HELENA — The Montana Senate debated several House Bills Friday that could have a big impact on wolf management in the Treasure State.

The first bill heard was House Bill 176, sponsored by Rep. Shannon Maness, R-Dillon, which would require unlimited wolf hunting if the wolf population was over 550 animals statewide. The bill does provide for an exemption to the quota in the area around Yellowstone National Park.

(Watch to see legislators debate wolf management at the Montana Capitol)

Montana Senate debates wolf management bills

A 2023 Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks report estimated the state’s wolf population at around 1,100 animals.

Proponents of the legislation say it is needed because they don’t believe the current wolf management in the state is working.

“The supporters of wolves, nor the [Montana] Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks have offered any alternatives,” said Sen. Vince Ricci, R-Billings. “And so I think these bills are kind of forced on us because of the lack of support from FWP or the people that are supporters of the wolves not bringing any alternatives.”

Opponents of HB 176 say it’s applying methodology too broadly when the majority of the wolf population is located in northwestern Montana.

“I think it’s kind of misdirected a little bit and maybe too broad,” said Senate Minority Leader Pat Flowers, D-Belgrade. “And I think there’s a different way to approach this. I know the sponsors have been frustrated by the Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission not being responsive. That’s a different story. But I think that’s where the solution could lie on this still.”

HB 176 narrowly passed second reading 26 to 24.

The next bill debated was HB 258, which requires the wolf hunting season extended through the current spring bear hunting season.

Proponents say it is needed to better manage the populations, while opponents say it would have a much larger impact than intended because the spring is when wolves den and raise their young.

HB 258 passed 30 to 20

The last wolf bill on the agenda, HB 259, would require the Fish and Wildlife Commission to adjust management techniques based on the conditions of the region. It also allows the commission to authorize the use of infrared scopes or thermal imagery scopes on private land.

HB 259 passed 32 to 18.

HB 176, HB 258 and HB 259 still need to pass a third reading before clearing the Senate chamber. Since the bills were amended in the Senate, they will be transmitted back to the House if they pass third reading.

HAVRE — Montana Premium Processing Co-Op in Havre is rapidly expanding. Founded in 2023, the co-op allows ranchers to process their livestock for retail without suffering a profit cut found with middlemen packing plants.

WATCH:

Montana Premium Processing receives grant to accelerate smokehouse construction

“MTTP was set up to where you join as a member. And that, membership gives you first rights to the hook space that’s available,” says Chief of Staff with the Montana farmer’s Union, Matt Rains. “Plus voting rights and the right to be on the board of directors. So, all the board of directors are members, and thus these individuals who drop off animals and have them harvested have a vested interest to make sure that MTPP runs smoothly.”

In 2024, its first full year, MTTP processed 398,918 pounds of protein, and is now on track for increased output thanks to a $50,000 Growth Through Agriculture Grant courtesy of the Montana Department of Agriculture.

The grant will be used toward accelerating the construction of an on-site smokehouse – think smoked sausages, salamis, hams and more.

The facility will be built at the rear of the building and measure 20×20 feet in space. It will also have its own cooler.

“We’ve had several hog producers and they’re desperate for it because there just aren’t very many smokehouse’s on the Hi-Line. There’s a few, but it’s very limited capacity,” says General Manager of MTPP, Bill Jones.

The co-op had originally planned to fund the smokehouse entirely themselves, which they expected would take up to three years.

This injection of $50,000 secured not only funding for the smokehouses’s construction, but also for the installation of its equipment.

“It’s going to shorten what we figured would be a two or three-year project down to literally probably under a year,” says Jones.

“It was definitely across the board, a guaranteed slam dunk win for the state,” adds Rains.

The added value of the smokehouse also includes the job sector, as MTPP anticipates a number of jobs will open as a result of the addition.

“We’ll add at least two, if not three employees immediately when we add the value added [smokehouse] room and then be able to add maybe another three beyond that,” says Jones.

He’s aiming to add between five and seven new staff.

Simultaneously, MTPP is constructing a new, larger cooler to drip their slaughter. The construction is funded by a USDA-backed loan from Bear Paw Development. The current drip cooler in use now, will become an aging cooler.

In total, the Growth Through Agriculture Grant program secured $915,360 for 25 agricultural businesses throughout Montana.

Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte on Thursday signed two bills restricting transgender Montanans’ access to public bathrooms and locker rooms and participation on athletic teams, sparking legal action from civil rights advocates against one of the new laws slated to go into effect immediately. 

