The reason, they argue, is that she is unqualified under the law. Aimee Hawkaluk was a staff attorney at FWP from 2012 until January of this year. Williamss review is probing the conduct, regulations, and science of a department she once led and shaped, in a state she still calls home. Montana NRCS is one of the leaders in the nation in easement allocations every year, no doubt in large part due to the partners and land trust groups in . Before that, he worked in Montana in a USGS unit focused on wolf recovery post-delisting. By that point, hunters and trappers had killed an unprecedented 19 of the parks wolves, many in and around the area where they now stood. Prior to heading FWP, she taught at the Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana, working for a time as a solicitor at the Department of Interior, and was a lawyer at FWP from 1998 to 2011. You just put your head down and do good work and try to recognize it and build trust along the way. Former Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Director Martha Williams was appointedon Wednesday as second-in-command at the U.S. By most accounts, grizzly bear populations have reached levels where they could be removed from federal protection. Voters elected Greg Gianforte as Montanas first Republican governor in a decade and half. 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 later co-directed the law schools Land Use and Natural Resources Clinic. Gianforte stacked the most important posts in Montanas wildlife decision-making apparatus from Williamss old job atop FWP to the commissioners who create policy for the department with campaign contributors, a former running mate, and representatives of aggressively pro-wolf hunting interests. She was an avid Vikings and Minnesota Twins fan. Fish and Wildlife Service. Fish and Wildlife Service,the former director of Montanas state wildlife agencypledged adherence to the law, science and collaboration during a Wednesday committee hearing. 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 August, the Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit against the director for failing to meet the deadline in the wolf status review. Martha Williams is at a crossroads. Montana Sage Grouse Oversight Team (MSGOT) March 24, 2021: 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. . Its not all one or the other. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) by . The committee has not yet scheduled a vote on Williams nomination. Photo: Jim Peaco/NPS. Sign up for our free daily newsletter to get unbiased, independent Montana news sent directly to you. Williams faces questions in confirmation hearing for U.S. 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. On the other hand, it can seem punitive, especially when enforcing species protections. Williams joined Montanas game agency three years later and, over the next decade and a half, represented the state in its delisting efforts. 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. Her new desk might be in Helena, but Martha Williams sees her new job as director of Montana's Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks more as a road trip. As the truck pulled away, a third guide recognized the driver as one of the areas most well-known proponents of aggressive wolf hunting north of Yellowstone. In addition to writing of would-be replacements plays out. Nick Mott is a reporter and podcast producer who focuses on wildlife, natural resources, and the environment. The kind of reporting we do is essential to democracy, but it is not easy, cheap, or profitable. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Biden Administration. She also served a term as the Vice President of the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. Polly graduated from Bemidji High School in 1961, and began attending the Duluth School of Beauty Culture soon after. OL: Thats a good topic to end on: building trust and partnerships. Fish and Wildlife Service. In the closing days of the session, a duel or a duet? For Hawkaluk, the trajectory of wolves within Montanas bureaucracy reflects the contentious politics that surrounds the animals. In January, the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public works approved her nomination as director of the U.S. Once wolves were recovered, the states game commissioners would decide which of Montanas more conventional categories fit the animals best. As State Director, Williams delivered leadership that embraced the diversity of Montanas natural resources and outdoor recreational values that also incorporated public expectations and values into the agencys direction. Martha Williams, the former director for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, told the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that wildlife conservation was a shared responsibility. I think it will help for people to know that this administrationthe Department of the Interior and Fish and Wildlife Serviceare still really committed to increasing access to the outdoors. We still understand now more than ever after COVID, just how important it is to people and communities for their well-being, for food, for physical and emotional well-being, for that economic support for communities. Williams replacement within Montana Gov. The U.S. Together their demands reflect the contentious state of predator politics in the Northern Rockies. As a Montanan and nonpartisan wildlife expert, Martha