Urban Wildlife Management Task Force

ADLC URBAN WILDLIFE TASK FORCE MINUTES OF ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING WEDNSDAY MARCH 27, 2024 at 7:00 pm ADLC COURTHOSE JURY ROOM ATTENDANCE: Ed Beaudette, Fred Boyer, Chad Gochanhour, Chris Marchion, Rick Morse, Bill Sather, Chuck Stokke (by telephone) Kurt Wyant. ABSENT: George Kortum Public Attendance: Six members of the public were present. Press: James Rosien, Anaconda Leader ACTIONS: AGENDA ITEM # 1 CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order by Ed Beaudette after connecting with Chuck Stokke by phone. A sign-in sheet was circulated to obtain the Task Force members’ phone numbers and email addresses for future communications. An Agenda was passed out to the members as prepared by Ed Beaudette for organizational purposes. AGENDA ITEM #2: DESIGNATION OF TASK FORCE MEMBERS: Members acknowledged the terms assigned to them by the ADLC Commission in the appointment process. Fred Boyer was designated as the representative of the Chief Executive pursuant to letter dated March 19, 2024. Bill Sather will be Law Enforcement member. AGENDA ITEM #3: ELECTION OF OFFICERS Ed Beaudette offered to serve as the Task Force Secretary and declined nomination as Chairman or Vice Chairman due to his position as a County Commissioner in which he might have to vote on matters involving the Task Force. This offer was accepted by acclamation. Chris Marchion, as the Wildlife group member also declined nomination as Chairman to avoid potential conflict with organization advocacy but did volunteer to serve as Vice Chairman. The offer to volunteer by Chris Marchion for this was accepted by acclamation by those in attendance. Kurt Wyant volunteered to accept the position of Chairman which was also accepted by acclamation by those in attendance. AGENDA ITEM #4: DETERMINATION OF MEETING DETAILS After a general discussion, it was decided that during the months of April and May, the Task Force would meet every two weeks to work through preliminary activities and establish priorities for the actions of the Task Force. After the initial two months, it was decided that meetings would be scheduled on a monthly schedule with provisions for cancellation if circumstances justify the same. After a brief discussion on conflicts, it was determined that the meetings would be held on Wednesday evenings. 1 Again, after a brief discussion of conflicts, it was decided that the meetings would be convened at 7:00 pm. The Task Force acknowledged that a larger public space would be needed for future meetings and Chairman Kurt Wyant suggested that the second floor of the Hearst Free Library would be an appropriate venue due to its size, accessibility and hours of operation. It was also mentioned that the library had a projector available to facilitate presentations to a crowd. Kurt Wyant agreed to make initial contact with library personnel to make arrangements for the regular meetings. A determination on when meetings required by Ordinance #274 at the Metcalf Center, Opportunity Community Club and either the West Valley VFD Hall or the Saddle Club would be deferred until said meetings would be most beneficial. AGENDA ITEM # 6 FWP PARTICIPATION In order to facilitate the intent of Ordinance # 274, it was agreed that Chris Marchion, as the Wildlife Group representative would make contact with Kirsti Yeager, the FWP Region 2 Biologist to meet with the Task Force, discuss logistics for the initiation of a count of the deer population in the three areas designated by Ordinance #274. This would generally involve groups of volunteers coordinating a count of deer visualized within the designated areas at a specific time and in sufficient places to try to get an accurate count. Bill Sather offered to arrange for drone coverage by law enforcement personnel to assist in the head count process. Further details will be confirmed with Ms. Yeger. Kurt Wyant provided some statistics from a January 10 Montana Standard article that described other locations in Montana that have also tried to address this issue and an indication of their methods and success. It was agreed that Kurt would provide the article for copying and distribution to the members. It was also agreed that contact would be made with some or all of these communities for advice on the most efficient way to proceed. This would be managed by Chris Marchion and Kristi Yeager. AGENDA ITEM # 7 ADDITIONAL ISSUES A general discussion was had addressing information and opinions of the Task Force members on the existing conditions. It was stated that FWP has no authority or obligation to assist within the city limits of any city or town. It was further stated that wildlife is considered a condition of the land and not ownership by the State of Montana. Management of the resource is the extent of FWP authority. There was a discussion of the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) issue as addressed in Ordinance #274. This discussion included the facts that the disease can only be confirmed by biopsy on the brains of dead animals and that due to the transferable nature of the disease, wildlife cannot be relocated to different areas. An extended discussion of the influence of mountain lions on the presence of deer within the designated areas was had. After this discussion, it was determined that coordination with FWP on limits on mountain lion harvests would be an area of investigation. This also included an understanding that ADLC has several Wildlife Management Areas that need to be acknowledged and areas of responsibility be clarified in this process. Chad Gochanhour as West Valley member indicated that the primary problem in that area was in relation to deer crossing the highway in passing from the south to the north sides of the valley and that there are issues with highway collisions with the wildlife that need to be addressed. 2 This led to a discussion of potential highway improvements associated with the reconstruction of Highway 1 through the West Valley. Improvements discussed were underpasses, overpasses and wildlife fencing with “jump outs.” The availability of grant funding for these improvements was discussed and it was determined that it was an issue that needed to be investigated. Feeding of wildlife within the city limits was discussed. Bill Sather indicated that the current ordinances called for a referral to FWP which is ineffective due to FWP policies. It was agreed that the current ordinance related to feeding wildlife would be reviewed for possible suggestions for amendment. Rick Morse, the Opportunity representative indicated that he did not feel that there was a significant issue in the residential areas due to the large amount of open space available. This issue will be further discussed at a future meeting in Opportunity to assess public sentiment. The discussion concerning Opportunity led to a discussion of the elk, deer and antelope herds congregating on Superfund areas reclaimed by ARCO. It was determined that this was beyond the scope of the Task Force but some discussion of the interaction of wildlife between the reclaimed properties and the designated task force areas would have to be had in the future. The next Task Force meeting was scheduled for April 10, 2024 at 7:00 pm on the second floor of the Hearst Free Library. The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 pm by motion and second. 3