Montana
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) is celebrating its quasquicentennial this year, the department's 125th year of dedication to conserving the state's fish and wildlife resources. The agency was established in 1901, after the seventh state legislature approved a measure that allowed the appointment of game and fish wardens.
Montana’s first game warden was W.F. Scott. He was quickly joined by eight others—a staff size limited by the law. The patrol area for each officer averaged 18,000 square miles, at a time when nearly all travel was limited to horse or train. Enforcement of game laws was the primary focus.
The total number of wardens increased to 15 by the end of the decade, but it wasn’t enough to thwart the decline in game species. Things turned around during the 1930s, a period in which the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration (Pittman-Robertson) Act became law and the U.S. Congress passed the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act.
By 1940, funds provided to Montana through the Federal legislation allowed the state to purchase an area near Utica, Mont.—the first time it acquired property to protect winter range for big game. The department also hired Robert F. Cooney, its first biologist.
Between 1941 and 1950, bighorn sheep, mule deer, elk, pronghorn antelope, whitetail, sage-grouse and more were trapped and relocated to historic range by the department. The efforts have been a resounding success, a tradition that continues to this day, thanks to the nearly 700 dedicated staff members at Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.
“Much of this could not have been accomplished without the consent and assistance of Montana’s private landowners—including my own family,” Christy Clark, director of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks said in an anniversary statement. “In truth, FWP’s history has always been a balancing act. Generations of Montanans…came together to ensure future generations would have fish, wildlife, and a state park system to enjoy.”
Utah
What is now the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) began five years before Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. It is also celebrating another groundbreaking 125th anniversary this year.
On Feb. 25, 1901—at a time when purchasing property to enhance wildlife-related recreation was likely a foreign concept in the largely frontier state—Utah purchased Burraston Ponds Wildlife Management Area.
The property was purchased from R.J. Burraston and originally called “Two Mile Spring.” The name was later changed to honor the original landowner. Additional portions of surrounding property were acquired and added to the Burraston Ponds Wildlife Management Area throughout the late 1930s.
“The property was purchased for the springs and for the land around the springs in order to grow and produce fish,” DWR Wildlife Lands Coordinator Chelsea Duke said. “The original property was about 8 acres and was focused on providing fishing opportunities. Today, the Mona property spans over 130 acres and provides three ponds. The DWR manages the property for a variety of upland species and waterfowl, as well as a community fishery.”
It would be another eight years before DWR purchased a second property, which was a hatchery. Today, however, most of the land it owns is primarily wildlife management areas and waterfowl management areas (commonly referred to as WMAs). Currently, there are 149 WMAs throughout Utah, totaling more than 500,000 acres, or 780 square miles. Each WMA ranges in size from a few dozen acres to over 50,000 acres.
“These lands are uniquely important because they are the only public lands in Utah whose sole purpose is enhancing and protecting wildlife resources,” Duke said. “Each WMA is acquired specifically because of its importance to wildlife, their habitats and access to wildlife-related recreation for the public. These properties ensure that critical wildlife habitat is conserved, conflicts between wildlife and private landowners are reduced and Utahns have dedicated places to participate in hunting, fishing and other wildlife-based recreation. The DWR began purchasing property in 1901 and continues to acquire and manage lands today to fulfill these conservation and public-access purposes, demonstrating a long-standing commitment to protecting Utah’s wildlife heritage.”
