By Jessianne Castle EBS ENVIRONMENTAL & OUTDOORS EDITOR
BOZEMAN –
With tensions high and an air of exhaustion in the room, the ten-member Madison
River Negotiated Rulemaking Committee came down to the wire on a decision on
March 26 in Bozeman, taking the last minutes of the final meeting to plea for
at least one more convening.
In December,
the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission appointed members of the public to the
committee, tasking them with developing recommendations for managing recreation
on the widely-popular Madison River. Since then, the group has met for a total
of four two-day sessions, with March 25 and 26 slated as the final gathering
before the committee presents recommendations to the Commission.
The highly
controversial topic of managing recreation on the Madison, which surpassed
200,000 angler days in 2017 and sees the highest number of angler days of all
the waterbodies in Montana, involves conversations about caps on commercial
use, limitations on non-resident and resident permits, public access and the
presence of boats.
The current
rule-making process arose after the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and
Parks proposed a set of regulations for public comment during the April 2018
Commission meeting and many members of the public turned out to speak against
the proposal.
In order to
develop a management strategy that’s approved by the public, the Commission
rejected the April 2018 rules and established the committee comprised of
fishing outfitters, anglers, a lodge owner, a non-angling outfitter and the
director of the Madison River Foundation.
The initial
meetings were spent discussing problems on the Madison and the final meetings
considered potential solutions and their impacts. The afternoon session on
March 26 saw evolved discussion as committee members considered what they were
willing to sacrifice and what management they wouldn’t tolerate.
“I’m willing
to step up and be an example. I can take a haircut but not without everyone
else willing to,” said committee member Julie Eaton of Eaton Outfitters in
Ennis. Later she added that she joined the committee in good faith. “I believed
in this when I showed up.”
Some of the group’s
major sticking points were how new regulations might impact entrance into the
guiding industry, the ability to procure a living as an outfitter, the monetization
of the resource, the ability to wade fish without the presence of boats, and
access to the river.
Toward the
end of the meeting, facilitator Mike Mitchell asked the committee if they thought
they’d be able to move forward. “I’m hearing more criticism than I am creation,”
he said, adding that based on the Commission’s directive the group will have to
reach a consensus decision at some point.
Consensus
was that the group needed more time. “Some of these alternatives we’ve only
seen in the last two hours,” said angling guide Mike Bias, referring to their eight
draft alternatives. Considered very rough drafts, these alternatives were not
made available to the media.
The meeting
concluded with the determination that a supplementary meeting would be
scheduled in April, though a date had not been set as of EBS press time on
March 27. Public comment stretched beyond 30 minutes as individuals commended
the committee for continuing their efforts and imploring them to think about
what impacts any recommendation will have.
It’s unclear
what the department and Commission would do if the committee fails to present
their recommendations during the April 25 Commission meeting, though committee
member Don Skaar, who is FWP habitat access bureau chief, said the department
would petition the commission to continue with the committee process.
Regardless
of the exact strategy for rulemaking, any decision will be made using a public
process. According to a FWP press release, a public comment period and open
meetings would be held prior to adoption of any rules.
For more information visit fwp.mt.gov/recreation/management/madison/nrc.html. Check on explorebigsky.com for more information about upcoming meetings.
