Senate Bill 267: Authorizes bounty on wolves, disguised as reimbursement of expenses. House Bill 138: Legalizes trapping on private property without landowner permission. Senate Bill 314: Allows for the reduction of wolf population from 1200 to 150. House Bill 468: Allows hound hunting and chasing of black bears, outlawed since 1921. House Bill 225: Extends wolf hunting season
by a month. Senate Bill 98: Allows the killing of grizzly bears for any loosely defined “threatening behavior.” House Bill 367: Sends amendment to voters to make trapping a constitutional right (.07% of Montana’s population traps). House Bill 320: Paves the way for the sale of Montana public lands. House Bill 576: Repeals Montana’s Renewable Energy Standard, one of our best tools for combating climate change. All this and it’s only March.
For the sake of a wild Montana future, one where the Montana legacy of conservation and respect for undomesticated life still exists, we must organize against the self-loathing disguised as domination currently infecting Montana politics. One starting place, for those who love the natural world, is noting the legislators advancing these pieces of legislation and not voting for them, or
others with similar values, again. Another good starting point is donating to or volunteering with the following organizations: Montana Environmental Information Center (MEIC), Center for Biological Diversity, Natural Resources Defense Council, Trap Free MT Public Land, Footloose Montana, Montana Wilderness Association, Montana Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Montana Wildlife Federation, Montana Audubon, Buffalo Field Campaign, Montana Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, Northern Plains Resource Council, Wolves of the Rockies.
Kristopher Drummond
Bozeman
Bozeman Daily Chronicle Letter to the Editor 4/4/21