Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks

The Montana Territorial Legislature enacted the first fish or wildlife law (it limited fishing methods to rods and lines) in 1854.^[4][5] The first game bird hunting laws were passed in 1869, and hunting seasons for antelope, buffalo, bighorn sheep, deer, elk, moose, mountain goats, and rabbits set in 1872.^[6] Fur trapping and bird hunting seasons followed in 1876.^[6]

In 1885, the territorial legislature established the Montana territorial Fish and Game Commission.^[4] The state's first state game warden was hired in 1889,^[6] the same year that Montana became a state. Under Montana state law, each county was also authorized to hire one game warden, but a lack of funds and interest led to no wardens being hired.^[5] By 1900, only four of Montana's then-24 counties had game wardens.^[5]

The Montana State Legislature established the state Fish and Game Board in 1895.^[6] Governor John E. Rickards appointed the first Fish and Game Commissioners on March 4, 1895.^[5] The Fish and Game Board hired its first state game warden, R.A. Wagner, in July 1898.^[5] Hunting and fishing licenses were imposed on out-of-state residents in 1901.^[6][7] The funds from sale of licenses and fines imposed on violators partially funded the state's court system, and in its first year more than 300 justices of the peace were supported by the law.^[7] The Fish and Game commissioners recommended the establishment of a Fish and Game Department, and the legislature created this agency on April 1, 1901.^[5] The game warden and his deputies were all authorized law enforcement officers.^[7] Fish and game districts were created and eight deputy game wardens authorized for each district.^[5] Hunting and fishing licenses for in-state residents were required in 1905.^[6]

The state reorganized its fish and wildlife management structure in 1913, creating the first state Fish and Game Commission.^[8] In 1921, the state legislature reorganized the Commission: A board of five Commissioners was established, with the power to create fish and game districts, open and close hunting seasons, and more.^[8]

The state's first game management area opened in 1926, and by 1936 the state had 46 areas (now called "game preserves") in operation.^[8][9] The first three preservation areas to be set aside were at Snow Creek (along the Missouri River in northern Garfield County), Pryor Mountain (now the Pryor Mountains Wild Horse Range), and the Gallatin River (in Gallatin County).^[9] On September 2, 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (commonly known as the Pittman-Robertson Act for its two key sponsors, Representative Absalom Willis Robertson [D-Va.] and Senator Key Pittman [D-Nev.]).^[10] The law created an excise tax on ammunition, archery equipment, handguns, and hunting firearms, and apportioned the revenue among state wildlife agencies on a matching funds basis (with the provision that each state ban the diversion of hunting and fishing license revenue to other uses).^[10][11] Montana used these funds to purchase its first wildlife management area in 1938 (as of 2005 it had 84).^[12] The state used these funds to hire its first wildlife biologist in 1940.^[12] Congress passed the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act in 1950 (which was almost identical to the 1937 act, funding its activities through excise taxes on fishing gear and equipment),^[13] allowing the Montana Fish and Game Commission to hire fisheries biologists, establish its first fisheries management projects, and initiate the first studies of problems affecting fisheries (such as logging and dams).^[12]

In 1941, the state legislature gave the Fish and Game Commission the power to engage in rulemaking, and gave it additional power to open and close seasons, set bag limits, and create game preserves.^[8] That same year, the Fish and Game Commission established a program to collect data and conduct research on wildlife management so that a more rational wildlife management program might be established.^[8]

Montana adopted a new state constitution in 1972. Article IX, Section 1 of the new constitution provided for the protection and improvement of the environment. Subsection 3 of Section 1 declared that the state legislature "shall provide adequate remedies for the protection of the environmental life support system from degradation and provide adequate remedies to prevent unreasonable depletion and degradation of natural resources."^[14] On July 1, 1973, the state adopted model legislation known as the Nongame and Endangered Species Conservation Act (Montana Code Ann. 87-5-101-132), which required the state Fish and Game Commission to identify and protect threatened and endangered wildlife, conduct research on non-game and endangered species, and acquire and manage habitat for their use.^[12]

The state legislature changed the name of the Montana Fish and Game Commission to the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission in 1991.^[15]

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Montana Legislature

Montana Legislature

The Montana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Montana. It is composed of the 100-member Montana House of Representatives and the 50-member Montana Senate.

