Fight HB 372

HB 372 - "Establish right to hunt in Constitution"
This bill will 1) make trapping, fishing and hunting personal constitutional rights; and, 2) cement into the MT Constitution how FWP is allowed to manage wildlife. WE STRONGLY OPPOSE THIS BILL FOR MANY REASONS.

HB 372 is about much more than just making hunting a constitutional right in MT. Don't take our word for it, see the text of HB 372 below.

You can see that HB 372 seeks to remove the current right to "harvest wild fish and wild game animals" and replace this with 1) rights to hunt, fish, and trap; and, 2) permanently alter wildlife management by creating a "preference" for a "primary" method of wildlife management that is comprised of "citizens" harvesting (a.k.a. killing) wildlife.

arguments against hb 372

1. Hunting, fishing, and trapping are already legally protected as means to harvest fish and wildlife in the Montana Constitution (Art. IX, Part IX, Sec. 7) and Montana Code Annotated (MCA 87-1-107). Thus, HB 372 is not needed to legally protect these activities.

2. HB 372 creates a legal nightmare by elevating trapping, fishing, and hunting from licensed privileges (like a driver’s license) to exclusive and full constitutional rights.

Any law/regulation limiting these rights can - and will - be subjected to a constitutional strict scrutiny legal test, to determine if that law/regulation is "necessary" thereby placing a legal burden on both the Legislature and Dept. of Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP).
FWP Wardens will be powerless in the field as they try to enforce "necessary management statutes" when an offending hunter, trapper or angler claims their constitutional right.
Because hunting, fishing and trapping will be rights in the MT Constitution, these rights will extend equally to all U.S. citizens. Nonresident hunters, trappers and anglers will pay the same fees and enjoy the same eligibility (e.g. for elk tags) as residents. This will also cause substantial financial loss to the state since nonresident fees are significantly more costly than resident fees.
What other specialized activities will become constitutional rights? How trivial and pointless does the MT Constitution need to become?

3. HB 372 will forever limit wildlife management in MT, by constitutionally mandating that "citizen" harvest be the "preferred" and "primary method" of wildlife management.

What about management programs that CANNOT involve killing wildlife? How will these occur if "citizen" harvest cannot be the "primary method" involved in these programs?

HABITAT IMPROVEMENT/ ACQUISITION
BASIC RESEARCH
SPECIES RELOCATION/ (RE)INTRODUCTION

What about management programs that SHOULD NOT involve the killing of wildlife by citizens? How will these occur if "citizen" harvest is not the "primary method" involved in these programs?

CULLING DISEASED ANIMALS (e.g. removal of pneumonia-infected bighorn sheep from populations)
REMOVAL OF NONNATIVE SPECIES (e.g. use of piscicides before (re)introducing native fish species)

What does it mean when forms of management are not preferred, Will they not be funded? How will these forms of management ever happen if they cannot involve the constitutionally required primary use of citizen harvest?

4. Trapping should never be a constitutional right.

Traps are by their very nature indiscriminate - they injure and kill nontarget animals, including endangered species, protected species, domestic animals. Humans are also injured by traps. Even the most skilled professional trappers injure and kill nontarget animals.
Trapping on public land is a public safety concern for all who recreate on their public lands.
Approximately 0.6% of Montanans trap. Why should trapping be a constitutional right that will negatively affect the 99.4% of Montana citizens that love to recreate on their public lands?
Trapping is not hunting, it is not a sport, it is the torture of animals.

Help us fight HB 372!

We can defeat HB 372 by getting a small number of Republicans to vote against it.

Please contact your House Representative and Senator to convey why YOU do not support HB 372.

They need to hear from their constituents to buck the MT GOP and vote against HB 372.

Find your legislators using the link below ("CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS")

HB 372 was heard by the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, March 14th.

A diverse group of opponents testified against HB 372 with good reasoning and excellent references to real consequences that will arise from HB 372 if it is passed by the people to amend the constitution. Some highlights of this testimony:

Gallatin Valley Irrigators noted existing case law showing that a "right to fish" equates to minimum required streamflows thereby conflicting with water rights holders during low water periods
Montana Sportsmen Alliance noted that in MT Hunter Education courses, hunting is taught to be a privilege and not a right
MT ACLU noted that the bill conflicts with many Indian treaty rights
CSKT staff attorney noted that long-standing wildlife management agreements between the Flathead Tribe and MT FWP would be under question
Footloose MT noted that HB 372 will be in both statutory and constitutional conflict with state trust land management for public school fund revenue

Other notable opponents of HB 372:

MT Stockgrowers Association
MT Wildlife Federation
Hellgate Hunters and Anglers
Trout Unlimited
Wolves of the Rockies
Trap Free MT

The House Judiciary Committee has not yet voted on the bill, but will likely pass it (based on the composition of the Committee). HB 372 will then be voted on by the entire House.

contact
house judiciary committee members

This Committee will have the first chance to vote down HB 372.

