Landowners in central and Eastern Montana received a letter from Fish, Wildlife and Parks last week that essentially threatened them with extortion. Since 2008, FWP has restricted hunting opportunity in these specific areas, with a goal of coercing more access to private land for hunting. FWP mistakenly assumed that a landowner would bargain away private property rights for the price of an elk permit. Instead, the limit has been directly responsible for millions of dollars in lost tourism revenue to the surrounding communities, as well as less access to private land for public hunting.

Regional working groups will soon play a part in elk management, but Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks commissioners voted to retain a larger chunk of the responsibility. At Thursday’s meeting in Helena, the five-member FWP commission gave final approval to a working group’s proposal to modify elk distribution to limit the spread of disease, particularly brucellosis. The plan, given initial approval on Nov. 8, would apply primarily in the regions surrounding Yellowstone National Park, where brucellosis is most prevalent.

For the third time since restrictions on archery elk permits were enacted in northeastern Montana in 2008, a bill has been introduced in the Legislature to try to reverse the controversial action of the Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission. The sponsor of Senate Bill 151, Sen. Jim Peterson, R-Buffalo, told the Senate Fish and Game Committee during a hearing on Tuesday that he sees the legislation as a way to move landowner, sportsmen and outfitter relations forward on a “very sticky issue.” Peterson and other supporters of the bill — which included farm and ranch groups, outfitters and guides and the Chamber of Commerce — also cited the bill as a way to increase revenue for communities in rural areas, boost hunter opportunity and reduce elk populations where they are above FWP’s...