Those who cherish Montana's wildlife and wild lands, and who work to preserve its hunting traditions, may remember 2005 as a year of future-minded commitments. The 2005 legislative session was especially active for Montana Rsh, Wildlife £t Parks Both the Schweitzer Administration and the Legislature showed their commitment to Montana's highly valued fish, wildlife and state parks by passing and signing into law legislation that: ■ Makes the Block Management Program permanent. This nationally acclaimed program had been temporary, but now it will continue helping hunters and [andowners for years to come. ■ Makes the Habitat Montana Program permanent. This important yet previously temporary program, which has secured 250,000 acres of pnme wildlife habitat over the past TO years, will continue protecting habitat mto the future. ■ Authorizes FWP to increase resident hunting and fishing fees for the first time in 10 years— on March 1, 2006. The increase will help the department pay for fish and wildlife management cost increases and program additions. ■ Retains the Private Land/Public Wildlife Council, which reviews the Block Management Program. ■ Makes the Fishing Access Enhancement Program permanent This program provides incentives to landowners who grant anglers access across private land to public fishing waters. These historc programs will help FWP continue to maintain and enhance Montana's cher- ished fish, wildlife and state parks. The Schweitzer Administration and FWP's department per- sonnel are personally and professionally committed to the broad and multi-faceted job of con- serving these resources so they can be enjoyed by all-today tomorrow, and far into the future. ^■fg^r ^ Brian Schweitzer Montans State Covemor M. Jeff Hagcncr MontBra FWP Director PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES Great Hunting and Fishing Deer populations arc thriving in most of the state. Jn northeastern Montana, white -tailed deer and antelope are recovering from the harsh winter of two years ago. Elk are abundant in much of the state, which has led to generally liberal hunting regulations. A mild winter over much of Montana in 2005-2006 and a moist spring resulted in good winter survival and plenty of cover for pheasants and grouse, especially in FWP Regions 4, 5, 6 and 7 More than 6,300 hunters applied for Montana's bison hunt, the first in 15 years. Fifty Montanans received licenses, 16 bison licenses were offered to Montana's Indian tribes, as pro- vided in law, and 10 licenses went to hunters drawn for last season's proposed hunt. Sison hunts were set for Nov. 15, 2005 to Jan. 15, 2006 and Jan. 16, 200G to Feb. 15, 2006. Anglers enjoy roughly 2.75 million days fish- ing in Montana. About 70 percent of anglers are Montana residents. Convenient Applicants for licenses and special permits can apply online at FWP offices or by mailing in a paper application. Of the 279,195 total appli- cants, more than 25 percent used the Automated Licensing System or applied on the Internet, roughly an eight percent increase over last year. New, flexible, waterproof carcass tags were issued with new validation requirements. STATE PARKS AND RECREATIONAL OPPORTUMITIES New and Enhanced State Parks Brush Lake State Park, northeast of Oagmar, is the newest park and the first in northeastern Montana. It offers boating, swimming and group use. The state celebrated the Lewis and Clark bicentennial by preserving lands at Travelers' Rest State Park near Lolo, Tower Rock State Park near Craig and Ulm Pishkun State Park near Dim. Improvements were made to Clark's Lookout north of Dillon and Missouri Headwaters State Park near Three Forks. FWP also accepted two conservation easements donated near Giant Springs State Park in Great Falls. The Corps of Discovery II, a traveling National Parks Service exhibit, entertained thousands of visitors at Giant Springs and Travelers' Rest state parks. Benefiting Communities Recreational trails and outdoor recreation facil- ity projects in communities across the state received grants totaling over $1.7 million to make improvements for snowmobile riders, off- highway vehicle riders, cross- country skiers, hikers and boaters. Major capital improvement projects were completed at West Shore State Park on Flathead Lake, Cooney State Park near Columbus, Spnng Meadow State Park in Helena and Pictograph Cave State Park near Billings. Managing for All Interests Recreation rules on the Beaverhead and Big Hole nvers will preserve a quality angling experience for Montanans and visitors. On the Blackfoot River, a new Each year residents and nonresidents spend a total of nearly $1 billion in Montana on hunting, fishing and wildlife watching, supporting 8,100 jobs. recreational permit system wiil heip manage commercial u^e, competitive events and organ- ized group activities. Increasing Public Access to Recreation Four new fishing access sites were established on the Uttle Blaclcfoot River in western Montana, Robertson Creek on the lower Flathead, Sun River in north central Montana and Piedmont Pond near Whitehall. About 1,250 landowners enrolled 8.5 million acres in the Block Management Program, provid- ing public hunting access that amounted to roughly 400,000 hunter days afield. PROTECTING HABITAT AND HEALTH Conserving Habitat The new 1,900-acre Bull River Wildlife Management Area was created between Troy and I^oxon, and four existing WMAs- Garnty Mountain, Blue- Eyed Nellie, Beckman and Ninepipe— were expanded. The Landowner Incentive Program, funded by federal and upland game bird license fees, now holds over 180,000 acres in 30-year lease agree- ments intended to preserve sagebrush habitat for sage grouse and 52 other birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians. Conserving Health A new Chronic Wasting Disease Management Plan will guide how wildlife pop- ulations are managed should the disease be found in Montana. FWP monitors for CWD in deer and elk with the cooperation of big game hunters. Over 7,000 animals have been tested, and CWD has not yet been detected. New laws regulate the import and possession of exotic wildlife