Guest Opinions

Elk management goes to court

Article Image Alt Text

In April, the United Property Owners of Montana filed suit against the Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks and Wildlife Commission claiming (correctly) that elk are over population in some hunting districts, that excess elk are a hardship for farmers and ranchers, and that defendants have an obligation to reduce elk numbers in specific ways.

They gave it all

Article Image Alt Text

Veterans Day we honor all veterans alive or dead that have served in our military and lived to retirement or end of service. On Memorial Day we as a nation have specified it as a day given to honor veterans of all wars that have died while in service to our nation. These heroes deserve that day to themselves.

Poking and clicking

Article Image Alt Text

“You gotta keep poking and clicking,” a friend tells me. “That’s what my daughter does.”

Resources available to support mental health of Montana farmers and ranchers

Article Image Alt Text

Caring for a farm, ranch or agri-business is hard work and Montana agriculturalists must wear many hats, often many at the same time. The work it takes to juggle raising animals and crops, managing employees and various schedules all while navigating weather changes and market fluctuations can be overwhelming.

Proposed Initiative 191 would hurt river access

Article Image Alt Text

I have spent nearly 20 years guiding anglers on Montana rivers and streams in Southwest Montana. After 10 years as a guide, I became an outfitter in 2015 and have been operating my small business ever since. Montana, and its waters, are treasures.

Big Snowy Mountains 5,677-acre WMA acquisition benefits wildlife and public land hunters

Article Image Alt Text

My fondest memories with my family are on a prairie in eastern Montana. An unusual late-season bugle of a bull elk rings in the distance as I meander my way through the Golden Valley sage. I was following my mom while she pursued a mule deer to feed our family. I grew up hunting the prairies in the forefront of Big Snowy Mountains, off Swimming Women Creek. In the past, my family traded labor to access the former ranch owner’s property along with the land-locked state and BLM lands. I remember my grandfather bringing apples from the Bitterroot valley to share with the local rancher. I asked my grandfather why we didn’t hunt elk in the Big Snowies and even back then he said the public land access was limited and it would be tough for my 12-year-old legs.

CI-121 is neither comprehensive nor a reform

Article Image Alt Text

The Montana Chamber of Commerce is the state’s largest business advocacy organization, representing small and large business from rural to urban communities. Improving Montana’s tax climate is part of our strategic plan, supported across the diversity of our membership. The Constitutional Initiative aimed at capping only residential property taxes, also known as CI-121, shifts taxes onto main street businesses, natural resource industries and other job providing sectors. While Montana businesses are in favor of comprehensive reform, CI-121 is neither comprehensive nor is it reform.

The job I want

Article Image Alt Text

“Dress for the job you want!” was advice I heard from an early age.

Avian influenza virus raises concerns over pen-raised birds

On April 18, FWP announced that a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus was detected in wild birds and at domestic poultry farms in Montana. In their cautionary release, FWP explained that "HPAI viruses are extremely infectious and fatal to poultry and some species of wild birds."

Montana Farm Bureau opposes ‘overzealous river control initiative’

Article Image Alt Text

Montana Farm Bureau has joined more than 50 groups in opposing I-191 which would subject large stretches of the Gallatin and Madison rivers to the same strict regulations currently found only in national parks and wilderness areas. The result would restrict ranchers from watering livestock and farmers from irrigating, as well as stop most other activities in or around the rivers.