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. Greg Gianfortes cabinet was also named today. of would-be replacements plays out. Catherine Wightman is moving on to a new opportunity that will continue to benefit sage grouse and . Former Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Director Martha Williams was appointedon Wednesday as second-in-command at the U.S. Scott Creel, a large carnivore population ecologist with Montana State University, has also found problems in the states model, describing considerable doubt about the accuracy of population estimates from the iPOM in a critique published last year. Republican Sen. Steve Daines also wrote a letter of support, saying he believes Williams will bring a pragmatic and balanced approach to USFWS. A Maryland native and graduate of the University of Virginia, Williams received her law degree from the University of Montana and then went to work as an attorney for Montana FWP. With a new Montana wolf hunting season underway and park researchers studying the unprecedented levels of human-caused mortality, the deadline for the federal governments review has now passed, and environmental groups have filed suitdemanding that Williams take action. When Williams appeared before lawmakers in November, the issue never came up. No name calling. They agitated for wolves to be treated as predators that could be killed with little restriction. It recognizes private property rights. Fish and Wildlife Service, the agency that oversees Americas national wildlife refuges and hatcheries, enforces the Endangered Species Act, and collects and distributes millions of dollars annually in taxes paid by buyers of guns, ammunition, and fishing tackle. She previously worked as an attorney for FWP from 1998 to 2011 and for two years as a solicitor at the Department of the Interior. of would-be replacements plays out. Right-wing politicians could push for predator-style management, but they were likely to fail. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Thank you for supporting homegrown news. You have permission to edit this article. MTFP is rooted in Montana, and its readers like you who help our newsroom grow. Lawmakers suspended their rules to allow for House Bill 971s introduction and passed the measure along party lines. HELENA Former Montana Fish, Wildlife and Park Director Martha Williams was sworn in as Director of the U.S. She was a loving woman who enjoyed music and attending concerts, and watching sports, especially when her grandchildren were playing. 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. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Biden Administration. By most accounts, grizzly bear populations have reached levels where they could be removed from federal protection. Just award-winning local journalism for the people, by the people. Williams is the second Montana woman to assume a high-profile leadership role in President Bidens Interior Department. (FWS declined to make the director available for an interview or to comment on the appointment. I can understand theres worry about it. Montana abortion providers on Friday sued the state health department in an attempt to block a new rule adopted by the Gianforte administrations health department that restricts how the state will pay for abortions through its Medicaid program. Daines support for Williams comes after his vehement opposition to another Montana nominee, Bureau of Land Management Director Tracy Stone-Manning. Williams is a hunter and an angler. But Williams was also unafraid of inviting entrenched opponents to talk through issues, according to those who worked with her. Absolutely. The first wolf arrives at Yellowstone National Park in a pen carried by, from left, Mike Phillips, Yellowstone Wolf Project leader; Jim Evanoff, Yellowstone environmental protection specialist; Molly Beattie, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and write to you in support of advancing her nomination quickly.. This is not the first time Williams has served in the DOI. Thats all it takes to support the journalism you rely on. Copyright 2022 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. News apps are nice, but how many stories might you be missing? The circumstances would be delicate for any director. With end of federal supervision, the efforts to sort out border packs ended too. The former Montana FWP director takes a high-profile post with U.S. They are recovered, every single objective criteria has been met, Lummis said, asking if USFWS will require additional criteria to delist the bears. Democrats said it will weaken Montanans right to participate in government decisions. Because the people who want to see a reduction in the wolf numbers are very serious about it.. So there are always going to be costs. Its what I think about, its what I see, smell, hear and dream about, she told the committee. Williams pointed to the court decisions, saying that while populations are robust, the USFWS must also meet those other criteria. We secured a 30-minute phone interview with her, which has been edited below for brevity and clarity. She also told the Missoulian that while she is not a biologist, shes spent [her] career translating science to decision makers and courts, and said she takes particular pleasure in teaching students about the intersections of science, law and policy. Montanas wolf season was over by that point. A man had pulled up in a pickup truck. Martha Williams is director of the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Williams was the director of FWP in Montana from 2017 to 2020. Id like my son to learn how to do restoration projects and have employment opportunities in that arena into the future. She was confirmed in a bipartisan 16-to-4 vote in February. And so here we stand.. Fish and Wildlife Service in a 16-4 vote. Williams was recruited to her first Interior Department stint the following year. Were thinking about access across the board and how to we allow people to feel that they belong in the outdoors on our public lands and on our wildlife refuges. Amanda Eggert studied print journalism at the University of Montana. She has also served as deputy solicitor