2020 ELECTION BIOS - CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17
monitoring and prevention. I believe maintaining Fair Chase principles is a must for the hunting community as a whole and particularly bow hunters. I have been a member of Montana Bow Hunters since 1992, am now retired from my day job and would love to serve on the Board. Thank you.
Nick Siebrasse
My name is Jess Wagner and I’m 32 years old. I grew up in Glendive and started hunting with my dad as soon as I was old enough to tag along. After high school I started to get into archery hunting, mainly for deer and turkeys on the Yellowstone River. I got hooked on elk hunting while going to college in Butte. After college I lived in Wyoming for several years, and it was there that I was able to kill my first archery bull. About five years ago, my company had an opening in Lewistown that allowed me to make the move back to Montana. Since being back I spend most of my hunting time chasing elk or mule deer. When I am not hunting, I enjoy all types of fishing, hiking, and taking photos of wildlife. Besides MBA, I am also a member of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Public Land/Water Access Association, Montana Wildlife Federation, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, Lewistown Bowhunters Association, and the Wild Sheep Foundation. have decided that it is time to do more than just send in a membership fee every year, and I am looking forward to being more engaged. We are lucky to have the bowhunting opportunities that we do here in Montana, and I want to help preserve those opportunities and look out for the interests of the bowhunting community.
Jess Wagner
DAL Hello. My name is Jerry Davis. I have been a board member of MBA since 2012 with a large part of my commitment to acting as a citizen lobbyist for MBA. I have testified and lobbied legislative members on various issues and bills including preventing crossbows in our Archery Only Season, protecting the breaks archery permits, preventing the season setting process from being legislated instead or the existing tentative process used by the Fish and Wildlife Commission that allows for public comment, to name a few. My generation is the third generation of my Mom’s family to live in Montana. My grandfather homesteaded 160 acres east of Dutton in 1915. Prior to that time he had been a fireman on the Great Northern Railroad in Montana. Granddad sold the place in Dutton and established a small cattle and grain operation out of Big Sandy in the early 1920’s. In 1951 I was born in Havre. Our family then moved to Ft Peck in 1954. I lived there until entering the service in 1971. While growing up in Ft Peck, hunting and fishing were a big part of our lives. Like most town kids I shot my first deer and antelope when I was 12 after taking Hunters Safety. I probably shot my first bow at 10. But sadly I did not hunt big game with bow until I was in my 50’s. I did hunt a lot of carp and some gophers however. As a kid I remember hearing of fellas hunting elk out at the “Pines” (Breaks HDs) with archery equipment. I think my father had tried archery hunting for a while but had no success so he gave it up. Eventually I inherited his 50# 50 inch Browning recurve. It made a great carp bow until I warped it (dumb kid). In 1971 I spent a summer working for the FWP as an aid to the Fisheries Biologist in Ft Peck prior to enlisting in the US Army. Though the Army had intentions of sending me to Viet Nam I was lucky. Uncle Sam had started demobilizing about the time I finished artillery school so instead of Viet Nam or the DMZ in Korea I was sent to Ft Carson Colorado, just outside of Colorado Springs. I had full intentions of hunting my first season in Colorado but on opening morning the number of orange vests observed on I-25 dissuaded me. After my enlistment was finished and I had spent a year working in Colorado I returned to my home, Montana, to further my education. I attended Flathead Valley Community College in Forestry Technology and worked for a couple of summers at Spotted Bear Ranger Station. There I hunted elk and I would travel to Ft Peck to hunt deer with my Dad. While working at Spotted Bear I met a forester who was very successful with a bow. I was in awe of his hunting abilities that allowed him to get in close to elk. I thought archery hunting was the pinnacle of big game hunting. After graduating from FVCC I took a job in eastern Montana, first Miles City and then Circle, with the NRCS. It was during this time that I started hearing a lot about MBA and bow hunting in general from a good friend of mine in Glasgow. It was also at this time that my son was born so I felt I did not have the time or money to pursue archery hunting. In 1980 I returned to college at MSU where I finally obtained a degree in Civil Engineering. During my years attending MSU hunting allowed me time to unwind and decompress. And the added benefit was that I was able to provide food for my family’s table. After graduating from MSU I was assigned to the NRCS in Livingston as the project engineer for the Mill Creek watershed project.
