
Citizens push FWP commission to reinstate black bear protections
Laura Lundquist
(Missoula Current) Citizens assert the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission violated public meeting requirements when it approved the elimination of black bear quotas without prior notice.
On Wednesday, 25 citizens - some associated with various conservation groups - sent a letter to the FWP commission stating the commission had violated Montana’s constitutional right to public participation and the right-to-know when it voted to eliminate spring hunting quotas in northwest Montana during a Dec. 19 commission meeting.
Written by Missoula attorney Tim Bechtold for the citizens, the letter said because the commissioners made passed amendments that weren’t made public before the meeting, the commission’s approval of the elimination of quotas was “legally void and may not be implemented.” The letter went on to say that if the commission doesn’t void the approval, the citizens could sue under the Montana constitution.
On Friday, in order to meet a 30-day limit on when objections could be made to commission decisions, Bechtold filed the lawsuit in Lewis and Clark County District Court.
Montana’s right to public participation requires governmental agencies such as the FWP commission to allow citizens to have a reasonable opportunity to participate “prior to the final decision.”
“In this instance, no prior notification of the action taken on black bear management was provided to the public. It was not on the agenda circulated prior to the meeting, and there was no opportunity for public review or comment prior to its adoption by the Commission. Notice of a meeting, including an agenda, must be given sufficiently in advance of the meeting to permit the public to attend,” Bechtold wrote in the letter.
During a February 2024 meeting, the FWP commission approved the 37% limit because a few commissioners wanted to lengthen the spring bear season by two weeks. So they agreed to the quota, which the department said would prevent killing too many female bears.
But on Dec. 19, Region 2 Commissioner Jeff Burrows, backed by Region 1 Commissioner Pat Tabor, made a no-notice amendment to eliminate the quota for the season that starts on April 15. The amendment passed with Commissioners KC Walsh and Susan Brooke voting no. Brooke said she hadn’t heard from hunters wanting a longer season.
Bear biologists said eliminating the quota could hurt the black bear population. Former Region 1 supervisor Neil Anderson said during the Dec. 19 meeting that the 37% limit was imposed for a good reason: Black bear populations in Region 1 have been hammered, especially after hunting regulations started changing in 2021.
In early January, 40 biologists, including 15 former FWP employees, publicly called the commission out for failing to follow scientific recommendations and Montana’s constitutional right to due process.
“Montana needs a responsive Fish and Wildlife Commission that listens to and considers all public input, not just those who dislike predators or those who can profit by commercializing wildlife. Montana needs a Commission that always bases their wildlife management decisions on science and facts and who listens to the recommendations of the wildlife professionals at FWP. Sadly, we do not have such a Commission today,” the biologists wrote in an op-ed.
Mike Bader, one of the citizens who signed the letter, said Commission chair Leslie Robinson had noted during the Dec. 19 meeting that the amendments had not been publicized.
"Do they really expect us to trust them to manage grizzly bears when they ignore their own biologists and increase quotas for already over hunted populations and evade public comment requirements? It's not a good audition,” Bader said.
This is not the first time the FWP commission has broken the law.
In October 2023, the FWP commission settled with the nonprofit Wolves of the Rockies, which had sued under the constitutional right-to-know. Wolves of the Rockies said the FWP commission had failed to respond to public records requests and had privately discussed agenda items before the public commission meetings. As a result, the commissioners are required to divulge at each meeting which groups they’ve met with during the interim. They are also required to use only government phones and email addresses for commission business so that communications can be acquired in public record requests.
In the letter, Bechtold referenced a statement made by Region 1 commissioner Pat Tabor, who said “Governor Greg Gianforte has authorized him to ‘blacklist’ people from communications with the Commission.” Bechtold wrote that “no such authority exists and this would represent another violation of the state Constitution.”
At the end of 2012, the commission was sued under Montana’s open meeting laws for not providing advance public notice of a decision to close wolf hunting and trapping in two hunting districts north of Yellowstone National Park. Attorneys Cory Swanson and Jim Brown filed the lawsuit for a rancher and four organizations including Citizens for Balanced Use, saying the commission had violated open meeting laws and the right to public participation.
Contact reporter Laura Lundquist at lundquist@missoulacurrent.com.