of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Fish and Wildlife Service is a victory for Montana, our outdoor economy and heritage, and for every American that happens to care about our nations greatest natural treasures: our public lands and wildlife., Martha Williams confirmation to lead the U.S. It was like a slow decay, Ausband said. He then went on to sign Browns bill and a half dozen other measures targeting the states most iconic predator. For years, MacNulty believed that the regions wolf population was secure. To plant Memorial Trees in memory of Paulette Martha Williams, please click here to visit our Sympathy Store. DOI and the bureaus do not guarantee that outside websites comply with Section 508 (Accessibility Requirements) of the Rehabilitation Act. What Montana has done is they basically turned that regulatory mechanism on its head, and they are now using it effectively as a threat to wolves, not as a protection, Dan MacNulty, associate professor of wildlandresources at Utah State University, told me. Ive gone from appreciating the on-the-ground piece of [bear management] and really knowing the importance of place and taking that knowledge and thinking of it in this broader perspective. Pollys family has suggested that memorial donations be made in her memory to the Spokane Shriners Hospitals for Children, 911 W. Fifth Ave, Spokane WA 99204, or to the charity of the donors choice. We cant take wolf recovery for granted. There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Steve Bullock and served as director from 2017-2020. She was appointed to the FWP post in 2017. How will that money be spent? Andrew McKean Martha Williams is at a crossroads. Prior to assuming the top job at FWP, Williams was an assistant professor of law and co-director of the Land Use and Natural Resources Clinic at the University of Montana. The agency announced Wednesday that she will be serving as a principal deputy director of the U.S. How do we meet them where they are? Sign up for our free daily newsletter to get unbiased, independent Montana news sent directly to you. Fish and Wildlife Service. Martha Williams is an American attorney and government official who is the current director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Try to imagine Trump Act II and that law just thrown under the rug.. On March 8, 2022, Williams was sworn in as the 23rd Director of the U.S. She remained at the salon for years, eventually purchasing it and renaming it Paulettes Boutique. Prior to teaching at the University of Montanas Alexander Blewitt III School of Law, she was the Interior Departments deputy solicitor for parks and wildlife. MTFP is rooted in Montana, and its readers like you who help our newsroom grow. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., walks through the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 6, 2022. Your support helps quality Montana journalism thrive! I have to broaden my context and yet remember to stay really grounded with what Ive learned throughout my career, understanding what it means to live in these communities with species like grizzly bears. Voters elected Greg Gianforte as Montanas first Republican governor in a decade and half. 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. Montana and Idaho now under legal obligation to reduce their wolf populations, and lawmakers have made clear their intent to cut those numbers to the bone. (The practice remained illegal under a federal statute, though FWPs regulations omitted that fact.). As part of the U.S. Geological Surveys Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program, which partners graduate students and state fish and wildlife agencies for research and technical assistance purposes, Ausband is both a federal employee and a faculty member at the University of Idaho. Gianforte has. No shouting. But they want to know that theyre there. During the Obama Administration, Williams served as Deputy Solicitor Parks and Wildlife at the Department of the Interior for two years, providing counsel to the National Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service on issues arising in parks and recreation, fish and wildlife, environmental protection, natural resources assessment and restoration, and land and water conservation law. Ultimately, I think we address conflict by getting more people to care and getting more people engaged. Among the prohibitions were the use of aircraft and radio telemetry equipment the kind of gear biologists use to find and monitor wildlife. Martha Williams confirmation to lead the U.S. Early in 2017, she was picked by Montanas then-Governor Steve Bullock to lead FWP as its director. 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. Dave Parsons, a retired wildlife biologist who led the FWS reintroduction of wolves in the Southwest in the 1990s, was one of the few voices of public dissent. Last years changes in wolf hunting and trapping regulations were felt particularly hard in Yellowstone National Park, which weathered its deadliest season in living memory. Another piece of the Great American Outdoors Act is that it also funded 70 wage-grade positions around the country. Martha Williams becomes the 26th director of the Service, the origin of which dates back to 1871, and which serves as the nations first and last conservator of fish and wildlife species and the habitats they require. Martha Williams, director of Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, told the Environmental Quality Council the disease has so far had no discernible effect on the sale of hunting licenses, and that special hunts to help combat the disease's spread have sold out quickly. How many wolves roam the Northern Rockies and whether state policies promote recovery are the central questions Williamss endangered species review must consider. I had a bill that was going to place wolves on the predator list make them a predator, just treat them as predator, Bob Brown, a Montana state senator, said at an FWPCommittee hearing last year. Basically, we have four times as many wolves in Montana as the wolf management plan calls for, he said. Your contribution supports quality independent journalism no matter the season. FWP, meanwhile, said its Helena-based special investigations unit was conducting a separate investigation into the wolfs killing. Fish and Wildlife Service. Williams has essentially served as acting director of the wildlife agency since Jan. 20, 2021, when she was named principal deputy director. The Biden administration announced last Thursday that it is nominating former Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks director Martha Williams to become director of the U.S. 