Elk Foundation efforts misrepresented

A recent editorial, appropriately printed on April Fool’s Day, inaccurately referred to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation as an organization that works against hunters. 

The foundation’s mission is to ensure the future of elk, other wildlife, their habitat and our hunting heritage. The legislative process has been referred to as “sausage making,” and for good reason. As bills move through the various committees, changes are made — and not always for the better. That’s the nature of the legislative process. Our job is to work through this often-messy process and ensure that hunters’ interests are protected in the final bill. This mission takes us to every corner of the United States. The legislative efforts of Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation to protect hunters, wildlife and conservation have us working with the Congress, White House and state legislatures across the country, including in Helena.  

In the current session underway in Helena, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is tracking 65 bills that include 33 specific to elk, deer or wildlife, along with others dealing with conservation funding, forestry and gaming. Unfortunately, Mr. Sterling chose to misrepresent the foundation’s position on two, House Bill 283 and Senate Bill 270. Whether intentional or not, we welcome the opportunity to set the record straight.  

With regard to HB 283, Mr. Sterling’s claims of “relentless lobbying against the bill” are simply false. To be clear, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation did not oppose or lobby against the final bill. However, during the consideration of the bill in committee, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s position about adding the words “or raffle” to the special big horn sheep and moose permit were inaccurately relayed at the meeting. Upon learning of this error, we immediately sent a correction clarifying our position and distributed it to the Senate committee leadership and bill sponsor prior to a floor vote. While Mr. Sterling might have ended up confused, the members of the Montana Legislature fully understood our position. A copy of the letter can be found on our website, rmef.org. 

Mr. Sterling’s confusion continued with Senate Bill 270. Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is unapologetic in our belief that healthy elk populations should be based on science, maintained at biologically and socially sustainable levels with hunting as the primary management tool, and we support impactful programs designed to increase hunter access on both public and private lands. The Montana Fish, Wildlife Commission has the authority — by law — to set regulations and quotas for elk tags in specific areas where populations are under or over objective. Following the amendment process, which we supported, the proposed legislation limits the additional cow tags on public and private lands to two. At the end of the “sausage-making,” Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation supported SB 270 as an effective approach to management based on science and not politics. 

More broadly speaking to this Montana legislative session, here is a snapshot of just some of what Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation did for hunters: We testified against the elimination of perpetual conservation easements (SB 209), helped neutralize proposals facilitating the noncompetitive sale of state-owned public land (HB 676), helped expand Fish, Wildlife and Park’s authority to improve, restore and conserve wildlife habitat (HB 932), ensured the vitality of Habitat Montana by opposing proposals to strip away important funding streams (SB 307), advanced fair chase (HB 202/SB 106), promoted prescribed fire as a means of forest management (HB 84) and supported the block management program which benefits hunters (SB 441). 

When not in Helena advocating for all hunters before the Legislature, here is a slice of what else Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (members, volunteers, donors and partners) has done for hunters and conservation in Montana: 1,091 projects completed, 952,622 acres conserved or enhanced, 384,325 acres of opened or improved access and growing every day.  

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation will continue to do all we can to further our mission of ensuring the future of elk, other wildlife, their habitat and our hunting heritage, and will do so by recognizing, working for and supporting the hunting community — not seeking to splinter it.  

Ryan Bronson is Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s director of government affairs.