The Missoulian, March 9, on the fight against invasive aquatic species:
It’s time for western Montanans to voice our support for proposed efforts to stop the spread of invasive aquatic species in our state.
After invasive mussel larvae were detected for the first time ever in Montana last October, state officials moved swiftly to address the potential threat to the state’s precious public waters.
Larvae were found in the Missouri River’s Tiber Reservoir, and suspected in Canyon Ferry Reservoir, the area below Toston Dam, and the Milk River.
Montana wisely declared a natural resource emergency and took immediate steps to measure the extent of the exposure. Fortunately, testing of water bodies from one end of western Montana to the other - from Flathead Lake to the Bitterroot River - have turned up no trace of the invasive mussels.
We need to keep it that way. And that means every Montanan who spends any time on the water needs to take important steps to keep invasive species from spreading. It may mean suffering slight inconveniences this season, but the alternative is more than inconvenient - it’s the complete loss of our ability to enjoy these waters at all.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is currently gathering public comment on several amendments concerning the agency’s battle against acquatic invasive species. People can continue submitting comments until March 17, and it’s important that they speak up now in support of the proposed rules.
The aim of the new regulations is to “contain, detect and prevent the risk of spreading” invasive aquatic species. The focus is on mussels but the fact is that these steps will likely help minimize the spread of other invasive species as well.
The Montana Joint Mussel Response Team has been coordinating efforts with FWP and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation to put together an effective plan. Earlier this year, its Implementation Team leaders presented their recommendations and a funding request to the Montana Legislature, which so far has appeared to recognize that Montana cannot skimp on its response to invasive species, and supported the team’s activities.
Among the recommended regulations:
-Transporting lake and river water would be prohibited.
-All live bait and fish, where currently allowed, would have to be transported in clean domestic water. Any bait or fish from the Tiber and Canyon Ferry reservoirs would have to be transported without any water at all.
-Out-of-state watercraft would be subject to mandatory inspections prior to entering any Montana waterbody.
-Within Montana, any watercraft crossing the Continental Divide into the Columbia River Basin, or leaving the Tiber or Canyon Ferry reservoirs would also be subject to mandatory inspections and possible decontamination.
-Watercraft owners would have to remove drain plugs or take other reasonable measures to drain and dry their vessels.
-More than 1,500 samples would be collected from more than 200 waterbodies as part of ongoing testing for the presence of invasive mussels.
These new rules might seem a bit drastic to Montanans accustomed to our relatively carefree enjoyment of rivers and lakes. But they are absolutely necessary if we’re going to be able to continue enjoying those rivers and lakes.
Invasive aquatic species like zebra and quagga mussels have utterly destroyed some other places, leaving once-inviting beaches covered with razor-sharp shells, clogging hydropower infrastructure and overtaking native wildlife. They have caused hundreds of millions of dollars worth of damage in the Great Lakes region, where they were introduced in the 1980s. And they spread rapidly - often by hitching a ride on traveling watercraft. They have now been found in 30 states.
Montana sees its fair share of traveling watercraft, both inside and from out-of-state. Flathead Lake in particular is the biggest aquatic playground in our backyard, drawing thousands of visitors every summer. Every one of them needs to be willing to do whatever is necessary to keep it mussel-free.
However, wildlife officials are well aware that, after a few luxurious hours on the water, nobody likes to spend any amount of time in an inspection line. To help ease any potential inconvenience at inspection stations, FWP is looking to hire seasonal employees to help. The agency is looking for applicants who are at least 18 years old, with a valid driver’s license and clean driving record, who can offer excellent customer service skills and an interest in natural resources. The season will run from April through October.
More than anything, this system depends on the willing cooperation of Montanans throughout the state. Montanans can start demonstrating their cooperating by speaking up in support of the plan to keep our state’s waters safe from invasive aquatic species.
Editorial: https://bit.ly/2nbtiiZ
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The Bozeman Chronicle, March 12, on choosing a new congressman for Montana:
Montanans get a do-over for their 2016 congressional election. Ryan Zinke has resigned his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives to serve as secretary of the interior in President Trump’s cabinet.
The major parties have chosen their candidates to fill the vacancies. And now Montanans will get to choose their next congressman in a May 25 election. Musician and Democrat Rob Quist and entrepreneur and Republican Greg Gianforte - neither of whom has ever held political office - will face each other and a Libertarian candidate who will likely be selected this weekend.
Brace yourself. The do-over election means another round of political ads. The good news is the campaign will be swift. There are only about 10 weeks until the election. But the bad news is there will likely be plenty of out-of-state, super-PAC dark money infesting the campaign with smear ads.
