Below is a Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation op-ed sent to several media outlets in response to editorial comments critical of our efforts. Immediately below the op-ed is a copy of a letter RMEF sent to leadership of the Senate Fish & Game Committee.
A recent editorial, appropriately printed on April Fool’s Day, inaccurately referred to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) as an organization that works against hunters.
RMEF’s mission is to ensure the future of elk, other wildlife, their habitat and our hunting heritage. The legislative process has been referred to as “sausage making,” and for good reason. As bills move through the various committees, changes are made – and not always for the better. That’s the nature of the legislative process. Our job is to work through this often-messy process and ensure that hunters’ interests are protected in the final bill. This mission takes us to every corner of the United States. The legislative efforts of RMEF to protect hunters, wildlife and conservation have us working with the US Congress, White House and state legislatures across the country, including in Helena.
In the current session underway in Helena, RMEF is tracking 65 bills that include 33 specific to elk, deer or wildlife, along with others dealing with conservation funding, forestry and gaming. Unfortunately, Mr. Sterling chose to misrepresent RMEF’s position on two, House Bill 283 and Senate Bill 270. Whether intentional or not, we welcome the opportunity to set the record straight.
With regard to HB 283, Mr. Sterling’s claims of “relentless lobbying against the bill” are simply false. To be clear, RMEF did NOT oppose or lobby against the final bill. However, during the consideration of the bill in committee, RMEF’s position about adding the words “or raffle” to the special big horn sheep and moose permit were inaccurately relayed at the meeting. Upon learning of this error, we immediately sent a correction clarifying our position and distributed it to the Senate committee leadership and bill sponsor prior to a floor vote. While Mr. Sterling might have ended up confused, the members of the Montana Legislature fully understood our position. A copy of the letter can be found on our website, www.rmef.org (see below).
Mr. Sterling’s confusion continued with Senate Bill (SB) 270. RMEF is unapologetic in our belief that healthy elk populations should be based on science, maintained at biologically and socially sustainable levels with hunting as the primary management tool, and we support impactful programs designed to increase hunter access on both public and private lands. The Montana Fish, Wildlife Commission has the authority – by law – to set regulations and quotas for elk tags in specific areas where populations are under or over objective. Following the amendment process, which we supported, the proposed legislation limits the additional cow tags on PUBLIC and private lands to two. At the end of the “sausage-making,” RMEF supported SB 270 as an effective approach to management based on science and not politics.
More broadly speaking to this Montana legislative session, here is a snapshot of just some of what RMEF did for hunters: We testified against the elimination of perpetual conservation easements (SB 209), helped neutralize proposals facilitating the noncompetitive sale of state-owned public land (HB 676), helped expand FWP’s authority to improve, restore and conserve wildlife habitat (HB 932), ensured the vitality of Habitat Montana by opposing proposals to strip away important funding streams (SB 307), advanced fair chase (HB 202/SB 106), promoted prescribed fire as a means of forest management (HB 84) and supported the block management program which benefits hunters (SB 441).
When not in Helena advocating for all hunters before the legislature, here is a slice of what else RMEF (members, volunteers, donors and partners) has done for hunters and conservation in Montana: 1,091 projects completed, 952,622 acres conserved or enhanced, 384,325 acres of opened or improved access and growing every day.
RMEF will continue to do all we can to further our mission of ensuring the future of elk, other wildlife, their habitat and our hunting heritage, and will do so by recognizing, working for and supporting the hunting community – not seeking to splinter it.
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TO: MT State Senators Loge, Flowers, RunningWolf
FR: Blake Henning, Chief Conservation Officer, [email protected]
RE: Our position on HB 283 regarding auction and raffle tags is NEUTRAL
Date: April 4, 2025
As a result of a miscommunication from RMEF staff, the contract lobbyist for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) testified in committee opposing HB 283 relating to sheep and moose auction tags. As that bill progresses, we want to correct our official position by rescinding our opposition and make it clear that RMEF is NEUTRAL on HB 283. We apologize for the confusion on this matter.
While RMEF was founded in Troy, Montana and our headquarters is in Missoula, we are a national organization, and we are engaged in policy across all fifty states and in Washington, D.C. The following are key policy priorities that guide us federally and in state houses coast to coast which we hope policy makers will consider when evaluating legislation:
Topic: Access
- RMEF believes access is imperative for hunters and outdoorsmen and women. We work with partners on all fronts to open and improve public access for hunting, recreational shooting, fishing, and other activities.
Topic: Hunting
- RMEF strongly supports efforts to ensure individuals constitutional right to hunt and our hunting heritage. Legal and responsible hunting is integral to the success of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation.
Topic: Active Forest Management or Wildlife Habitat Management
- RMEF supports sustainable use of natural resources. Sound active forest management, including commercial tree harvesting, benefits natural resources, local economies, and wildlife habitat.
Topic: Federal Land Transfer
- RMEF opposes unrestricted, wholesale transfers of federal public land ownership to the states.
Topic: Elk Management
- RMEF supports the use of the best available scientific data and proven best management practices to determine biological and social carrying capacities for elk.
Topic: Predators
- RMEF supports managing predator populations through hunting and trapping with regulations controlled by respective state wildlife agencies.
Topic: State-Based Management
- RMEF supports the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation and believes the authority to effectively manage wildlife management lies with state wildlife agencies.