Msg Entire Committee

Be sure to select & fill in the correct options when messaging the Committee (see image below):

If you want to send a message that is >1250 characters, you can email the Committee members. Copy & paste their email addresses:
Amy.Regier@legmt.gov
Brandon.Ler@legmt.gov
Laurie.Bishop@legmt.gov
Jennifer.Carlson@legmt.gov
Lee.Deming@legmt.gov
Neil.Duram@legmt.gov
Jodee.Etchart@legmt.gov
Tom.France@legmt.gov
Donavon.Hawk@legmt.gov
Caleb.Hinkle@legmt.gov
Jedediah.Hinkle@legmt.gov
SJ.Howell@legmt.gov
Greg.Kmetz@legmt.gov
Casey.Knudsen@legmt.gov
Braxton.Mitchell@legmt.gov
Wayne.Rusk@legmt.gov
Lola.sheldongalloway@legmt.gov
Laura.Smith@legmt.gov
Zooey.Zephyr@legmt.gov

voice msg - 5 members at a time

Call the MT Legislature switchboard (406-444-4800) to leave a voice message to vote NO on HB 372. You can leave this message for five members at a time, so you'll have to call four times.

Amy Regier, Chair (R) HD6 – Kalispell
Primary ph: (406) 253-8421
Email: Amy.Regier@legmt.gov

Brandon Ler, Vice Chair (R) HD 35 – Savage
Primary ph: (406) 480-5687
Email: Brandon.Ler@legmt.gov

Laurie Bishop, Vice Chair (D) HD60 – Livingston
Primary ph: (406) 223-1122
Email: Laurie.Bishop@legmt.gov

Jennifer Carlson (R) HD69
Primary ph: (406) 579-2929
Email: Jennifer.Carlson@legmt.gov

Lee Deming (R) HD55 – Laurel
Primary ph: (406) 671-2508
Email: Lee.Deming@legmt.gov

Neil Duram (R) HD2 – Eureka
Primary ph: (406) 471-2356
Email: Neil.Duram@legmt.gov

Jodee Etchart (R) HD48 – Billings
Primary ph: (406) 318-9773
Email: Jodee.Etchart@legmt.gov

Tom France (D) HD94 – Missoula
Primary ph: (406) 396-5085
Email: Tom.France@legmt.gov

Donavon Hawk (D) HD76 – Butte
Primary ph: (406) 578-1233
Email: Donavon.Hawk@legmt.gov

Caleb Hinkle (R) HD68 – Belgrade
Email: Caleb.Hinkle@legmt.gov

Jedediah Hinkle (R) HD 67 - Belgrade
Primary ph: (406) 992-0380
Email: Jedediah.Hinkle@legmt.gov

SJ Howell (D) HD95 – Missoula
Primary ph: (406) 531-4445
Email: SJ.Howell@legmt.gov

Greg Kmetz (R) HD38 – Miles City
Primary ph: (406) 853-1636
Email: Greg.Kmetz@legmt.gov

Casey Knudsen (R) HD33 – Malta
Primary ph: (406) 390-0274
Email: Casey.Knudsen@legmt.gov

Braxton Mitchell (R) HD3 – Columbia Falls
Email: Braxton.Mitchell@legmt.gov

Wayne Rusk (R) HD88 – Corvallis
Primary ph: (406) 370-8486
Email: Wayne.Rusk@legmt.gov

Lola Sheldon-Galloway (R) HD22 – Great Falls
Primary ph: (406) 750-4721
Secondary ph: (406) 727-4963
Email: Lola.SheldonGalloway@legmt.gov

Laura Smith (D) HD79 – Helena
Primary ph: (406) 426-3504
Email: Laura.Smith@legmt.gov

Zooey Zephyr (D) HD100 – Missoula
Email: Zooey.Zephyr@legmt.gov

contact
your legislators

Legislators are often most swayed by their own constituents. A personal story about why you are opposed to HB 372 can be effective.
Send a message to both your Representative and Senator.

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