The news came from the governor’s office via a press release in the early afternoon and an accompanying video posted to the social media platform X. There, Gianforte said the legislation would help “safeguard fairness, privacy, and security” in sports and public places.

“Over the last few years we’ve seen far-left gender ideology sweep the nation,” Gianforte said. “But here in Montana we’ve stood up against this radical agenda and maintained equal opportunity for all Americans while also protecting women and girls.”

House Bill 121, which affects public bathrooms, locker rooms and sleeping areas, in addition to those residing at domestic violence shelters, was written to take effect immediately upon being signed into law. House Bill 300, pertaining to student athletes in K-12 and university settings, is not slated to take effect until Oct. 1. 

An attorney for the ACLU of Montana said the organization filed a lawsuit Thursday afternoon against HB 121 on behalf of transgender and intersex plaintiffs. The same-day lawsuit was prompted by the law’s immediate effective date, the attorney said.

“This is yet another attempt to demonize and marginalize transgender Montanans and we won’t stand by idly,” said Alex Rate, the organization’s legal director.

Both bills saw broad support from legislative Republican lawmakers, reflecting how the issue of strict gender roles has become a cornerstone of the state and national GOP in recent years.

Gianforte’s Thursday announcement was lauded by national groups including the Alliance Defending Freedom and Independent Women’s Voice, which has advocated for similar gender bills in other states. 

Throughout committee hearings and debates, backers of both bills consistently sidestepped opponents’ allegations they intended to restrict the lives and expression of transgender people. Rather, supporters described cisgender women feeling uncomfortable or threatened when in close proximity to transgender people in vulnerable spaces, such as locker rooms and dormitories. 

Supporters also described the hypothetical situation of predatory, cisgender men masquerading as women for the purpose of invading public spaces, an argument that Democratic lawmakers and transgender opponents panned as disingenuous and fearmongering.

“We have trans people in our communities. We have trans people who are employees, who are students. We have trans people who face abuse and come to the shelter,” said Rep. Zooey Zephyr, D-Missoula, the first openly transgender woman to serve in the Montana Legislature, during a January debate over HB 121. “‘This is not an issue’ is what was said again and again by the people impacted on the ground.”

The plaintiffs in the ACLU lawsuit include two state employees, a political intern for the Montana Democratic Party who works at the state Capitol building, and an accessibility coordinator at Helena College, a public university, all of whom are transgender or do not identify as either gender. Another plaintiff is intersex and, because of his biological characteristics, does not know whether HB 121 classifies him as “male” or “female.” 

The law creates a route for legal action against any public facility — including jails, schools and government buildings — or domestic violence shelter that do not take steps to ensure that multi-user bathrooms or locker rooms are sex-segregated based on chromosomes and reproductive biology.

In court filings, attorneys for the ACLU of Montana said the law presents plaintiffs with impossible choices about how to navigate public spaces where they work, as well as public parks and libraries. 

“Discomfort with or dislike of transgender people cloaked as a privacy or safety concern is not a legitimate basis for imposing unequal or stigmatizing treatment,” attorneys wrote in the brief for a temporary restraining order. 

Rate added that the ACLU of Montana did not have an immediate plan to challenge HB 300, the prohibition on athletic participation, though he said the latter bill “suffers from the same constitutional infirmities” as the bathroom ban.

Lawmakers from both parties this session questioned how HB 300 is legally distinct from prior bills that sought to restrict student sports participation. A bill from 2021 was struck down as it applied to colleges and universities after a judge found it infringed on the role of the Montana Board of Regents. Another bill that sought to institute strict definitions of “sex” across Montana law was found unconstitutional in February based on equal protection and privacy violations. 

Supporters pointed out that HB 300 amends a broader, preexisting section of law that prohibits discrimination in education. They also said the policy is in line with the federal government’s stance on interpreting gender discrimination, an analysis that has flipped between the administrations of former Democratic President Joe Biden and current Republican President Donald Trump. The NCAA has also recently changed its protocols for transgender athlete participation, under pressure from the Trump administration, requiring participation to be based on sex assigned at birth.

In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education told Montana Free Press that it is anticipating minimal issues with complying with both laws.

“A preliminary review of campus bathroom facilities shows that minimal effort will bring our campuses into compliance,” said Galen Hollenbaugh, deputy commissioner for government relations and communications. 

Regarding HB 300, Hollenbaugh said, the Montana Board of Regents policy requires the Montana University System to “comply with NCAA regulations.” 

“Following a presidential Executive Order, the NCAA has revised the relevant regulations regarding trans athletes, neutralizing any MUS compliance issues with HB 300,” Hollenbaugh said.