This week we have two legislative bills of interest to sportsmen/women. First we have the ongoing warm water hatchery issue at Fort Peck. The demise of the four Walleye bills from Don Steinbesser, Sydney has apparently motivated Senator Keith Bales of Otter, to put new paint on the same ol’ fence so to speak.
Bales SB 425 basically takes money and human resources from the freshwater fund and puts it into the warm water fund. The hatchery shortfalls are still a couple years out. In the end it’s probably going to be the fishermen that will pick up the tab via your annual license for the poor fiscal management and planning of the project. The bills being proposed to find money for the hatchery are starting to look like a shell game. Whose nutshell is hiding the little hidden pea?
Judging from the size of the hatchery I don’t see why they don’t raise a couple million tiger shrimp during the off season and sell them to Red Lobster. The things gigantic, it looks like they could raise warm water fish for the whole upper mid-west?
This one will be heard by Fish and Game on 2/19.
The Big Sky Rivers act, HB 455 is an attempt to establish a buffer along ten of Montana’s more infamous western rivers that would provide setbacks and protection for riparian habitat along river shores. So, if you are like me and would enjoy a shoreline free of over built river lodges and cutting back on septic systems leaking Viagra and estrogen supplements into the river, you’ll like this bill.
On the other hand, if you are wealthy, have erectile dysfunction, your spouse is flaking out with hot flashes, and you bought up a country mile of the Madison and you want your deck overlooking your favorite riffle; your probably mailing out your campaign donations about now.
This bill will heard by the Local Government Committee on 2/19 also.
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Nobody said this was going to be easy. Here’s what Greg Barkus, chairman of the Senate Fish & Game committee has to say about the sneaky walleye bill.
“Thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding SB 425, sponsored by Senator Bales, to clarify and assure the funding for the Fort Peck Fish Hatchery. This bill will allow cold water species to be reared in the hatchery, while simultaneously maximizing the production of warm water species, and I plan to support it. SB 425 will provide adequate funding for the operation of the hatchery, which is not being met with the warm water fish stamp sales.”
This feller and all the members of the committee need to get more mail!
This comment from Barkus does not surprise me at all. He will vote no on the Big Sky Rivers act. He’s about as Republican as they come. You can write Barkus here:
gbarkus@gmail.com