Bill creating Western Conservation Commission resurrected in the House

A push to consolidate two conservation commissions focused on Northwest Montana waterways got a breath of new life last week, but it comes with a catch.

Senate Bill 83, which would create the Western Montana Conservation Commission out of the Flathead Basin and Upper Columbia Conservation commissions, was tabled March 15 in the House Natural Resources Committee, usually the death knell for proposed legislation. On March 17, though, it was taken off the table and passed with an amendment.

The proposed legislation, sponsored by longtime Lincoln County lawmaker Sen. Mike Cuffe, R-Eureka, had sailed through the Senate before meeting headwaters in the House.

“I was really shocked when it got tabled, frankly,” said Mark Bostrom, administrator of conservation resource development at the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, who helped draft the original text of the bill.

The size and scale of the territory that would fall under the newly combined commission’s scope emerged as the main concern about the consolidation prior to the bill’s tabling. In a March 13 House Natural Resources Committee hearing, Samantha Tappendeck, a resource conservationist for the Flathead Conservation District, opposed the merger.

The only opponent who testified, she expressed concerns that the combination would water down the focus of the commissions and detract from each body’s mission, in particular efforts geared toward the Flathead Basin.

“Elimination of the Flathead Basin Commission would lead to an inherent dilution of focus and resources on the Flathead Basin,” she said.

According to Bostrom, the bill already included language ensuring the Flathead Basin would not go overlooked.

In Section 5, Subsection 5 of the text, the bill specifies that the new commission will “provide focused support and programming to the aquatic and natural resources of the Flathead River basin given its economic, cultural and natural resources importance to the state of Montana.”

“It just kind of got sidetracked,” Bostrom said regarding the House committee hearing.

After deliberation from interested parties — including Bostrom and Cuffe — the committee added SB 83 back to its agenda. The only change is the addition of a six year performance date, set for 2029.

According to Rep. Steve Gunderson, R-Libby, and committee chair, the bill nearly died owing to those misunderstandings and concerns about the size and geographical coverage of the commission. But speaking with legislators who voted to table the bill, Gunderson learned that some were weary to pass the legislation because they didn’t think it would work.

Gunderson’s fix: a sunset date. If the legislation consolidating the commissions doesn’t meet performance metrics by 2029, as amended, then the it will “go away,” he said.

According to Bostrom, every year the commission will report its work to the Environmental Quality Council and Water Policy Interim committees. Through this process, they will be making a case for the “extension or elimination of the sunset date at one of the next three sessions,” Bostrom said.

“A sunset date will give a tool that will let the bill prove itself out,” Gunderson said. The ultimate decision, if the sunset date is not extended or eliminated before hand, will be made by the 2029 Legislature.

The Flathead Basin Commission was created in 1983 to monitor and protect water quality and natural resources in the Flathead Basin. The Upper Columbia Conservation Commission, also known as UC3, was created in the 2017 Legislature in response to invasive aquatic mussels found in the Tiber Reservoir and Canyon Ferry.

The commissions have a shared staff, offices and partners, and operate on similar models, Bostrom said. Over time, the group’s goals overlapped and it made sense to combine them, Cuffe said.

The bill is a part of Gov. Greg Gianforte’s legislative package known as the “red tape relief” initiative, which saw the review of all state agencies to find possible reforms.

The Western Montana Conservation Commission, if created, will be tasked with monitoring natural resources across the region with a five-year monitoring strategy. It would also support aquatic invasive species prevention programs and reduce water pollution.

Attached to the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, the commission would have 16 voting members, nine of which would be appointed by the governor. Flathead Basin Commission and UC3 would each nominate two commissioners. The seven members not selected by the governor are expected to be representatives of urban and rural counties in western Montana, municipalities, water districts and other entities.

Senate Bill 83 is now on its way to the House floor as amended with the sunset date. If that chamber votes it through, the bill will be sent to Gianforte’s desk for his signature.

Reporter Kate Heston can be reached at kheston@dailyinterlake.com or 758-4459.