Forest Jobs and Recreation Act ~ Plea for support from Montana Wildlife Federation

The following is a copy of a letter forwarded by the current President of the Montana Chapter of the Wildlife Society.  I am sharing it here as an invitation to review the draft in order to form an opinion (based on your own review).  I've not researched it yet, but wanted to share it sooner than later regardless of what I eventually find I feel about it.  Please read on and follow the links!

Dear MWF family and Friends.

As you all know, the Montana Wildlife Federation has been a long time supporter of the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act. We were supportive before it was introduced, and we continue to support the enhanced version that is currently introduced. FJRA has long been promoted as a jobs bill, and we certainly agree with that, but at its heart, this bill is about elk and trout, and those of us who wrack our brains and bodies searching for them.

Now, with your help, the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act could pass into law this month!

Please call Congressman Denny Rehberg’s office and ask him to support inclusion of the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act in the 2012 budget bill, which will come to a vote next week.  The Senate is supporting inclusion of this important bill, but it could be blocked in the House. Our elk and trout need this bill.

As we are all painfully aware, decreased elk security habitat leads to increased problems for elk. Those problems come from all directions: wolves, lack of thermal cover, denuded summer habitat and calving grounds, and unhealthy forests. This much is simple: FJRA not only puts folks back to work in Montana’s forests, it cleans up and improves the habitat to allow elk herds to thrive and native trout to propagate in clean mountain streams.

Trout benefit greatly by FJRA too. Many native cutthroat streams are facing serious problems with soil erosion, lack of fish passages for spawning fish, and unstable watershed conditions that can lead to the scouring of streams, reducing native fisheries as well as brook trout, rainbows and browns. FJRA’s restoration component helps replace poorly designed culverts, improve watershed health, and increase angler opportunity by keeping our trout healthy, and able to spawn in these all important tributaries.

Please call or email Denny’s office at (202) 225-3211, leave a message on his facebook page, or send him an email. Ask him to support jobs in the woods and protection of our prized backcountry hunting and fishing opportunities!

Ben Lamb

Acting Executive Director

Montana Wildlife Federation

P.O. Box 1175

Helena, MT 59624

(406) 458-0227 xtn 108

blamb@mtwf.org

http://www.montanawildlife.org/