[MCN] Please take quick action v. HB 552

[Connie Poten]

*Traps shouldn’t shut us out! *



*Please Help Stop HB 552!*

https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2019/billhtml/HB0552.htm



*HB 552 would remove setbacks for wolf traps on roads seasonally closed by
gates, cable and other temporary structures. Wolf traps could be on roads.*



*HB 552 would also eliminate FWP’s authority to restore trap setbacks along
these and decommissioned roads!*



*HB 552** has one last vote in the full House of Representatives.*



Big reasons why HB 552 is bad for Montana:

·      *Wolf traps threaten the safety of anyone hiking or skiing these
gated and closed roads. *Large, hard-to-open wolf traps would be obscured
and set anywhere on and off the roads, and seriously injure adults,
children and dogs.



·      *Trappers already have more than 21,000 miles* *of decommissioned
(permanently closed) roads *they can use to set traps for wolves with no
setbacks required! This bill would eliminate FWP’s authority to install
setbacks on these roads.



*•    If HB 522 becomes law, Fish, Wildlife and Parks will not be able to
create setbacks on seasonally gated roads and decommissioned roads.*



*•     Traps are indiscriminate. All creatures are at risk. In winter,
animals use roads to expend less energy in deep snow. *



Please ask House Representatives to VOTE NO ON HB 552!



*Here’s how to do it:*

Find your Representative and let her/him know you are in her/his voting
district and you want her/him to vote NO on HB 552. Please follow up with a
call to your Representative.

https://leg.mt.gov/legislator-lookup/



Then, please write a letter with your concerns to ALL House Members.



*Instructions for Contacting ALL Members of the House of Representatives*



*Send an email to each of five important House committees*. (Every member
of the House is on of these committees, which meet each morning, so
messages to all 5 committees will reach ALL HOUSE MEMBERS.)  The committees
are House Appropriations, House Business and Labor, House Judiciary, House
State Administration, and House Taxation. Here are the instructions for how
to do this:

1. https://leg.mt.gov/web-messaging/

2. Below the form, you'll see the option for "legislators" or "committees”;
Select* "committees."*

3. A list of committees --House (H) first and then Senate(S) will appear,
alphabetically. *Select your first committee, let's say "H Appropriations."*

4. Next, you'll be asked which bill you want to speak to: *under "bill
type," select HR from the menu; under "Number", type in the number 552.*

5. Below number, *select radio button labeled "for."*

6. Write your brief message in the open dialogue. Your message should be
brief and to the point, since House members don't have a lot of time.
*Right-click
in the dialogue box and choose “copy”* to save your message to the
clip-board so you can paste it in your subsequent messages.

7. *Select "send message,"* and you will get a prompt that your message is
winging its way to the members/committee you indicated.

8. Go back to the message page, repeat the process with Business and Labor.
When you get to the "message box" after filling-in the personal info and
your committee and bill and position, just put the *cursor in the message
box and right-click "paste*," and your message will appear.

*As extra insurance, Please also urge Governor Bullock to veto it if it
passes the House.* governor at mt.gov



Thank you for your help stopping HB 552. We *all* have a right to enjoy
roads on our public lands without fear.  Traps can’t shut us out!  Don’t
forget ~ public lands and wildlife belong to us all.



 For the animals,



Footloose Montana




-- 
Constance J. Poten
4175 Rattlesnake Drive
Missoula, MT  59802
406-549-4647

*DISCLAIMER*:
This e-mail is only intended for the person(s) to whom it is addressed and
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error, please notify us immediately by reply e-mail and then delete this
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author. Thank you for your cooperation.
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