Tribes, sportsmen groups warn against ballot initiative

People are out collecting signatures for a number of proposed ballot initiatives. One in particular has caught the attention of tribal leaders and Montana sportsmen groups, who say it puts tribes, hunters and anglers at risk. 

Proposed Ballot Initiative 193 (I-193) says it would “allow increased hunting opportunities for landowners” by blocking regulations that prohibit a landowner from hunting big game on their private property.

While the initiative doesn’t directly name the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes or the Flathead Reservation, discussions around the proposal have centered there in part because initiative sponsor Rick Schoening is a retired game warden who owns a little more than an acre on the Flathead Reservation. Schoening’s two sons own about 100 acres combined on the reservation.

Read more from the Missoulian here...