species based on the level of threat they pose to native wildlife, fishenes, habitats, livestock, agncultural production and human health and safety. A statewide task force assessed the need to control game animals within Montana communi- ties. The group supported modifying state law to allow the hunting of deer within city limits as one management option. FWP will provide technical assistance to local task forces developing com- munity-specific plans. Managing Montana's first comprehensive assessment of its fish, wildlife and habitats was submitted to the federal government for approval as part of a national effort to keep "species in need" from being listed underthe federal Endangered Species Act. Montana is using federal funding to help conserve some of the species that need attention. For eJk, a new adaptive management plan sets standard, liberal or restrictive hunting packages based on elk populations, buflcow ratios, habitat evaluations and other information. M- Enforcing In addition to enforcement field work, wardens devoted about 7,400 hours to public presenta- tions on education and safety, and contacted roughly 9,200 landowners about the Block Management Program, game damage issues and hunting and fishing access. Two new full-time regional investigators were authorized by the Legislature, as was a warden trainee program that gives college seniors work experience at FWP so they can ■ ^^ prepare to apply to be Montana wardens. Monitoring During the 2005 general deer and ^ elk hunting seasons, state wildlife 1 officials asked more than 100,000 ' hunters to help monitor wolves by using the FWP website to report wolf sightings and signs of wolves. Communicating Anglers and boaters at fishing access sites and boat ramps learned about the threat of illegal fish introductions as FWP personnel inspected boats and trailers for invasive species. Angler education efforts and surveys indicate that about 75 percent of anglers are aware of aguatic nuisance species such as zebra mussels and 50 percent are getting their information from FWP. COMMUNICATIONS AND EDUCATION. Easy Access to Information FWP's website served more than 2 million visitors, a 25 percent increase. New features on the site includ- ed State Parks visitor plan- ning assistance, the Montana Challenge pages, the Montana Comprehensive Rsh and Wildlife Strategy pages, enhancements to the hunting and fishing guide and streaming video. Over 2,000 copies of Owning Eden, a 12- minute DVD produced with Montana's new landowners in mind, were distributed to intro- duce new landowners to issues and opportunities they will face and the Western culture and com- munities they are joining. The twelfth annual Becoming an Outdoors- Woman workshop was held at Lubrecht Forest east of Missoula. Other BOW sessions for outdoor women included a "Jane Deere' workshop for those interested in natural resources and agncuiture. The Hunter and Bow Hunter Education pro- grams reached about 10,000 Montanans with introductory training for hunters. The Hooked on Fishing Program provided aquatic education in nearly 200 classrooms and reached over 4,000 upper elementary level students. Opportunities to Make a Difference Six of FWP's seven regions (Regions 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7] have established a citizen advisory council, or are forming one. The councils represent the diverse viewpoints of local communities and meet regularly to discuss current issues. Encouraging Public Particrpatron A "Montana Challenge" project team compiled information to help Montanans explore key ques- tions about their relationship with natural resources, the value of fish and wildlife and future public policy decisions ^^^^^^— ' facing the state. Details are available to the public on the FWP website. Setting High Standards Montana Outdoors magazine was named the top state conservation magazine in the country by a national organization of conservation communicators. The magazine also won four writing awards. The new One Shot Hunter Program encour- aged recent hunter education graduates to -"^ develop good hunting and shoot- ing habits. New hunters who har- vested an eik, deer or antelope with a single shot couid earn the title "One Shot Hunter," and receive a certificate and a hat. The program Will continue in 2006. 2006 REVENUE SOURCES. Hunting and Fishing Licenses This revenue source includes all license sales, interest earnings and miscellaneous revenues. Nonresident sales account for approximately two-thirds of license revenue. Federal Revenue Montana receivesavanety of federal funds for fish and wildlife programs, including funds from the Federal Aid m Sport Rsh and Wildlife Restoration programs. More than $6 miffion comes from an excise tax on sporting arms and ammunition, handguns and certain archery equipment (Pittman-Robertson). An additional $7 million in federal funding comes from an excise tax on fish- ing equipment and electric trolling motors, a fed- eral fuel tax and import duties on fishing tackle and pleasure boats (Wallop-Breaux). Montana received about $1 million from the federal State Wildlife Grant program to help fund research and management programs for species that have spe- cial conservation needs. The Land and Water Conservation Fund provided additional federal funding for State Parks and local communities. Other State Revenue Other state revenue sources include a portion of the state's lodging facilities use tax, a small percentage of the state tliel tax, a portion of light vehicle regis- tration fees, nonresident State Parks fees and inter- est earnings from coal severance tax receipts State General Fund A common misconception is that FWP is funded with Montana tax dollars. But in fact, the agency receives no state general fund revenue. REVENUE SOURCE DETAFLS This illustration shows how FWP is funded. Actual annual revenues may fall above or below the fig- ures used here. FWP must obtain Legislative authorization to spend any of the funds available from these sources: Montana State Genera! Fund 0.0% $0 Hunting and Fishing Licenses 53.4"to $42,933,858 Other State Revenue 14.4