Montana labor news., 1950-12-07
OPEN FORUM
So East Main St.
Bozeman, Montana
November 30. 1880

Hon James +. Murray
\. ). Senator from Montana
Washington. d. C.
Dear Senator Murray
Your message and suggestions b,
the letter of your Executive Sec
rotary. Mr.. Coburn. OF the 10Th. have
been given immediate and close at
teiltiun.
he iirst comment III that letter
refers to the lack OF unanimous opin-
Ion among sportsmen. first, as to
the actual facts concerning the wint-
CT range for the north Yellowstone
elk herd, and second. as to the choice
between transplanting and slaughter.
A. bona tide sportsment we insist
there Is little or no difference of
views. There is 4 small. but noisy,
and influential element. which for
some years has acted on the prin-
clplc, III you cant lick them. Join
them" So they have organized
themselves in scli-proclaimed wild
lie and Conservation groups whose
actual allegiance is to big business
interests hostile to the maintenance
Of prosperous big game herds on
our public domain. An outstanding
example, is the group which calls
itself the "Absarokee Conservation
Committee" VIGOROUSLY headed BY
a big-shot cattleman and a railroad
executive and which is not a Com
mittcc' because no body of sports
men, pr Of any other class Of citi-
zcns, ever committed anything to it.
It constituted itself, and its members
will never appear i'll a meeting where
they can be publicly called upon to
admit their utilization to the live
stock monopolists who want all the
grazing rights on government land,
The sport,nlen are no more di-
vided than were the members of the
Butte Butchers Union some years
ago when a packing plant succeeded
in getting a lot Of its COW hands and
other employees into the union and
then voted the bona fidc butcher
journcymcn out Of their " urgani-
zation.
1t should not he forgotten that the
majority control Of the Montana
Fish and Game Commission repre-
scnts no one except a dead political
machine-that OF the Ford admin
stration which contrivcd the law and
made the appointments The pres
ent governors iour-year term will
be nearly over before he can law
iully replace a majority OF the Ford
anpointces This body, we insist, is
misrepresentation. Ii is hostile TO
the Interests al the Sportsmen.
Ks to condition Of the Park whit
er range for elk, we are fed up with
more declaration OF the Park person
ncl. Our members who have been
upon the ground deny that there is
evidence Of range damage or over
grazing-in spite OF large numbers
~ trespassing horses. We believe
that the Department OF Interior
should permit al impartial survey
d the ground, with members of or
ganized sportsmen's groups partici-
pating.
Regardless Of this disputed qucs-
'ien, the transplanting OF a large
part Of the herd. rather than the
laughter OF a single head. would be
welcomed by all genuine sporismen.
We welcome the invitation contain
cd Mr.. Coburn's letter to come for
ward with clear and definite recom-
mendations' for such transplanting
Here it is:
-Nmple elk forage exists on pub.
lie Unconstitutional forest. Taylor
grazing, and other-in the following
areas for the numbers indicated.
Reavcrhead county Blacktail area
lwhere abou, 200 head were killec
oil IN the 1850 season., POO.
Nipond Park, Wise River, Jcrr,
Creek and Pintlar area 500
Centennial Valley adjacent to tn,
BEDROCK Wildiowl Refugee 800;
Deer Lodge County, west OF Ana
conda 200;
Broadwater and Meagher (Bil
Belt Mountains 500,
Jefferson County:
Bull Mountain and Galen;
Gulch, 200; Goodwin Mountain
to Little Boulder, 200; Uppe
and Lower Whitehall Park, $50
Basin Greek and Catarac, Greek
so; Lowland Creek. POO:
Silver Bow County
Mt. Fleeces- German Gulch, 100
Fish Creek Ito Hell's Canyon
Madison county,. 200;
Granite County (Rock Creek 500
Powell County (where elk previ