John E. Rickards

John E. Rickards

John Ezra Rickards was a Republican politician in the Montana legislator. He served as the first Lieutenant Governor of Montana, and the second Governor of the state of Montana.

Justice of the peace

Justice of the peace

A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or puisne court, elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the same meaning. Depending on the jurisdiction, such justices dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions. Justices of the peace are appointed or elected from the citizens of the jurisdiction in which they serve, and are usually not required to have any formal legal education in order to qualify for the office. Some jurisdictions have varying forms of training for JPs.

Missouri River

Missouri River

The Missouri River is the longest river in the United States. Rising in the Rocky Mountains of the Eastern Centennial Mountains of Southwestern Montana, the Missouri flows east and south for 2,341 miles (3,767 km) before entering the Mississippi River north of St. Louis, Missouri. The river drains a sparsely populated, semi-arid watershed of more than 500,000 square miles (1,300,000 km2), which includes parts of ten U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. Although a tributary of the Mississippi, the Missouri River is much longer and carries a comparable volume of water. When combined with the lower Mississippi River, it forms the world's fourth longest river system.

Garfield County, Montana

Garfield County, Montana

Garfield County is a county located in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,173. Its county seat is Jordan.

Gallatin River

Gallatin River

The Gallatin River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 120 mi, in the U.S. states of Wyoming and Montana. It is one of three rivers, along with the Jefferson and Madison, that converge near Three Forks, Montana, to form the Missouri.

Gallatin County, Montana

Gallatin County, Montana

Gallatin County is located in the U.S. state of Montana. With its county seat in Bozeman, it is the second-most populous county in Montana, with a population of 118,960 in the 2020 Census.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, commonly known as FDR, was an American statesman and political leader who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. A Democrat, he previously served as the 44th governor of New York from 1929 to 1933, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy from 1913 to 1920, and a member of the New York State Senate from 1911 to 1913.

Absalom Willis Robertson

Absalom Willis Robertson

Absalom Willis Robertson was an American politician from Virginia who served over 50 years in public office. A member of the Democratic Party and lukewarm ally of the Byrd Organization led by fellow U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd, Robertson represented Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives (1933–1946) and the U.S. Senate (1946–1966), and had earlier served in the Virginia General Assembly. A member of the conservative coalition during his congressional career, Robertson was a vocal opponent of civil rights. Robertson was also the father of televangelist and political commentator Pat Robertson.

Democratic Party (United States)

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States. Founded in 1828, it was predominantly built by Martin Van Buren, who assembled politicians in every state behind war hero Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party. Its main political rival has been the Republican Party since the 1850s, with both parties being big tents of competing and often opposing viewpoints. Modern American liberalism — a variant of social liberalism — is the party's majority ideology. The party also has notable centrist, social democratic, and left-libertarian factions.

Key Pittman

Key Pittman

Key Denson Pittman was a United States senator from Nevada and a member of the Democratic Party, serving eventually as president pro tempore as well as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.

Excise

Excise

An excise, or excise tax, is any duty on manufactured goods that is levied at the moment of manufacture rather than at sale. Excises are often associated with customs duties, which are levied on pre-existing goods when they cross a designated border in a specific direction; customs are levied on goods that become taxable items at the border, while excise is levied on goods that came into existence inland.

Commission

The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission is a quasi-judicial body which is authorized to engage in rulemaking for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, approves the purchase of land for use by the department, and approves certain activities of the department.^[16] There are five members of the commission, all of whom must be citizens of the state and each one of whom represents one of the department's five geographical regions (Northcentral, Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and Southwest).^[16] Members serve for four years.^[16] Members are appointed by the Governor, with three members appointed at the beginning of the Governor's term and two appointed two years after the Governor's term begins.^[16] Appointments are nonpartisan, but at least one of the Commissioners must have experience in the breeding and management of domesticated livestock.^[16]

The commission is independent, but issues reports to and works closely with the Governor and the Director of the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks.^[16]