Perhaps that’s unavoidable in the post-Citizens United world. In that 2010 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court unleashed unlimited anonymous political advertising. And it’s since been used to sling mud at political candidates of all stripes.
But the candidates themselves can do better. And they are urged to do better - by disavowing any dark-money ads aimed at their opponent, and by keeping their own political ads and campaign dialog out of the dirt.
During Gianforte’s unsuccessful 2016 run for governor against incumbent Gov. Steve Bullock, we got to see a lot of ads about Bullock’s use of a state-owned airplane and Gianforte’s tangling with the state over a fishing access site on his land. Will we have to listen this time around to a bunch more tripe about a hillbilly banjo player and a New Jersey millionaire?
Thinking Montanans don’t care about that kind of “gotcha” stuff. What they do care about are the issues: health care, education and the management of our public lands. Those are the kinds of things our next congressman can make a difference on. And we need to hear where the candidates stand on those issues clearly and distinctly.
Both Quist and Gianforte are strongly urged to stick to the high ground during this campaign. Montana voters are adults. And they deserve an adult conversation.
Editorial: https://bit.ly/2m1eQKA
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The Billings Gazette, March 10, on how repealing Obamacare will affect Montana:
Last week, the Montana Legislature struggled to balance the state budget with spending cuts to most public services for the next two years. In Washington, D.C., two U.S. House Committees rushed to approve new health care legislation that would repeal much of the Affordable Care Act, including Medicaid coverage for the poorest Americans.
Back in Montana, it’s time to take stock of the HELP Act that made Medicaid coverage available starting Jan. 1, 2016, to all very low income Montanans, regardless of age.
A report released last week by the Montana Healthcare Foundation in Bozeman shows the HELP Act made dramatic changes in its first year:
-More than 71,000 Montanans enrolled, most of whom had incomes below $11,000 a year.
-At least 30,000 new enrollees accessed preventive health services in 2016, including 15,000 who saw a dentist.
-The expansion saved the state government $22 million, mostly by transferring seriously ill people from programs funded completely by the state.
-About $284 million in federal funds was paid to Montana health care providers.
-As a group, Montana hospitals saw a 25 percent drop in charity care and bad debt - after many years of continuous increases in uncompensated care.
-New Medicaid enrollees gained access to treatment for chemical dependencies and mental health, two areas vital to reducing demands on other public services.
The nonprofit foundation contracted with Manatt Health, a national firm, to compile hard data on Montana’s Medicaid expansion to provide information to the public and policymakers, said Dr. Aaron Wernham, foundation executive director. Montana in 2017 will get a return of $9 for every $1 it spends on the Medicaid expansion, Wernham said.
Montana Hospital Association President Dick Brown said the reduction in hospitals’ uncompensated care is particularly important to small rural hospitals that have been struggling to keep their doors open.
Montana hospitals added more than 350 new jobs last year, Brown told The Gazette, adding: “We’re doing the right thing.”
Addiction treatment
Medicaid gives the poorest Montanans access to chemical dependency treatment, which is critically important in a state with nearly 400 deaths annually from alcohol abuse, plus 250 deaths and 2,500 hospital emergency visits a year from overdoses of other drugs.
Parental drug addiction is a primary driver of the huge increase in child neglect and abuse cases statewide, and especially in Yellowstone County where twice as many cases have been filed in the past two years as in the preceding two years.
Abuse of alcohol and other drugs is a major factor in crime and in the overcrowding of Montana’s prisons and jails. Offenders who are addicted to chemicals tend to fail at probation and parole and return to incarceration. Effective addiction treatment is the only way to break that vicious cycle.
Inmate health care
The HELP Act saved the Montana Department of Corrections $1.3 million last year, according to the report. Now inmates who are eligible for Medicaid can have their hospital bills covered by Medicaid if they have to be hospitalized for more than 24 hours.
At the Yellowstone County jail, which usually holds about 500 inmates, Capt. Sam Bofto said he and the jail’s new medical service provider are researching how the HELP Act may reduce county costs. The jail regularly works with local judges to minimize county expense for inmate health care, and doesn’t send a prisoner to a hospital unless absolutely necessary, Bofto said. However, the jail budgets $100,000 a year for hospital services and has spent tens of thousands of dollars on a single rare, but high-cost, inmate hospitalization.
Child protection, mental health, corrections and community hospitals will all have much more difficult challenges if Montana’s Medicaid expansion were to disappear. The U.S. House legislation aims to give Americans more choices, but for people below or near poverty, there is no market choice they can afford.
The Montana Legislature’s budget battle of 2017 is a small skirmish compared to the prospect of losing $300 million a year in federal support for our poorest citizens to get the health care they need.
Editorial: https://bit.ly/2mKgAoA
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