Bow Winners
of these individuals are endorsed by the gun lobby (despite the fact that their opponents also support gun rights… BTW- I do too!) But that does not make them a friend of hunters and fishermen. By electing these people, sportsmen are in effect shooting themselves in the foot. (You usually don’t hear about bowhunters shooting themselves in the foot- that is usually reserved for gun hunters- yes, joke intended) Be an informed voter and vote for legislators that support wildlife, hunting opportunity, FWP funding and hunting/fishing access to public lands.
Roger Peffer STEVE KAMPS
T
his Legislative Session has been a doozey to say the least, but I will have to say that most of the bad bills have been defeated and the good ones have been approved. Thank you to everybody that has sent in your comments and made your voice be heard. It really makes a huge difference. On another note, I am constantly disappointed in these tough Legislative and Tentative Sessions when some MBA members get mad and say they are going to quit because the MBA and its membership did not feel the same way as they did on one or two issues. I’ve got to tell you, the MBA doesn’t always take stands the same way I feel either. But you have to decide, what is more important to you, this one single issue or keeping the MBA strong with its membership numbers to protect our 6 week archery season and all the great opportunities we have. We can’t do it without membership numbers folks, so you really do have to decide if you want to maintain what we have, or throw it all away because you weren’t in the majority on one issue. You have to decide, is the glass 90% full or is it 10% empty? I think most of our members are the 90% full kind of folks, and the ones we lose are focusing on that one negative that puts their glass at 10% empty. Luckily the MBA is still a strong organization, and we will continue to be with the help of you, our members. Get the word out and sign up your bowhunting friends so we can continue to enjoy all that bowhunting in Montana has to offer.
FLOWED
This winter we will be heading in to the FWP season setting process again. Proposals and seasons are already being looked at. We will likely have 4 new FWP Commissioners this year which could bring a lot of change. As of this writing the Governor has chosen Matthew Tourtlotte of Billings, Lawrence Wetsit of Wolf Point, and Richard Stuker of Chinook. He had chosen to reaffirm Bob Ream for the northwest portion of the state, but Bob resigned and the position is yet to be filled. All of these appointments are yet to be approved by the Legislature. This Tentative season the MBA will continue to press for more aggressive wolf measures. Also an idea that was discussed at the Convention was for more spring bear opportunity. And we’ll continue to monitor and be a part of discussions on the archery elk permits in the eastern part of the state. As always, we’ll keep watch and see what other proposals surface as they continue to develop and then come out in December for public comment. Please continue to let us know your thoughts and ideas on our hunting seasons by contacting any of your Board members. Also, we all owe Gary Carvajal and the Missoula Convention Crew a huge thank you for sacrificing so much of their valuable personal time on behalf of the MBA to put on another great Convention! And a big thank you to all of our donors as well who help the MBA remain solvent year after year.
Steve Kamps
13—Summer 2013