Department

The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks is led by a Director, who reports directly to the Governor of the State of Montana.^[17] The department has four managerial offices: Human Resources, Lands/Outreach, Legal, and deputy director.^[17] The Technology Services Bureau is another managerial office, but reports directly to the deputy director.^[17]

The department has three programmatic divisions: Finance, Fish and Wildlife, and Parks.^[17] There are five administrative bureaus within the Fish and Wildlife division: Communication and Education, Enforcement, Fisheries, Strategic Planning and Data Services, and Wildlife.^[17] In the 1950s, the department established seven administrative regions in the state through which these five bureaus implement their programs.^[12][18] Each administration region is led by a Regional Administrator, who reports to the director.^[18] The Parks division has three bureaus: Business Operations, Capital and Recreation, and Field Operations.^[17] The Finance division has four bureaus, which includes the Licensing bureau.^[17]

Each division head is nominated by the Governor and confirmed by the Montana Senate.^[1]

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Quasi-judicial body

Quasi-judicial body

A quasi-judicial body is non-judicial body which can interpret law. It is an entity such as an arbitration panel or tribunal board, that can be a public administrative agency but also a contract- or private law entity, which has been given powers and procedures resembling those of a court of law or judge, and which is obliged to objectively determine facts and draw conclusions from them so as to provide the basis of an official action. Such actions are able to remedy a situation or impose legal penalties, and they may affect the legal rights, duties or privileges of specific parties.

Rulemaking

Rulemaking

In administrative law, rulemaking is the process that executive and independent agencies use to create, or promulgate, regulations. In general, legislatures first set broad policy mandates by passing statutes, then agencies create more detailed regulations through rulemaking.

Livestock

Livestock

Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals who are raised for consumption, and sometimes used to refer solely to farmed ruminants, such as cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs. Horses are considered livestock in the United States. The USDA classifies pork, veal, beef, and lamb (mutton) as livestock, and all livestock as red meat. Poultry and fish are not included in the category. The latter is likely due to the fact that fish products are not governed by the USDA, but by the FDA.

Budget and personnel

The State of Montana has a biannual budget cycle, with state agencies on a two-year budget cycle. The state's constitution requires a balanced budget.

In 2009, the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks had annual revenues of $87,080,733.^[19] The state legislature appropriated $1,895,500 (2.2 percent of all revenues), with other state revenues (largely from dedicated taxes and fees) amounting to $10,563,367 (12.1 percent of all revenues).^[19] Federal funds account for $17,457,006 in 2009 revenues (20.0 of all revenues), while hunting and fishing licenses accounted for $57,164,860, or 65.7 percent of the Department's 2009 revenues.^[19] In 2021, the revenue generated by hunting and fishing licenses (General Licenses) has grown to $71,641,621 and now accounts for 71.3% of total state special revenue and 54.4% of total funding for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks.^[20]

The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks had total expenditures of $87,080,733 in 2009, of which $13,040,700 were capital expenditures and $74,040,033 were operational expenditures.^[2] When expenditures are broken down by divisional costs rather than capital vs. operating budget, the Fish and Wildlife Division spent $57,880,940 (66.5 percent of all expenditures), the Parks Division spent $15,104,493 (17.3 of all expenditures), and the Management and Finance Division spent $14,095,300 (or 16.2 percent of all expenditures) in 2009.^[2] The operational budget for the Parks Division was about $8 million in 2008, and came from more than 18 different sources.^[21]

The department had 693 full-time equivalent employees in May 2009, of which 197 were seasonal or temporary.^[1] These include 74 field game wardens, six uniformed investigators, and three covert investigators in addition to a number of game sergeants and game captains.^[22] In April 2010, Governor Brian Schweitzer asked state agencies for a 4 percent across-the-board reduction in personnel. However, the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks was exempt from the personnel reductions since most of its revenues came from hunting and fishing licenses.^[23][24]

Operations

The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks launched a new Web page for the state parks system in April 2008 to help promote tourism.^[21]

The department acknowledged in March 2009 that it had trouble retaining its game wardens. Pay for an entry-level game warden was $16.72 per hour, one of the lowest in the nation and much lower than a number of private and public security and law enforcement-related positions in the state.^[22] Half the state's game wardens had less than five years of experience.^[22]

