One Nation, Under God

My pro-elk bias

I’m not a joiner.

I prefer to remain impartial or at least give that impression. No one can say I wrote this or that because I belong to a certain organization or know a secret handshake. I pretty much represent just me.

With one exception: I am a member of the Breaks Elk Working Group.

There.

Finally got that off my chest.

Be informed that any decision I make or opinion that I write is colored by my interest in the elk of the Missouri Breaks.

I’ve been involved with the group for a number of years now. I joined shortly after moving to Malta.

We include hunters, landowners, Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks folks, and a few BLM and US Fish and Wildlife employees.

But it’s FWP’s show and I’m just happy to be included. I’ve covered FWP goings on for a number of Montana newspapers for nearly 35 years and I remain impressed by how the department operates. Public input is considered in nearly all the decisions FWP makes.

When I first began to cover FWP I was struck by how professional the employees were. They were the experts, yet always willing to hear what the public had to say.

Most of the FWP folks I used to deal with have since retired, but they’ve been replaced by a younger generation that’s just as competent, maybe even more so.

I take heart in that.

The meeting I attended last night was run by well-spoken, well-informed biologists and wildlife managers who keep the interests of Montana outdoor folk front and center.

There were so many guys in FWP uniforms in the room that I feared I was the subject of a sting or at least an intervention, but they were only there to talk about elk. Breaks elk in particular.

It’s an interesting subject with different dynamics than those faced by elk herds in other parts of the state. Security cover is at a premium where trees are scarce. Bow hunting is hugely popular in the Breaks, and elk often flee one hunting district for another depending on hunting pressure. Ice on Fort Peck Lake can influence herd movement.

There are also unique access issues and jurisdictional problems in the Breaks, which includes a mix of land including national wildlife refuge, BLM and private.

It’s a subject I’m interested in and I’m glad to be included. On the issue of elk I’m hardly impartial.

Parker Heinlein is at [email protected].

 

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