With the coming holidays and the close of hunting seasons in Montana, FWP Director Jeff Hagener, representing all FWP staff, expressed thanks to Montana’s private landowners for their role in helping conserve fish and wildlife habitat and helping maintain Montana’s outdoor heritage and traditions.
"On behalf of the many sportsmen and -women who hunt and fish throughout Montana, we would like to say ’thank you,’ to Montana’s private landowners," said Hagener.
"Over the past century, landowners, hunters and anglers, and FWP have worked together to restore fish and wildlife populations throughout our state. Now is a great time to acknowledge that partnership, which continues to pay big dividends to all of us who enjoy and appreciate wildlife and outdoor recreation," Hagener said.
This hunting season, approximately 1,150 landowners participated in the Block Management Program, which provided public hunting access to more than 8.8 million acres of land and accounted for almost 350,000 days of hunting recreation. Over the past decade, FWP has also entered into voluntary agreements with landowners to place over 325,000 acres of private land under conservation easements to protect critical wildlife habitats. Additional voluntary agreements with private landowners protect and provide access to more than 586,000 acres of upland game bird habitat. And, of course, many landowners not enrolled in any formal FWP program continue to share their private lands with members of the public for various recreational uses.
Watershed groups, farmers and ranchers, and other landowners have also worked together over the past several years to measurably increase the flow in some critical Montana rivers and streams during extremely dry periods, Hagener noted. And in all parts of the state, many landowners initiate wildlife habitat protection measures simply as another part of being good stewards of the land they own.
"None of us could have done alone what we have accomplished together," Hagener said. "During this holiday season, it seems most appropriate to thank Montana’s private landowners for their efforts in caring for Montana’s wildlife resources and the traditions held dear by the many people who value wildlife and outdoor recreation."
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