skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Report Offers Recommendations for MT Elk Management at 'Crossroads'

play audio
Play

Wednesday, October 5, 2022   

After a gathering of hunters, landowners and wildlife managers, a new report draws some conclusions on how Montana can better manage its elk population.

The Montana Citizens Elk Management Coalition has published a report on the Elk Management Symposium, which took place in August.

Kathy Hadley, a board member of the Montana Wildlife Federation and a hunter who spoke at the symposium, said management is at a crossroads in Montana.

"We have had declining harvest rates on public lands over the last few years of elk, declining numbers of elk on public lands, and a problem of having too many elk on private lands," Hadley outlined. "So there's an imbalance in the system that didn't use to be here."

The Montana Citizens Elk Management Coalition developed three policy recommendations based on the meeting. Hadley noted the symposium took place while Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks begins to design a new elk-management plan.

Hadley pointed out one of the recommendations is to update landowner incentive programs such as Block Management, which provides funds to landowners in exchange for opening up access to their lands to hunters. She added the program has about 1,200 landowners enrolled and opens up access to more than six million acres. Hadley believes hunters should deal with the issue of too many elk.

"Maybe we need to increase payments to private landowners who allow hunters on their lands," Hadley suggested. "And we just thought maybe that particular program might be useful to update it to engage more landowners who are having these problems."

The other recommendations include revising the structure of hunting seasons and exploring new funding models for restoring habitat. Hadley emphasized lawmakers from both parties were part of the symposium, and so she hopes to engage them in the 2023 legislative session on these issues.

"Wildlife management, historically, has been bipartisan, and we're trying really hard to get us back to that place," Hadley stressed.

Disclosure: The Montana Wildlife Federation contributes to our fund for reporting on Climate Change/Air Quality, Endangered Species & Wildlife, Environment, and Public Lands/Wilderness. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021