has time and again demonstrated her ability to bring sportsmen and conservationists together to find collaborative, science-based solutions to tough problems., Steve Daines, Testers Republican counterpart in the U.S. Senate, also supported Williams nomination. We cant take wolf recovery for granted, MacNulty said. The question is not whether wolves migrating across state and international borders are being double-counted by the states, its to what degree and whether the double-counting has meaningfully impacted the statistics being trotted out by lawmakers to justify extraordinarily aggressive wolf hunts. Will they trust in their love? )and Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont. While there, she focused on natural resources law, public land and resources law and wildlife law. Our focus right now is that maintenance backlog. Honor a loved one by planting trees in their memory. While the presence of wolves has been a battle in the Wests culture war for generations, the fight has taken on an intensity unlike anything the region has seen since the animals were first reintroduced therein the 1990s. Get your insiders look into what's happening in and around the Capitol. How many wolves roam the Northern Rockies and whether state policies promote recovery are the central questions Williamss endangered species review must consider. Greg Gianfortes cabinet was also named today. In an emailed statement about Williams confirmation, Montana Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat, said the agency is in good hands. ), In December, Parsons wrote an op-ed describing how every FWS director going back to the Nixon administration had met the scientific education requirement. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams speaking at a hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works committee, in Washington, D.C., in November 2021. Fielder failed to note that the figures cited in the states management plan reflect a minimum threshold for the states wolf population. An official liaison between the Montana Trappers Association and FWP, the state lawmaker was in the middle of passing his own legislation expanding the tools like indiscriminate neck snares that could be employed in Montanas not necessarily ethical campaign to kill hundreds of wolves. Williams faced an array of questions from senators sitting on the committee. 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. Id point to the ground work and partnerships that culminate in the Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances as an example of that. Polly and Robert divorced in 1984, and in 1991, she sold the salon and moved to Helena, where she worked for the State of Montana as the salon inspector until her retirement in 1999, which was due to medical issues. Sign up for theCapitolizednewsletter and stay up-to-date on the latest legislative developments during the session. Id love to get to the place where were on our front foot and can better prevent species from even needing to be listed. In the early days, Ausband explained, monitoring wolves in the Northern Rockies was straightforward. You will be directed to the following website in 5 seconds: We hope your visit was informative and enjoyable. The Federal Indian Child Welfare Act is at risk. Greg Gianforte announced on Wednesday his pick for state health department director.Gianforte tapped Adam Meier to lead the, Montana Public Radio | There were fewer packs and the ones that were on the landscape usually had collared members, which made them easier to find. Montanan Martha Williams confirmed to lead USFWS Can you talk through ways of easing that conflict? Fish and Wildlife Service, an agency that will soon have as its director a person shepherded by Jon Tester Martha Williams, former director of. The agency also administers the Endangered Species Act. )both have voiced their support for Williams after she was nominated by President Biden in October. Candidate Conservation Agreements (CCA & CCAA), Coastal Barrier Resources Act Project Consultation, Coastal Barrier Resources System Property Documentation, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: 2022 Annual Report, President Bidens Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Provides $10 Million to Sagebrush Projects in the West, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funds Lake Tahoe Aquatic Invasive Species Projects, Martha Williams Sworn In as Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service. As director of U.S. Try to imagine Trump Act II and that law just thrown under the rug.. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., pressed Williams on whether grizzly bears should be delisted around Yellowstone National Park. No name calling. Montana Sage Grouse Oversight Team (MSGOT) March 24, 2021: 4:00 p.m 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. One of the easiest ways that anyone can support bird habitat conservation is by buying duck stamps. As for using telemetry in wolf hunts, Jacobsen added: This would not be lawful while in the act of hunting under Montanas statute on two-way communication.. Fisheries and Wildlife Service director for the Biden administration. After her graduation from beauty school, she moved to Havre, MT, to be near her sisters. Wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho under the law in 1995, after a government extermination campaign led to their near-total extirpation decades before.