The Fish, Wildlife and Parks department underwent a significant restructuring in the spring of 2009. Joe Maurier, a long-time friend of Governor Schweitzer's, was hired to lead the department's Parks Division in 2006 allegedly after Schweitzer asked that he be hired (an allegation the governor denied).^[25] In November 2008, Schweitzer dismissed the long-time head of the MFWP and replaced him with Maurier.^[1][25] Maurier reassigned the department's Deputy Director, Chris Smith, to work on special projects and hired Art Noonan (a state legislator from Butte with no college degree and no hunting or fishing experience) as the new deputy director.^[24][25] Under Governor Schweitzer's instructions, Maurier significantly consolidated the department's divisions. Prior to 2009, the department had separate divisions for communication and education, enforcement, fisheries, and wildlife.^[1] It had no strategic planning unit; rather, each division had its own strategic planning staff.^[1] The restructuring created the single Fish and Wildlife Division with five administrative bureaus (Communication and Education, Enforcement, Fisheries, Strategic Planning and Data Services, and Wildlife) as well as consolidated Finance and Parks divisions.^[1][25] Instead of reporting to a number of divisions, the regional administrators now reported to the head of the Fish and Wildlife Division.^[25] The salary for the administrator of Fish and Wildlife was increased to $82,524 a year.^[1] David Risley, administrator of the wildlife management and research division of the Division of Wildlife in the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, was hired to lead the Fish and Wildlife Division.^[25] Chas Van Genderen was promoted from Assistant Parks Administrator to Administrator in April 2009.^[1]

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Capital budgeting

Capital budgeting

Capital budgeting in corporate finance is the planning process used to determine whether an organization's long term capital investments such as new machinery, replacement of machinery, new plants, new products, and research development projects are worth the funding of cash through the firm's capitalization structures. It is the process of allocating resources for major capital, or investment, expenditures. An underlying goal, consistent with the overall approach in corporate finance, is to increase the value of the firm to the shareholders.

Operating budget

Operating budget

The operating budget contains the revenue and expenditure generated from the daily business functions of the company; see Budget § Corporate Budget. It concentrates on the operating expenditures, i.e.: cost of goods sold (COGS), the cost of direct labor and direct materials that are tied to production; as well as the overhead and administration costs tied directly to manufacturing the goods and providing services. The operating budget will not, therefore, contain capital expenditures and long-term loans; for these see capital budgeting.

Full-time equivalent

Full-time equivalent

Full-time equivalent (FTE), or whole time equivalent (WTE), is a unit of measurement that indicates the workload of an employed person in a way that makes workloads or class loads comparable across various contexts. FTE is often used to measure a worker's or student's involvement in a project, or to track cost reductions in an organization. An FTE of 1.0 is equivalent to a full-time worker or student, while an FTE of 0.5 signals half of a full work or school load.

Brian Schweitzer

Brian Schweitzer

Brian David Schweitzer is an American farmer and politician who served as the 23rd Governor of Montana from 2005 to 2013. Schweitzer served for a time as chair of the Western Governors Association as well as the Democratic Governors Association. He also served as President of the Council of State Governments.

Turnover (employment)

Turnover (employment)

In human resources, turnover is the act of replacing an employee with a new employee. Partings between organizations and employees may consist of termination, retirement, death, interagency transfers, and resignations. An organization’s turnover is measured as a percentage rate, which is referred to as its turnover rate. Turnover rate is the percentage of employees in a workforce that leave during a certain period of time. Organizations and industries as a whole measure their turnover rate during a fiscal or calendar year.

Butte, Montana

Butte, Montana

Butte is a consolidated city-county and the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. The city covers 718 square miles (1,860 km2), and, according to the 2020 census, has a population of 34,494, making it Montana's fifth largest city. It is served by Bert Mooney Airport with airport code BTM.

Ohio Department of Natural Resources

Ohio Department of Natural Resources

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) is the Ohio state government agency charged with ensuring "a balance between wise use and protection of our natural resources for the benefit of all." ODNR regulates the oil and gas industry, the mining industry, hunting and fishing, and dams, while maintaining natural resources such as state parks, state nature preserves, state wildlife areas, state forests, and state waterways. It was created in 1949 by the Ohio Legislature.