McKean Ousted From FWP Commission Warns Against Politicization of Wildlife Management

The Montana Senate voted on party lines to reject the appointment of Andrew McKean of Valley County to the Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission on Feb. 19. The vote to reject McKean passed 31 to 18 with the entire Republican caucus voting against and the entire Democratic Caucus voting in favor of McKean.

In November of 2020, then-Governor Steve Bullock appointed McKean to serve out the remainder of former commissioner Logan Brower's term, who moved from Scobey to Helena that same year. McKean's nomination from Bullock was scheduled before committee and for a vote in the Senate. Regardless, Gianforte's transition team reached out and asked McKean to apply for the position as a Gianforte appointee, which he did. In the end Governor Gianforte nominated his former gubernatorial running mate Leslie Robinson for the commissioner seat currently held by McKean.

As a result, McKean's original nomination from former Governor Bullock was not recommended by the Senate Fish and Game committee and went on to be rejected by the Republican majority in the Senate. The move is seen by many in the outdoor advocacy community as a politicization of the commission.

Glasgow resident and public land access advocate, Justin Schaff, said the decision appeared to be political and he pointed out that the law states, "Appointments must be made without regard to political affiliation and must be made solely for the wise management of fish, wildlife and related recreational resources of this state."

"It's gotten more attention than I expected," McKean told the Courier on Feb. 22. "But as much as it deserves-it's weird for me to say that-I think it is a big deal. I'm not seeking attention, but I think the issue itself is worthy of coverage."

The issue at hand for McKean is a politicization of the FWP commission, which is supposed to offer nonpartisan council and supervision to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. In short, the commission oversees the way the state's resources held in the public trust are managed by the department. McKean worries that an overt politization of the commission means that special interest groups and commercialization will win out over the average Montanan.

The rejection did not come as a surprise to McKean. He had assumed the Republican majority would reject him since his appointment to the post was made by Democrat Steve Bullock.

"I think that's the original sin-if I have one," explained McKean, "is that Bullock appointed me."

He explained how he had been asked by Governor Greg Gianforte's transition team to apply for the position anyway through their portal, but the governor decided to nominate his 2016 gubernatorial running mate, Leslie Robinson, to represent region four of the commission instead. Commissioners must live in the region they represent. Robinson is a landowner, former Phillips County Commissioner and representative for the Montana Stockgrowers Association.

"If you look at the other [FWP] commissioners there, they almost all represent special interests," said McKean. "You've got an outfitter from region one and the former head of the Montana Outfitters Association. You've got a fishing retailer in region three... You've got an oil and gas guy out of Billings... And now in region four you've got a stock grower."

McKean even pointed to the only Democratic-appointed member of the commission left for being a Trout Unlimited biologist, which he said would be a special interest as well. The point McKean was making is that he was the only appointee that seemed to represent the "independent, sort of rank and file, everyday hunter and angler."

"I think that's a really important voice to have on that commission," said McKean.

With that in mind, he applied to the position through Gianforte's portal, even as his Bullock appointment moved forward, in a hope that partisan politics would not be a factor in the senate's decision.

McKean sees the work of the commission as critical to wildlife management in the state.

"I figured it was an uphill slug, but it was one I was willing and certainly eager to do," he said. "The work is hugely important and probably more important with what we're seeing in the legislature right now with wildlife really being politicized."

McKean called it naivete, but he had held out hope that the constitutional charter of the commission making it a nonpartisan, qualifications-based governing body would win over in the end. That was not the case in the long run though.

Efforts to appease special interest groups like outfitters, landowners and corporations have driven appointments and recent legislation said McKean. One example he pointed to is a recently amended bill to give a significant number of hunting tags (up to 60 percent) to outfitters, effectively turning hunting into a commercial enterprise that could push out the average Montanan and force the use of outfitters.

Other examples include a draft resolution to give up to 10 tags to landowners that could be sold to out-of-state hunters, which McKean views as a step toward privatizing Montana's public resources-namely wildlife. McKean called it "ranching for wildlife" where landowners sell tags to the highest bidder and profit off the public trust of game animals at the expense of the average sportsman.

The concern for McKean is that programs like these will limit public access to hunting, terminate or diminish block management areas and restrict most hunting to a competition among the average hunters on public lands. He sees this as running counter to Montana's outdoor culture and ethos.

