On our minds: Falcons, trapping, right

[Donna]

Chick harvest

The issue of raising the number of peregrine falcon chicks that may be harvested out of their natural nest, is from three to five.

With about 95 licensed falconers, about 60 actually possess raptors, and one in seven is a licensed breeder in Montana. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks provides a lot of concessions to this group. The 2009 proposed budget for the peregrine survey was $40,000 ($15,000 FWP), copies of the reports with maps, GPS locations and pictures of falcon nest ledge locations are available to falconers.

No other group — the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Trout Unlimited or the Montana Wild Sheep Foundation — receive special allowances to hunt, take or access the animals in which they support. Why? In a recent article, "Plucked over" by Jeccica Mayrer, even Montana Indian Tribes are not allowed concessions to their religious or spiritual rights. Do these groups have to file litigation to receive their "right" to the species in which they are invested?

At the 2008 Montana Peregrine Falcon Working Group meeting it was reported that only seven falconers applied for the three "take" permits available. Of the three permits assigned, only two chicks were harvested, both from the BLM tower in the Centennial Valley, and turned over to a breeder in Bozeman. In 2009, with five permits available, no chicks were taken. Where is the need to increase "take" let alone why harvest at all?

Peregrine falcons, going...going...GONE.....again.