Guest opinion

Off to a great start

Holy cow! Holy buffalo! Holy mountain lion! What a first year I have had as Commissioner for Fish Wildlife and Parks (FWP) in Commission District 1. When I applied for this appointment I knew—well, not very much. I knew I was a native Montanan, a lifelong hunter and fisherperson and I knew that I wanted to give something back to a state that has been very good to me for the past 46 years.

I stated that I didn't know very much coming in to the job, but I emphasize how much I have learned in the past year. I have learned more about how FWP works, how the state staff works with and interacts with the public, and how my position is suppose to work as a liaison between the staff and the public. Most importantly I've found out more about how the history and the biology behind past, current and future decisions come into play.

I've been like "a kid in a candy store" while experiencing some really exciting FWP fieldwork. I've helped capture elk calves, helped recapture mountain lions, helped net and study fish in the Flathead River, and helped count moose and elk for population studies. Each and every one of these experiences results in more insight and a better realization of how little I really know or knew prior to being appointed as commissioner.

With all my faults in place I still hit the ground running and plan to keep moving throughout the next three years of my appointment. First was the cancellation of last year's buffalo hunt. After more planning concerning the area and time frame to hunt in, this year's hunt appears to be going off very well.

Along with all of the learning about how things work comes the planning for changes in the future. To begin with I've made plans for FWP meetings to be held in both Kalispell and Missoula. Hopefully having these statewide meetings held locally will give our local outdoors people more opportunity to attend and get involved in the decision making process. Here's the schedule for these important Tentative Hunting Season meetings, where members of the public can comment on the tentative hunting regulations for 2006:

Kalispell: West Coast Hotel (Kalispell Center Mall), Saturday, Jan. 14: Open house 9-10 a.m., hearing begins at 10 a.m.

Missoula: Doubletree Inn, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 7 p.m.

(Other meetings are scheduled in the regions as well, please contact the R-1 or R-2 headquarters for details).

Another area of interest is whether or not to take mountain lion hunting from the quota system to a "permit draw" system like moose, goat and sheep drawings. The poisoning of non-native Yellowstone cutthroat and rainbow trout and the re-introduction of purebred westslope cutthroat in 23 lakes in the South Fork drainage is an ongoing topic of discussion. We also need to talk about what constitutes a "problem bear" as far as any decisions as to whether it be killed or relocated. Along with these issues the two most important are the prospects of FWP'S transition to having management over wolves and grizzly bears as they come ever-closer to being de-listed from the Federal Endangered Species list.

I've tried to make myself and intend to continue to make myself available to the hunters and fisher people of western Montana. I didn't take this job lightly, so I feel that if I'm going to do a good job, my fellow Montanans should be able to reach me. Anyone with questions or concerns is encouraged to contact me via e-mail: vic@montanalandoffice.com, or call me at home at 862-6825.

I would also like to take this space to thank Jim Satterfield, FWP Region 1 Supervisor and Mack Long, FWP Region 2 Supervisor and all of their staff mostly for their patience. I also thank them for their ability and desire to help me make intelligent decisions by providing me with the most current and accurate information available, always in a timely manner. Thanks to you all.

Get out and enjoy,

FWP Commissioner

Vic Workman