"That's just not the Montana tradition of wildlife management, where it's a public resource managed in a public trust," he said. Managing that public trust was the key reason McKean wanted to continue to serve on the commission. He said it was a "calling", and for an outdoorsman with an extensive resume in the outdoor community which includes editor-in-chief of Outdoor Life and cofounder of outdoor advocacy groups like Hi-Line Sportsmen, that is saying something.

"So, me being on the commission, I think, was some sort of a bulwark against some of that obnoxious behavior from the legislature," he said. To be clear none of the proposals McKean presented have been made into law and some have already been amended to be more palatable for the broader outdoor community, but for McKean it's the idea that politics may be making a wedge issue out of wildlife management to turn it into a political card to play during elections or to appeal to special interests.

"It's important to note that I'm politically independent," said McKean. "I don't affiliate with either party and I think that's where many people live, but it is not the way our system works."

He warned that going forward the processes to keep the public engaged and aware of what is going on with the management of wildlife in the state will be eroded. He pointed to the last commission meeting as an example. According to McKean, an emergency meeting was called, with little regard for public notice and comment, to appease special interests and implement a new elk season in the Crazy Mountains. McKean said the issue was brought to the commission by a landowner and pressed forward by the governor. McKean voted in opposition to the measure because he viewed the meeting as running counter to the public processes that keep government in check.

"It short circuited a really important public process," he said. "The public really didn't have a chance to comment on it. I think we'll see a lot more of that and that's a problem."

Outdoor groups and public sentiment seemed to favor McKean and run opposite of what the senate voted on.

Outdoorsman, Glasgow Resident and public land access advocate, Justin Schaaf, told the Courier, "It's a sad day for all Montanans that someone as qualified and widely respected as Andrew was pushed off of the Fish and Wildlife Commission. Andrew was a victim of dirty politics and shady back room deals at the hands of the majority party in the Senate while our very own Senator, Mike Lang, sat idly by in silence. I look forward to Andrew's continued work for Montana's wildlife and people."

Senator Mike Lang (R)-who represents much of Northeast Montana in Helena-told the Courier he agrees that the decision was partisan and that the commission is being politicized, but he blamed former Governor Steve Bullock for that politicization based on the nominees he made under his term.

Lang acknowledged that he did not know Andrew McKean, but that McKean had reached out to him. In the end, he said he just accepted the committee's recommendation and voted in favor of "an adverse committee report" not recommending McKean. He said that was not a vote against McKean himself.

When pressed on whether he knew of any of the testimony or findings in the committee he said he did not. Lang then went on to say that he often accepts committee recommendations although he looks into certain issues himself. He explained that "committee adherence" (voting in favor of what committees recommend) is a good thing. "I analyze it myself, but I agree with the committee on that [McKean] report."

"I think the word rejection is the wrong word," he added. After a back and forth on what defines a rejection and the politics involved, Lang said, "Okay, as long as you'll print the rest of this. I talked to Governor Bullock. [FWP] Region 6 is a big part of my senate district. I contacted him before Mr. McKean was nominated asking if I could be involved with the nomination to fill that FWP position. I was told by the governor's office there was no need to do that because we're not going to fill the position."

"So, then I, in my due diligence for FWP Region 6 and SD17, started looking for other people," Lang said. "Because we need a good commissioner that represents our way of life out there."

Lang did say that Governor Gianforte has a right to do what he wants with the appointments and that he did not select McKean as his nominee. "Now, I personally think that [McKean] is a good quality candidate," Lang said, before adding, "but we had very good candidates in Mr. Jim Carver and Mr. Rick Sampson and this Leslie Robinson to fill those positions."

When pressed why he would vote against McKean if he thought he was a "quality candidate", Lang backtracked and said, "No, I don't know him. He could be [a quality candidate]."

When asked if he thought the decision to reject McKean on a party-line vote ran the risk of politicizing the commission, Lang responded, "Yes. And the reason I do, is because we had other nominations over the years in front of Governor Bullock-and I was specifically told by his administration that because they did not belong to the Democratic Party they will not be selected."

Lang could not immediately provide the name or contact information of the person in Governor Bullock's administration who relayed this policy to him. The Courier did not reach out to former Governor Bullock for this story, and Governor Gianforte's media relations specialist did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

McKean has not given up on serving as a commissioner. He hopes to seek a future appointment to the post and, he said, he will of course continue advocating for the outdoors.