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This project resulted in one of the first FWP water leases in the state for the benefit of Yellowstone Cutthroat. Though time was limited I did find time to hunt with my son and camp with the family. I was a scout master for a scout troop in Livingston and later an assistant for a troop in Billings. I was the Chapter president for the Joe Brooks Chapter of Trout Unlimited and was involved in various conservation projects and some legislative issues. After the Mill Creek project was completed I transferred to the Bureau of Reclamation in Billings and then to the Bureau of Land Management in Anchorage, Alaska. After 5 years in Alaska I returned to Montana in 2002. Upon returning to Montana I decided to try my hand at archery hunting. In 2003, after regaining my residency, I made my first elk hunt to the breaks south of Saco, HD 631. Though I was unsuccessful I did enjoy it immensely and I saw firsthand how the sport of archery hunting had grown since I had last hunted in Montana. Being camped fairly close to the Bone Trail Road my solitude every evening well past dark was disrupted by vehicles driving up and down the road looking for elk on the adjacent property. During the day vehicles were parked everywhere. I saw more hunters than elk. So when the “Breaks” permit regulations were promulgated, restricting the number of hunters that could get permits for each HD in the breaks, I fully supported those hunting regulations. I believe that these regulations go a long way in providing a quality elk hunting experience in the “Breaks”. In April 2012 I retired thereby giving me a lot more time to hunt. To me archery hunting provides a quiet hunting experience during a great time of the year. It allows one to experience encounters with game at much closer proximity than typically experienced during rifle season. It allows one to pit their prowess against that of the animals hunted more than any other hunting sport. When I am archery hunting I often find myself captivated by the experience. It is just fun. So that is enough of me talking about me. Hope to get your vote this year as a Director at Large out of Helena. Thanks
Jerry Davis
I have been bowhunting for 50 some years. Strictly with my bow since 1984. I have been truly blessed hunting with my bow. Merri my wife for 41 years has bowhunted with me for most of that time. Our daughter Cecelia has bowhunted with us since she turned 12 except when she left for collage for three years. I have been an MBA member since the eighties, served as an area rep. reg.2 and president for the last four years. A senior Pope & Young member for years. I have hunted several different states back Marlon Clapham when I could afford it. Alaska for moose and caribou, Wyoming for mule deer and antelope, Idaho for black bears. I drew a big horn sheep tag in 1994. I have hunted elk, whitetail deer, mule deer, antelope, black bears and mountain lions in Montana with some success on all. Lately the family has turned to spending the spring and summer shooting carp round Helena. I retired in 2010 with a back injury. So now I volunteer with a group of others where we work with youth. I handle most of the archery getting kids to shoot bows. We put together youth camps taking kids to the woods and teach them fishing, archery and other conservation stuff about the outdoors. Along with Jerry and Beckie Doyle we put together a Bowhunting camp to teach youth about elk hunting with a bow. It is one of my favorite memories. I will be stepping down from the president’s position, but would like to stay on as an area rep. for reg.2 to continue working with the board. I like to stay informed to try to help keep Montana’s Bowhunting what it was meant to be, the way our founders worked so hard for.
Marlon Clapham
It is once again re-election/election time and Mandy and I would like to continue to be members of the board, as directors at large. We served as region 4 directors at large for the last two years. We are excited for the opportunity to again be involved in the Montana Bowhunters Association. We reside in Great Falls and love to be in the outdoors as much as possible during all seasons of the year. We have been fortunate enough to be able to not only bowhunt our amazing home state of Montana and other states in the lower 48, but also Canada, Hawaii and Africa. We have a passion for the outdoors, bowhunting and the Montana Bowhunters Association and their accomplishments. Thank you for your votes and please... Others of you that are passionate about bowhunting like we are, please get involved and make your voice(s) heard.
Cliff & Mandy Garness