Montana voters could be asked to enshrine in the state constitution hunting, fishing and trapping as the traditional and preferred methods of fish and wildlife management under a bill brought by a Thompson Falls lawmaker.
During a hearing marked by a number of contentious exchanges between Republicans and an opponent of trapping, the House Judiciary Committee heard House Bill 367 brought by Republican Rep. Paul Fielder. If the bill receives support from two-thirds of the Legislature, voters in 2022 would be asked whether to amend a section of the Montana Constitution called the âHarvest Heritageâ clause.
As currently written, the clause says, âThe opportunity to harvest wild fish and wild game animals is a heritage that shall forever be preserved to the individual citizens of the state and does not create a right to trespass on private property or diminution of other private rights.â
DAVID ERICKSON
Safi Wakusolela s voice took on a preacher s cadence as she recounted the long, fraught journey away from her home country, the violence-ravaged Democratic Republic of Congo.
She first lived in a destitute refugee camp in Tanzania before eventually making it to the United States.
Both a gospel preacher and singer, Wakusolela compared the difference in her life between the camp and Missoula as a transition from death to a miracle resurrection. I have become human again, she said. I feel like I m now free, open. I live with my family.
Her transformation may become more common as the United States changes its policy toward immigrants. President Joe Biden has proposed allowing more than 10 times as many refugees fleeing violence to resettle here as former President Donald Trump did last year.Â