Audubon priorities at the 2011 Montana Legislature
The 2011 Montana Legislature is over! With our legislature convening for only 90 days every other year, each day brought new challenges for Audubon’s priorities and environmental protection legislation. This short article outlines the priorities we had during the session.
Montana Audubon worked on a variety of issues during the session, including bills that addressed global warming and our use of energy; environmental permitting; wildlife and wildlife habitat, which includes policy issues and funding for programs; land use planning issues that can impact wildlife and wildlife habitat; and issues impacting water quality and quantity.
An Update From the Trenches:
Work at the 2011 Montana Legislature was almost entirely defensive. In total, we have testified in opposition to 54 bills, while supporting only 16. Of those bills we supported, 8 bills became law (50% success rate); of those bills we opposed, 12 became law (78% success rate).
A few of our success stories include killing the following bills: SB 344 (regulatory takings); HB 506 (one of the ‘take back’ federal lands bills); SB 301 (moratorium on FWP land acquisition); HB 244 (repeal the Renewable Portfolio Standard); SB 313 (which would have directed FWP to take action against beavers when a complaint was filed by a landowner); HB 292 (amend our right to a clean & healthful environment); HB 321 (nullify the Endangered Species Act); and HB 309 (redefine rivers & streams as irrigation ditches, off-limits to recreation).
Some of the best news came in the last weeks of the session, as the Governor put his VETO brand on half a dozen bills we were working to defeat. Thanks Governor Schweitzer!! These include: SB 306 (expand the use of cyanide dependent open-pit gold mining), HB 542 (revise subdivision laws in favor of development), and SB 109 (include all hydroelectric power in the Renewable Portfolio Standard).
Photo by Eliza Wiley
For details on ALL the bills we worked on during the 2011 session, click HERE.
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