What does the community want? She was the first woman to serve in that role, where she managed nearly 700 full-time-equivalent employees and oversaw the administration of more than 50 state parks. Fish and Wildlife Service, speaks at a hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee last year. Its not all one or the other. Steve Bullock, according to a . FWP dealt with a number of difficult and often contentious issues during her tenure grizzly bear management, the introduction of aquatic invasive species, and the spread of chronic wasting disease, to name a few. What Montana has done is they basically turned that regulatory mechanism on its head, and they are now using it effectively as a threat to wolves, not as a protection, Dan MacNulty, associate professor of wildlandresources at Utah State University, told me. Montana Sage Grouse Oversight Team (MSGOT) March 24, 2021: 4:00 p.m Following the 2009 delisting, FWP issued regulations each year explaining to hunters and trappers what they could and could not do in pursuit of wolves. In August, the Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit against the director for failing to meet the deadline in the wolf status review. If you wish to give again during our spring fundraiser, know that your additional gift, be it one-time or recurring, makes a monumental impact in helping quality independent journalism thrive. | Martha Williams, nominee to lead the U.S. Generally, game animals, like elk or deer, can be hunted but not trapped, while furbearers, like otters or bobcats, can be trapped but not hunted. She was preceded in death by her husband, Oakley Williams; parents Olaf and Julia Amundson; and sister, Patty Bitz. How many covert wars, miscarriages of justice, and dystopian technologies would remain hidden if our reporters werent on the beat? Martha Williams confirmation to lead the U.S. Williams returned to FWP as director the following year. In Decision to List Wolves as Endangered, Martha Williams Confronts Past In 2002, the agency announced that the criteria had been met. No name calling. Sign up for our free daily newsletter to get unbiased, independent Montana news sent directly to you. For Williams, the assessment has added significancerequiring her to delve into her own past as the head of Montanas game agency. In March, Daines, the Republican senator and proud backer of last winters wolf hunt, urged Williams to take bold action on the Endangered Species Act not to relist wolves but to delist grizzly bears. (The practice remained illegal under a federal statute, though FWPs regulations omitted that fact.). Fish and Wildlife Service announced the review of a petition to relist wolves in the Northern Rockies in September 2021, eight months after Williams had become the agencys acting leader. In the portion of the state that abuts Yellowstone Park where longstanding quotas on wolf kills were eliminated entirely the death toll of 19 wolves marked a 342 percent increase from the previous decades annual average of four. At the same time, the results of Williamss review committee came to fruition in the form of the states 2021 wolf regulations. Fish and Wildlife Service,the former director of Montanas state wildlife agencypledged adherence to the law, science and collaboration during a Wednesday committee hearing. Im trying to save my old agency, for crying out loud, he said. Previously, Martha was an Assistant Professor of Law at the Blewett School of Law at the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana where she co-directed the university's Land Use and Natural Resources Clinic. The problem is that they dont know if the hunters are sightingresident packs or nonresident packs, said MacNulty, the Utah State University researcher. Join Jeannie and other MTFP members in helping us reach our spring fundraising goal by setting up a recurring donation today. My life is steeped in conservation. The former director of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks will assume management of more than 8,000 employees and 567 wildlife refuges, and will oversee administration of the Endangered Species Act. The Biden administration announced last Thursday that it is nominating former Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks director Martha Williams to become director of the U.S. Martha Williams, director of Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, told the Environmental Quality Council the disease has so far had no discernible effect on the sale of hunting licenses, and that special hunts to help combat the disease's spread have sold out quickly. You will be directed to the following website in 5 seconds: We hope your visit was informative and enjoyable. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). You can cancel at any time. Williams joined Montanas game agency three years later and, over the next decade and a half, represented the state in its delisting efforts. Under the terms laid out by FWS, wolves in the Northern Rockies Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming would be considered recovered once there were 30 breeding pairs raising at least two pups each for three consecutive years. Fish and Wildlife Service, the agency responsible for enforcing the Endangered Species Act, Williams is arguably the most important official in Washington for saving wildlife amid the ongoing mass extinction crisis. Two policy decisions from Williamss Montana years are central to the assessments she is making in her Endangered Species Act review. As principal deputy director of FWS, Williams will oversee a federal agency tasked with managing wildlife and habitat across the country, and in charge of more