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. Montana politics, elections and legislative news, PublishedJanuary 21, 2021 at 4:12 AM MST. Our focus right now is that maintenance backlog. 'CHANGING HUNTING IN MONTANA' Honor a loved one by planting trees in their memory. Growing up on a farm in Maryland, Martha Williams gained an appreciation for open lands, waters, wildlife, and people. MacNulty is not the only one concerned. In the closing days of the session, a duel or a duet? Fish and Wildlife Service, Tom Puchlerz, MWF board president, said in a statement emailed to Montana Free Press. Categories are key to wildlife governance. On July 20, the day The Intercepts wolf investigation went live, Cam Sholly, the superintendent of Yellowstone National Park, sent a letter to Montanas game commissioners arguing that using telemetry to hunt wolves violated the fair chase principle, which holds that human hunters do not take unfair advantage of nonhuman prey, and requested that this prohibition be re-inserted into your regulations.. Martha Williams, the former director of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, was nominated to the U.S. Please reload the page and try again. Im trying to save my old agency, for crying out loud, he said. Theres so much incredible work that builds partnerships, even in the context of ESA implementation. If confirmed, I will adhere to the law, the Endangered Species Act and the underlying science, she said, adding that she has met with state wildlife officials in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana on how to achieve delisting criteria. Former Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) Director Martha Williams has been confirmed by the Senate as the new director of U.S. 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. Wolves on Fountain Flats at Yellowstone National Park, in 2020. on about your day, ask yourself: How likely is it that the story you just read would have been produced by a different news outlet if The Intercept hadnt done it? The U.S. So we remain really committed to always looking for increased opportunities for access, including providing access to the outdoors on national wildlife refuges to those who havent had access before. Working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. Id point to the ground work and partnerships that culminate in the Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances as an example of that. Greg Gianforte nominated the agencys new director Hank Worsech, a 17-year FWP employee who most recently served as license bureau chief. During her tenure, she also taught continuing legal education classes on real property law and on public participation in government. Love you guys!!. Donate during our spring fundraiser and support quality independent journalism. OL: Thats a good topic to end on: building trust and partnerships. She then spent two years as a deputy solicitor for the Interior Department, which oversees the USFWS. 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. In August, the Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit against the director for failing to meet the deadline in the wolf status review. Ms. Martha Williams, Montana Department of Wildlife, Fish and Parks, Director Senator Mike Lang, Senate District 17 . Please reload the page and try again. USFWS also administers the Endangered Species Act and manages and distributes more than $1 billion to states, tribes and territories for fish and wildlife conservation. Book Description A scandalous past. Montana had about 1,164 wolves a problem, Fielder argued, since the states wolf management plan referred to just 15 breeding pairs and 150 individual animals. Williams swearing-in ceremony is expected to take place in the coming weeks. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}, the former director of Montanas state wildlife agency, She appeared Wednesday before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Protests and arrests at Helena Capitol in support of Zooey Zephyr, Helena man dies in motorcycle crash in residential neighborhood, Townsend man dies a day after eating Dave's Sushi; cause of death not yet confirmed, 7 arrested at Capitol in protest as trans legislator again blocked on House floor, Downtown Helena's Alive at Five concert lineup set for 2023 season, Zephyr committees scuttled day after her ban from the House floor, Gianfortes son one of many lobbying governor against trans bills, Trans lawmaker Zooey Zephyr banned from House chamber after supporting protesters, UPDATE: House GOP leadership plans vote on 'disciplinary consequences' against Zephyr, 'Blood on your hands': Montana lawmaker's words not unusual, Helena commission considering citywide fee increases for services, 'Two more go up in its place': Posters supporting marginalized groups torn down at Carroll, saw Republicans calling for her nomination to be withdrawn, Montana trust land revenue tops $107 million, Drought effects linger as Montana heads into colder months, Montana ballot initiative at center of controversial FEC decision, New approach aims to offer holistic picture of Montana's snowpack, Montana's AG files suit over Biden immigration policy, Montana hunters prep for first traditional muzzleloader season, New Mexico woman enters plea deal over threat to trappers' association, Williams confirmed to lead US Fish and Wildlife Service, Biden addresses journalists detained abroad at Correspondents' Dinner, Sudan's rival forces vie for control, risking prolonged conflict, 5 killed in Texas shooting, sheriff expands search for suspect, Video: Rally in support of Missoula Rep. Zooey Zephyr.
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