes of nonnative strains of trout and replace them with pure Montana cutthroat trout. Workman says that's a waste of sportsmen's dollars.

"We're killing planted fish to plant more fish," he said. "That does not make any sense."

Workman said he's also cautiously looking at the warmwater fishery issue in Western Montana. There has been a ban on warmwater fishery plants in Western Montana since 1990, but a coalition of warmwater-fishery proponents has been pushing hard to get walleye planted in Western Montana.

Last summer, the FWP commission voted to allow planting of sterile walleye in lakes west of the Continental Divide, but did not repeal the ban on warmwater plants. The idea of planting walleye was fought vehemently by native fishery proponents such as Trout Unlimited.

Workman said he'd listen to both sides of issues, but also rely on biologists to help him make his decisions.

"What I bring to the table is a blank sheet of people and an open mind," he said. "I have hundreds of biologists who can give me information I need to make a good decision. I want to be active and hands-on with these studies."

IN ESTABLISHING the new Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission, Schweitzer also tabbed Steve Doherty and Shane Colton. Doherty will serve as the chairman of the commission. Doherty has been an attorney since 1984 in Great Falls. He served four terms in the Montana Senate, was on the fish and game committee and was the minority leader in 1999 and 2001. Doherty received his bachelor's degree at the University of Pennsylvania and his law degree from Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Ore.

Colton, a Billings lawyer, grew up on a farm and ranch operation in the Denton area. He is a member of the Spotted Ass Sporting Clays Club and the Billings Rod and Gun Club. He graduated from Denton High School in 1987. He received his bachelor's degree from Montana State University and his law degree from the University of Montana School of Law.

Workman owns Montana Land Office in Whitefish and has been a Realtor in the Flathead Valley since 1989. He served on the Whitefish City council from 1995 to 1998 and ran as a Republican for the Legislature in the 1980s. Workman graduated from Lincoln County High School in Eureka, and attended Montana State University and the University of Montana.

Schweitzer retained Fish, Wildlife and Parks director Jeff Hagener from the Martz administration.

Workman said he's looking forward to his four-year term serving Montana's varies parks and wildlife interests. Since being appointed to the commission, Workman's phone has been ringing constantly. In fact, during the interview for this article, Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., called Workman to wish him good luck and offer any help on the bison issue.

"It's been pretty intense to start off with," Workman said.