HELENA, Mont. - A draft bill for Montana's recreational cannabis program is out. Conservation and outdoors advocates are hoping to secure more funds for public lands as lawmakers consider it further.

In November, 57% of Montanans approved Initiative 190, legalizing recreational marijuana for adults and directing nearly half of the tax revenue collected to public lands. On Wednesday, groups rallied at the Capitol to call attention to the difference between the initiative and this bill.

Whitney Tawney, executive director of Montana Conservation Voters, said the bill does provide some revenue to conservation.

"There is trails and parks funding that can help with some maintenance issues," said Tawney, "in addition to non-game species funding, and that is great. But for us, this is a starting point."

The draft caps funding at $650,000 for each of the trails, parks and non-game species programs. Tawney said it doesn't mention the Habitat Montana program, which helps to secure public access through acquisitions and easements.

In the draft, funds are first directed to drug-addiction treatment and then largely funneled to the state general revenue.

Anne Jolliff and her husband own Full Curl Taxidermy in Montana City and were at the Capitol on Wednesday. She said she enjoys outdoor sports and wants to make sure her three daughters get to enjoy public lands.

"It's important for Montana's future," said Jolliff. "For all of us, for our kids, for our families, for our mental and physical well-being - to have that public access."

Tawney said the funding especially for pieces such as acquisitions and easements for access are important because most of that money currently comes from hunters and anglers.

"So we want to be able to diversify that funding because, frankly, we all are a part of that," said Tawney. "We're all users and so this is one way to kind of equalize that share."

This month, the federal government announced funding for next year's wildfire management, totaling $236 million and experts hope threatened communities in Wyoming receive some of the funds.

Money from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will be used to help reduce wildfire risk, improve firefighter training, rehabilitate burned areas and advance research, according to the Interior Department. The focus areas are partly based on a report last year by the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission, with 148 recommendations on how the U.S. can approach fires more effectively.

Kimiko Barrett, wildfire researcher and policy analyst for the nonprofit research group Headwaters Economics and a member of the commission, said the recommendations build off one another but the federal government has focused on some more than others.

"It's not surprising that some of the policy is cherry-picking those recommendations that seem to be easiest or more reasonable, given the time constraints of the current administration," Barrett asserted.

The U.S. House of Representatives will consider a bipartisan bill this month, called the "Fix Our Forests Act." It could adjust permitting under the National Environmental Protection Act to make wildfire prevention projects happen faster, among other changes.

Most wildfire management is supported at the federal level, through agencies that manage public lands, as well as state foresters and natural resource managers.

Barrett notes communities are often the first line of defense when a fire ignites.

"Communities and counties need to be additionally empowered and provided the funding, the resources, the technical assistance, to be able to have more ownership over becoming more resilient," Barrett contended.

Barrett added the protection of the built environment is especially important to communities, including home and neighborhood infrastructure.


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A sanctuary for stargazing in Oregon is the largest in the world and is set to get even bigger.

In eastern Oregon, the organization DarkSky International declared 2.5 million acres of the Oregon Outback International Dark Sky Sanctuary in the first phase of its process in March. It plans to increase the sanctuary to more than 11 million acres in the next few years.

Damon Motz-Storey, director of the Oregon chapter of the Sierra Club, recently visited the area.

"Anybody who's visited it on a clear summer night or otherwise will agree that it is very spectacular," Motz-Storey observed. "It's a very unique and amazing place to stargaze and get into astronomy."

Motz-Storey pointed out the area is far from urban centers like Portland and Boise, and is sparsely populated. It is estimated more than 2.5 times as many stars are visible than in urban areas. DarkSky International has designated sanctuaries since 2007 and the Oregon Outback is the first in the state.

Motz-Storey emphasized protecting dark areas is good for wildlife and humans alike because both are affected by artificial lighting.

"These kinds of designations help to spread awareness around people preserving the dark sky for both wildlife and human enjoyment," Motz-Storey stressed. "And also to serve as a little bit of a warning signal to future development to say, hey, this is really worth preserving."

Within the Oregon Outback is an area known as the Owyhee Canyonlands. However, Motz-Storey noted Congress has been unable to pass protections for the unique landscape. A coalition of organizations, including Motz-Storey's, are pushing the Biden administration to declare it a national monument.

"That would pair very nicely with this dark sky designation and help to protect everything that's on the ground around the Owyhee Canyonlands, which is just as special as the sky you look up at," Motz-Storey contended.

A new poll indicates strong support for protections of the West's greater sage-grouse. The results come as the U.S. Bureau of Land Management considers a plan for improving conservation of the bird. BLM is reviewing public comments on its draft environmental impact statement for amending and strengthening sage grouse protections. The agency has plenty of public support for this: a poll commissioned by The Pew Charitable Trusts found 93% of people surveyed back the BLM's efforts to protect the bird and its habitat.

Tyler Dungannon, conservation coordinator with Oregon Hunters Association, said many support even greater protections.

"In the Western U.S., roughly 70% favored restricting some development of specific public lands to ensure long term habitat protections for sage grouse," he explained.

The poll also found that nearly 60% of respondents say sage grouse conservation efforts boost economic development. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife data from 2019 says hunting, fishing and wildlife viewing fueled $1.2 billion in spending in the state.

Josh Collins, a retired landscape ecologist in Bend, said there are positives to BLM's plans for conserving sage grouse, including the expansion of Areas of Critical Environmental Concern for the bird and the agency elevating conservation as one of is priorities on public lands. But he added that there's also room for improvement, such as a focus on ensuring sage grouse chicks have wildflowers to feed on in their first few weeks of life.

"One of the things missing in the BLM report and almost every other state or federal report concerning the sage grouse is a focus on the dietary needs of the chicks and the brood hens," he continued.

Collins adds that bringing back the sage grouse means bringing back wildflowers in the region, which will benefit other species.

"Young pronghorn benefit from that, they eat wildflowers. And, of course, the pygmy rabbit does. Many birds are feeding on the insects that are attracted by the wildflowers. So, the wildflower is kind of a missing piece of the foundation of the ecological health for the whole system," he said.


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