Lawmaker proposes bill shifting state parks authority

In the wake of former Montana State Parks Administrator Chas Van Genderen’s abrupt dismissal in December, a state lawmaker is proposing legislation that would remove the position from the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, along with most its authority over the state parks agency.

Rep. Bradley Hamlett, D-Cascade, has introduced a 59-page bill that would establish an executive director to oversee the 55-unit system of state parks, and place the power to select the director with the existing Montana State Parks and Recreation Board. While the parks agency would remain within FWP, the bill would clarify the governor-appointed board’s policy-making and spending authority over Montana’s state parks, recreation areas and other cultural and historical sites.

Hamlett said his measure, House Bill 324, is intended to remove the park system from what he sees as “politics being played within the agency,” including Van Genderen’s recent ouster.

“Common sense would say someone wasn’t happy with someone, but it’s a bigger issue,” Hamlett said in an interview Monday. “Parks are an increasing business in Montana. People are using the land more. I think having the parks a little bit more independent is a good thing.”

Paul Sihler, serving as the acting Director of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said Monday that he had not yet reviewed the legislation, and that his department doesn’t comment on bills until testimony has been prepared and presented to the Legislature.

A department spokesman said the circumstances surrounding Van Genderen’s dismissal were a personnel issue protected under state employees’ rights to privacy.

The former administrator’s departure has been questioned by the head of the state parks board, however. In an interview Monday, board chairman Tom Towe said that while he could neither endorse nor oppose Hamlett’s bill, he believes it “would solve most of the problems” arising between the department and the parks agency.

“I would say there is an awful lot of miscommunication and failure to work together, and I’m getting a little upset at how much that is,” said Towe, who has served on the board since it was created in 2013.

He added that he has previously worked with the governor’s office on the issue, and proposed similar recommendations to the policy changes outlined in House Bill 324. He’s also suggested moving the agency entirely out of Fish, Wildlife and Parks to the Department of Commerce, citing the role state parks plays in the state’s tourism industry.

“The governor has said ‘no’ to both of our requests, but he’s very sympathetic to the concerns we have raised,” Towe said.

Hamlett’s bill was introduced Thursday, and has been referred to the House Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee. The measure clarifies that the board has authority over most acquisition, disposal and management of the state’s parks, along with other powers such as setting recreation fees and managing snowmobile-trail grants.

Most importantly, however, it would give the board control of the agency’s $10 million annual operating budget, and hiring authority over the state parks executive director, who would oversee the day-to-day operations of the agency.

While tensions have long existed between the parks agency and the department that oversees it, Hamlett said the impetus for his proposal arose from the problems surrounding West Shore State Park, the largest of six units that compose Flathead Lake State Park.

Last year, the department discovered that a portion of the land was being used inconsistently with federal money that had paid for it — creating a potentially $7.5 million problem for the agency. After looking into the issue, Hamlett questioned whether there was an issue in the first place, and felt the absence of the former parks administrator from Environmental Quality Commission meetings was unusual, given the department’s alarm over the West Shore discovery.

“What happened over at the West Shore was an eye-opener for me,” Hamlett said. “The parks director wasn’t there at the meetings in front of the EQC. It’s a park issue, so why was he not there?”

Regardless of whether internal politics are at play, the Cascade Democrat said his bill will allow the department to prioritize hunting, fishing and management of the state’s wildlife. Fish, Widlife and Parks would also retain its authority over the state’s fishing access sites.

“Fish and Wildlife won’t have to spend time supervising the parks system, which actually frees them up for their most important mission, which is the game and wildlife of the state of Montana,” he said. “Them not being able to fire the parks director isn’t going to hinder that mission.”

Reporter Sam Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.