Private Land and Public Wildlife Committee identifies goals for 2023

The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks’ Private Land and Public Wildlife (PLPW) Committee identified its top goals for the upcoming year in a meeting on Wednesday.

The committee decided on six main goals Dec. 14: focus on the needs of agricultural operations, hunter education, law enforcement, technology advancements, good relations between landowners and hunters, and increasing the productivity of block management.

The committee agreed that a main priority in the upcoming year will be making block management more effective. Members echoed each other’s calls for more consistency across regions, more funding, and further examination of the needs of landowners and hunters.

Hank Worsech, FWP director, mentioned the possibility of a mandatory educational course for those participating in block management. The possibility of incentivizing education was also touched on in an effort to ensure that hunters in Montana understand the rules and regulations.

Committee members also discussed the creation of a public statement with clarity on how the group makes their decisions, better use of public access land agreements, changes to the 454 Program, and possibly addressing the issue of corner crossing as well.

Throughout, members stressed that they wanted to see landowners more involved in conversations surrounding private lands and wildlife.

Many members raised concerns about the state’s deer population, specifically in Region 6 and Region 7 in eastern Montana.

“Most of the local people don’t even hunt here anymore,” said Eric Albus, a committee member from Hinsdale.

FWP SPECIAL Projects Director Deb O’Neill also shared FWP’s main legislative goals with the committee. These include removing a wait requirement for wolf licenses, the creation of more electronic carcass tags, an extension of the Wildlife Habitat Improvement Plan, allowing FWP employees to carry firearms, raising the block management cap to $50,000, and more.

The 13-member advisory committee was appointed by the governor in 2021. The committee reviews FWP’s access programs and offers recommendations to maintain good relations between landowners and hunters as well as reach program goals.

The committee reports to the governor each regular session regarding the success of various elements of hunting and fishing access programs. According to committee members, the group’s work goes relatively unknown by the public at large.

“These issues are hard,” said committee member Rich Roth of Big Sandy. “This is not an easy job, but we are the ones on the ground.”

Reporter Kate Heston can be reached at kheston@dailyinterlake.com.