Fish and Wildlife Commission to hear petitions regarding River Recreation on the Madison River at Aug. 13 meeting

At its meeting on Aug. 13, the Fish and Wildlife Commission will hear two petitions regarding River Recreation on the Madison River.

The Fishing Outfitters Association of Montana (FOAM) and the George Grant Chapter of Trout Unlimited (GGTU) along with the Anaconda Sportsmen Association (ASA) will present their petitions directly to the commission. Both petitions are requesting rulemaking to address recreation on the Madison River. Following the presentation of the petitions, FWP staff will answer questions but will not represent any support or opposition to the petitions.

Pursuant to 2-4-315, Montana Code Annotated, the commission must either deny the petition or initiate rulemaking on the petition. If the commission chooses to propose rule language other than what is contained in the petition, the commission must deny the petition and then propose rule language. If the commission chooses portions of the petitions to adopt or deny, it must be clearly indicated on the record.

FWP recommends the commission propose rule language regarding management of recreational use on the Madison River for public comment, whether based on these petitions or not. 

Shortly after the canceled June Commission meeting on this topic two petitions were received and the decision was made to dedicate the August 13 meeting to just the required petition process, rather than FWP staff presenting an EA.  If the Commission moves forward with any proposed rulemaking, an appropriately focused EA would accompany that process.  This would include ample opportunity for the diverse public interests and perspectives to review and weigh in, ultimately helping to assemble an effective and enduring solution.   

Both petitions are available on the commission page of the FWP website, fwp.mt.gov.

The meeting will be held using the video conferencing platform Zoom. Details on how to access the meeting will be posted on fwp.mt.gov closer to the meeting date. The meeting will also be audio streamed online at fwp.mt.gov. The meeting begins at 8:30 a.m. The full agenda is available on the FWP website.