APR’s plan to depopulate and “rewild” 5,000 square miles in the heart of Montana is a serious threat to our central-Montana communities and agriculture statewide.  They’ve tried (and so far failed) to fundamentally alter state and federal land management to remove agriculture production from our public lands.  Their plan for a wild bison herd would introduce a dangerous vector for devastating disease.  And they’ve flaunted their “charitable” status to block Montana ranching families from acquiring prime ranch land.

The candidates we support are helping us on policies designed to block APR’s agenda from every angle.  This is a fight we must win.

Montana’s wildlife management is out of balance.  Forty years ago, wildlife managers faced a scarcity challenge—we had too game animals.  Since then they’ve succeeded spectacularly, with big game herds now far exceeding population targets in many areas of the state.

Today we don’t face this scarcity challenge—we have the opposite problem, over-abundance.  That has placed an inordinate burden on the farmers and ranchers who provide habitat to Montana wildlife.  They lose millions annually in reduced feed and forage, meaning they can’t run as many cattle or produce the crop they would have otherwise.

Despite these burdens, Montana still manages wildlife from a scarcity mindset, placing too many restrictions on hunting opportunity for the public, and restricting the tools that farmers and ranchers need to reduce wildlife conflicts.