Hunters to BLM: Protect the habitat, protect the economy

September 19, 2016 by Laura Lundquist

It’s no secret that public-land opportunities attract millions of in- and out-of-state visitors and dollars to Montana. Now, a new study shows that a subset of users – hunters – are critical to preserving businesses in sparsely populated parts of the state where few others stray. But they’ll keep coming back only if public land habitat is preserved.

On Monday, Bozeman-based Headwaters Economics released an economic analysis showing that deer and elk hunting in four districts north of Lewistown brought in almost $4 million in 2015. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks calculated the total for the four hunting districts – 410, 412, 417 and 426 - that sit just south of the Missouri River in Fergus and Petroleum counties.

Commission approves elk shoulder seasons, reduced season near Gardiner

February 11, 2016 by Laura Lundquist

In many parts of the state, elk season will now last as long as six months.

On Thursday, the Fish, Wildlife & Parks commission sat through more than two hours of discussion and comments before approving, with a few modifications, the next round of elk shoulder seasons. For the next two years, rifle season will extend mostly from Aug. 15 until Feb. 15 in about 40 hunting districts. But outside the general season, hunters can harvest only cows.

In Wilks negotiations, BLM balanced access, public interest

February 01, 2016 by Laura Lundquist

Last week, to the relief of many Montana hunters and pilots, the Central Montana Bureau of Land Management rejected for a second time any land trade proposed by billionaire landowners Farris and Dan Wilks.

Mark Albers, manager of the BLM’s Hi-Line and Lewistown districts, told the Central Montana Resource Advisory Council on Jan. 26 that the BLM didn’t have the resources to properly review and manage such a trade. Land exchanges require a lot of time and resources, and the Wilks’ plan was particularly complex because it involved parcels in different counties, Albers said.

Albers isn’t lying.

Survey of Durfee Hills boundaries published in BLM trespass case

August 04, 2015 by Laura Lundquist

The surveyors have finished their work, but it will be another month before it’s known to what extent the Wilks brothers trespassed on federal property in eastern Montana.

On Tuesday, a Federal Register notice announced that survey plats delineating Bureau of Land Management property in the Durfee Hills were finally available.

Few favor Wilks proposal but council approves land-swap concept

July 16, 2015 by Laura Lundquist

While favoring the concept of a land swap, an advisory committee stopped short of approving a new Wilks brothers proposal to trade parts of their property for landlocked federal parcels in eastern Montana.

On Thursday, the Bureau of Land Management Central Resource Advisory Council finished up a two-day meeting in Lewistown by passing a motion to consider the concept of a land swap as an alternative to building a new road to access the Bullwacker area near the Upper Missouri Breaks National Monument.

Roundtable talks yield new Wilks land-exchange proposal

July 10, 2015 by Laura Lundquist

Two Texas billionaires are taking a second stab at trading part of their Montana property for federal inholdings, but this time, they’re offering hunters access to much of their land.

On Friday, Darryl James, spokesman for Dan and Farris Wilks, released a draft of a land-exchange proposal developed during two recent roundtable meetings between the Wilks brothers, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, and 13 sportsmen’s, landowner’s, conservation and agricultural organizations. The most recent roundtable met on Thursday.