HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-10-24 Public Comment - N. Ostlie - Trapping ban for Sourdough CanyonFrom:Nancy Ostlie
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Trapping ban for Sourdough Canyon
Date:Tuesday, September 10, 2024 11:27:40 AM
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Dear Commissioners,
As a resident of Bozeman for 25 years, living just outside city limits in Painted Hills, I care
deeply about the welfare of wildlife and the environment in this incredibly special place
Since 2011, I have devoted my time each day as a volunteer, never paid, working for theadvocacy of wilderness and wildlife in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, mostly focused on
the Gallatin Range.
I plan to be present to speak on the subject this evening, but want to register written commentsas well.
In 2013 I devoted three months, working hard every day, to study the issues of wildlife
trapping, at the urging of Dan Vermillion, then the Chair of the Montana Fish and WildlifeCommission. A friend had her dog caught in a trap, and her partner suffered a heart attack
during the incident. Dan, a neighbor, hosted a meeting at his fly fishing shop to talk aboutreforms to trapping. He wanted a citizen initiative to make some changes.
Others did not follow up, and my friend was about to give it up, but I knew I could learn the
issues and contribute. As a result of meetings with the president of the Montana TrappersAssociation and many others, I formed a ten-point proposal that had input from trappers, to
take to the State Commission. I did that, and although the Commission did not act on all tenitems, they did in that meeting change the limits on setbacks from trailheads, increasing it
from 50 feet to 500 feet.
I went on to work with many others in the community to gather signatures for a statewide banon trapping on public lands. By staying for days in Billings and appearing with the petition, I
personally gathered at least 1000 of the 30,000 signatures for the ban to appear on the ballot. Unfortunately, the measure was on the same ballot with Donald Trump, and due to the terrible
polarization we see among citizens today, it failed. Dan Vermillion later told me he thoughtwe really would succeed in banning trapping.
I have followed efforts by other community members in NGOs and individually as they fight
to get trapping banned, in locales around the state. I strongly support these efforts, because Isee the wanton destruction of wildlife as unquestionbly wrong. Without enumerating my
criticisms of trapping here, I will simply say that to allow 1/2 of one percent of Montanacitizens to target our wildlife for extermination is not fair to the rest of the public who enjoy
the existence of wildlife as part of the joys of living here.
Sincerely,Nancy Ostlie
263 Painted Hills Rd.
Bozeman MT 59715406-539-5559
P.S. I welcome calls or emails to inquire further on my experience with this issue.