Lack
of consensus sinks group seeking to solve overcrowding issues
By Jessianne Castle EBS ENVIRONMENTAL & OUTDOORS EDITOR
BOZEMAN – Before a crowded room in
Bozeman on May 2, a diverse panel of citizens aiming to address overcrowding
issues on the Madison River voted to disband after multiple meetings failed to
yield compromise.
The panel, known as the Madison River
Negotiated Rulemaking Committee, was made up of members representing organized
interest groups, float and wade anglers, commercial outfitters and guides, landowners
and business owners. Established last fall, the committee was charged with coming
to a consensus decision—defined by law as “unanimous concurrence among the
interests represented”—on recommended
regulations for the Madison. The recommendations would have been presented
before the Fish and Wildlife Commission, who has actual rulemaking authority.
Over the course of five months, the
committee met for four two-day sessions and, while the commission directed to
have recommendations by the April 25 commission meeting, disagreements on
various solutions prompted members to request a final meeting in May. It proved
to be the demise of the committee.
Per a recommendation from U.S. Geological
Survey facilitator Mike Mitchel, two consultants were hired by Montana Fish,
Wildlife and Parks to guide the May meeting and present information about
public policy and options the committee had going forward. Following two hours
of exercises intended to promote adult learning, listening and respectful
discourse, committee members were visibly anxious to get to the meat of the
meeting: the decision to move forward or quit.
“I don’t believe any of us are on the
same page,” said Charlotte Cleveland, a Bozeman resident and member of the committee
representing float anglers.
Cleveland said part of the problem stems
from disagreement over the facts. The committee was given a report from FWP
that contains information on river use, however a new report released from the
Montana Outfitters and Guides Association disagrees with FWP’s data analysis.
“We’re stuck with crafting a recreation
plan without the facts,” she said. “How do you craft a plan when you can’t
agree on the facts?”
The report Cleveland mentioned, a
position paper released by MOGA in April, criticizes the way in which FWP
interpreted angling survey results after the association representing the
state’s hunting and fishing outfitters hired a statistician to weigh in. MOGA
Executive Director Mac Minard supports the statistician’s findings.
“There’s no technical basis for the term
‘overcrowding,’” Minard said. “This is not an attack on anyone, this is an
objective review to determine where we are.”
Minard pointed to FWP’s surveys, saying
that approximately 93 percent of responses indicate satisfaction with the
Madison River experience. Rather than restrict guided or private angling, he
said the association wants to see the department implement a
fishing-access-site ambassador program where on-site staff can assist with
traffic at boat launches; according to Minard, this is really the only place
overcrowding is a clear issue.
Mark Odegard, an Ennis wade angler, said
during the meeting that he will maintain efforts to improve the situation on
the Madison by verifying river data and conducting angler surveys himself. “No
matter what’s decided, I’m going to continue,” he said. “I am going to try to
put together facts so I understand them.”
Ultimately the rulemaking committee
decided their fate with a silent vote to disband.
“It’s a very challenging and complex issue on recreational use on the Madison River,” FWP Regional Supervisor Mark Deleray told EBS after the meeting. “I’m not sure one process or another would have made it any easier. I’ve heard people say this effort was a failure but I totally disagree. We’ve learned a lot that can be used going forward.”
Each committee member will submit an
individual report to the commission by June 1 and during the June 20 commission
meeting, commissioners will discuss how to set regulations on the Madison.
FWP has tried several different avenues
in order to develop regulations on the Madison River that address increasing
recreation pressures and potential conflict among users. In 2012 and 2013, the
department appointed a citizen advisory committee, whose recommendations were
developed into proposed rules and presented before the commission in April of
2018.
Meanwhile, river use continued to
increase, and in 2017 the Madison saw more than 200,000 angler days for the
first time, according to FWP. The department says the Madison receives the
highest number of angler days of any waterbody in the state.
The commission ultimately voted not to
adopt the rules the April 2018 rules after they were met with opposition from
the public. Last summer, the commission directed FWP to establish a committee
pursuant with the 1993 Montana Negotiated Rulemaking Act.
Per the act, a rulemaking committee is
used to supplement government public policy when controversial issues are at
stake; however, controversy led to contention within the committee and across
the angling and business communities in Ennis.
Originally a 10-member committee, one
member, Lauren Wittorp, chose to leave the panel in April and her seat was not
replaced for the May meeting. Wittorp also resigned from her position as the
executive director for the Madison River Foundation last month after the
conservation nonprofit was criticized for her positions on potential
regulations.
Fisheries division administrator Eileen
Ryce added at the conclusion of the May 2 meeting that public comment can be
made both during the June commission meeting in Helena, as well as online.
Visit fwp.mt.gov/recreation/management/madison/nrc.html for more information, transcripts of the meetings or to submit comment.
