Upland Bird Hunter Alert!
from the Big Sky Upland Bird Association
The Helena staff of Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) has just recommended closing Montana's 2014 Sage grouse hunting season. The Montana Fish & Wildlife Commission will accept or reject this recommendation on May 22, 2014 at their meeting in Fort Peck (see FWP’s proposal at end).
Unless you never want to hunt Sage Grouse in Montana again… PLEASE ACT NOW!
Sage grouse are having difficulties in parts of both central and eastern Montana. The 2013 and preliminary 2014 central-eastern Montana counts indicate that populations are perhaps well below their long-term average. This isn’t unusual. Sage grouse populations tend to be cyclic, declining for six or seven years then growing for three or four, influenced by weather, habitat trends, disease, and even by nest predators as small as ground squirrels. The low grouse numbers being seen this year may be explained by record rain in the spring and summer of 2013, and intense occurrence of West Nile virus (to which sage grouse have no resistance) in several counties late last summer. There has also been a lot of energy development surrounding grouse core habitat in borders areas with the Dakotas and Canada in the last ten years…those grouse populations are beginning to wink out.
In what was supposed to be a positive development, this February FWP staff and the Commission for the first time decided to divide Montana's single sage grouse hunting district into three new zones, particularly so that they could further restrict or close harvest in some areas where populations might decline due to habitat loss and disease, while leaving harvest liberal where populations are thriving. Southwest Montana has no energy development or West Nile virus, and shares vast tracts of intact habitat and large grouse populations with Idaho. But now, before even testing this new approach, and even with sage grouse populations in southwest Montana showing none of these steep declines (in fact lek counts in SW Montana indicate an increase over the last 2-3 years, and preliminary 2014 data show an average of 19+ males/lek) FWP is recommending a statewide hunting closure!
The Back Story
Under threat of a federal listing for sage grouse as a “threatened” species, and wanting to divert attention from their own impacts, there is rising pressure from energy development and agricultural interests, plus pledges by a few legislators, to end all sage grouse hunting in Montana. FWP is apparently willing to capitulate to these pressures, even before new hunting district management is tested, or harvest reduction triggers are fully met. Governor Bullock has also been attempting to finalize a draft Executive Order for sage grouse conservation, and he is undoubtedly feeling similar pressures.
The hunting of sage grouse has been cited by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in rank of importance as way down the list of conservation concerns compared to habitat loss and degradation from things like wildfire, weed invasion, tree encroachment, rangeland conversion to crops, overgrazing, and energy development. FWP estimates sage grouse harvest rates are already less than 5% annually here in Montana, and multiple authorities suggest that a 10-25% grouse harvest is sustainable in productive habitat. As a result, ending Montana’s sage grouse hunting will buy us little advantage with the federal government.
It all runs downhill, and unfortunately a pile is about to land on Montana’s upland bird hunters and hunting heritage… UNLESS YOU ACT NOW.
Contact the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission today!
The general email address is fwpcomm@mt.gov
Demand they:
• use science not politics to manage hunting of Sage grouse and other wildlife;
• honor FWP’s new Sage grouse hunting zones and 2004 management plan to allow harvest where populations can sustain it;
• do a better job of monitoring populations within zones so we have maximum confidence in trends, impacts, and conservation needs.
For Commissioner contact information, go to:
http://fwp.mt.gov/doingBusiness/insi...n/members.htmlFWP Helena Staff Proposal
FISH & WILDLIFE COMMISSION AGENDA ITEM Meeting Date: 5/22/14
Agenda Item: 2014 Fall Upland Game Bird Quotas and Limits Division: Wildlife
Action Needed: Proposed Time Needed on Agenda for this Presentation: 30 mins.
Background
Adaptive Harvest Management for sage grouse annually assesses populations and bag limits. AHM within the final Management Plan and Conservation Strategies for Sage Grouse recommends a conservative two-bird bag limit if average lek counts are below the long-term average of about 30 males/lek on nearly 90 pre-selected leks. If the average count exceeds the LTA, then AHM recommends a standard four-bird bag limit. The sage grouse plan prescribes a season closure based on average lek counts at least 45% below LTA over three-years. Heightened public awareness of sage grouse, and potential habitat impacts from energy development, resulted in the Commission adopting a conservative two-bird bag limit in 2007, a year of above-average lek counts (33.6 males/lek). The two-bird bag limit was maintained from 2008-12 with annual survey averages of 22.9, 23.3, 20.5, 19.2 and 19.1 males/lek or 24-34% below LTA.
Continuing the downward trend from the recent high in 2009 (23.3), the 2013 lek average was 14.9 males/lek, 48% below the LTA. In response to population concerns and the potential for listing, the conservative two-bird bag limit was maintained in 2013 and the Commission adopted three distinct management zones for sage grouse in February. These zones allow for management at a scale finer than statewide. While final 2014 lek counts will not be available for the May Commission meeting, preliminary indications suggest no improvement and potentially additional decline across all three management zones. With the downward trend in lek counts expected to continue with a second consecutive year at or below 45% below the LTA, FWP proposes to close the sage grouse season in 2014. Future lek counts above the 45% closure criteria but below the LTA for three consecutive years would prompt a proposal to reopen the season as would a single year with lek counts above the LTA. In both instances, the closure criteria would no longer be met.
Public Involvement Process & Results
If approved, public comment on the proposal will run through 5 p.m., Monday, June 23.
Alternatives and Analysis
This proposal is based upon field observations and is consistent with the Management Plan and Conservation Strategies for Sage Grouse in Montana, which also would also guide any proposal to re-open the season.
Agency Recommendation & Rationale
FWP recommends adopting the proposed sage grouse closure and maintaining 2013 bag and possession limits and permit quotas for all other upland game birds, consistent with known biology, management history and survey efforts to date. Season dates were previously set by the Commission in February 2014.
IMO, politics should not be allowed to trump science.
If you agree, then please contact the MT Fish & Wildlife Commission.