than 150 million acres of land in the National Wildlife Refuge System. [1] Education [ edit] From 1988-2011, Williams was agency legal counsel for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, where she advised and represented the department on real estate transactions, Endangered Species Act policy and litigation, and on state and national environmental policy acts. At FWP, Williams was at the helm of fishing and hunting policy in Montana. She also convened a major rebranding of FWP, designed to make the fish-and-wildlife agency relevant to customers who might never fish or hunt but who appreciate and advocate for Montanas wild places. The second is the unique category that wolves occupy under Montana law: Originally designed as a protection during Williamss years as an FWP attorney, the special category paradoxically made wolves more vulnerable to controversial hunting techniques following her tenure as FWP director. In October, President Joe Biden announced he was nominating her to take the agencys top post, which oversees 567 national wildlife refuges and about 8,000 employees. For the U.S. Copyright 2022 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Opinion: The truth on wolves - Missoulian Outdoor Life: Lets lead with grizzly bears, which are still under federal endangered-species protection though population benchmarks for recovery have been met. Photo: Jim Peaco/NPS. Martha Williams is the new U.S. Nick Mott is a reporter and podcast producer who focuses on wildlife, natural resources, and the environment. Were thinking about access across the board and how to we allow people to feel that they belong in the outdoors on our public lands and on our wildlife refuges. One of the easiest ways that anyone can support bird habitat conservation is by buying duck stamps. How many wolves roam the Northern Rockies and whether state policies promote recovery are the central questions Williamss endangered species review must consider. Tom Kuglin is the deputy editor for the Lee Newspapers State Bureau. Revenue comes fr. And that social piecenot putting the onus just on the tolerance of communities that live with bears or wolves, but also those who dont like to see management-dependent speciesthey want to see species that arent reliant on state or federal management. He added, The states were trying to come up with new, cheaper ways to keep monitoring their population but that wouldnt break the bank.. Subscribe to OL+ for our best feature stories and photography. After her graduation from beauty school, she moved to Havre, MT, to be near her sisters. For nearly a year, Parsons, along with Bob Aland, a retired attorney and environmental activist, have been waging a two-man campaign to remove Williams from the position. The original idea was that wolves would have a higher degree of protection until they were recovered, at which point they would be reclassified as a furbearer or game animal. [1], Williams graduated from Garrison Forest School in Owings Mills, Maryland,[2][3] then earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia and a Juris Doctor from the Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana. Both efforts would play key roles in the wolf review she is now overseeing as director of the nations most important wildlife agency. Tour routes of great scenic drives on National Wildlife Refuges. The nomination was celebrated by both environmental groups and an array of hunting interests. Given her her legal experience and background in state-level resource management, and the Services wide-ranging authority and influence over Americas wildlife, habitats, and our hunting and fishing culture, Outdoor Life wanted to hear how Williams views both her new job and the priorities of the agency. The new tool should aid in snowpack and drought monitoring. 'CHANGING HUNTING IN MONTANA' Williams was an early pick to serve in the Biden administration, working for more than a year as principal deputy director of the USFWS before her appointment as director was confirmed in February. Republican lawmakers supported the bill, saying it will help unwind a recent court decision over a gas plant under construction. Together their demands reflect the contentious state of predator politics in the Northern Rockies. Having spent the majority of her career at the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks and as a fellow Montana sportsman, Ms. Martha Williams knows that first hand, Daines wrote. My primary concern on the surface is not her as an individual, Parsons told me. In that role, she mediated a number of contentious issues, including implementing a wolf hunting season and expanding visitor services. He parked, stepped out of the vehicle, and raised above his head what looked like a radio antenna. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service. Representative Rhonda Knudsen, House District 34 . Montana Free Press is rooted in Montana, and its thanks to you, Jeannie and all our members that our nonprofit newsroom continues to grow. She was confirmed in a bipartisan 16-to-4 vote in February. By most accounts, grizzly bear populations have reached levels where they could be removed from federal protection. The infrastructure will support many of these America the Beautiful projects, funding things like fish passage structures and habitat restoration projects that help create jobs and help build communities. She remained at the salon for years, eventually purchasing it and renaming it Paulettes Boutique. Wolves at Blacktail Pond at Yellowstone National Park, in 2019. She also served as legal counsel to FWP from 1998 to 2011, when wolf reintroduction was a hot-button issue for the agency.
