Meeting set in Hysham for proposed conservation easement

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks will host a public meeting in Hysham on Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. at the Treasure County Community Center to discuss a proposed conservation easement.

FWP has prepared for review a Draft Environmental Assessment for a proposal to purchase a conservation easement totaling 9,706 acres in Treasure County. The proposed easement will be referred to as the “Antelope Coulee Conservation Easement.” The land is located north of Hysham along the Yellowstone River and is in FWP’s Administrative Region 7, Deer/Elk Hunting District 701.

The Antelope Coulee Conservation Easement is adjacent to the FWP Isaac Homestead Wildlife Management Area and publicly accessible Department of Natural Resources and Conservation land. The Amelia Island Wildlife Management Area and Amelia Island Fishing Access Site are directly across the Yellowstone River from the proposed easement on the south shore.

The Draft Environmental Assessment can be viewed online at: http://fwp.mt.gov/news/publicNotices/conservationEasements/pn_0039.html, or hard copies are available upon request from the FWP Region 7 office. Written comments will be accepted until Sept. 26, 2019 and can be mailed or emailed to the follwing address: Antelope Coulee Conservation Easement EA, c/o Steve Atwood, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, P.O. Box 1630, Miles City, MT 59301, or email: satwood@mt.gov.

As part of the decision-making process under the Montana Environmental Policy Act, the Decision Notice for this EA will be issued soon after the end of the comment period. The FWP Fish & Wildlife Commission has the final decision-making authority for FWP land acquisition proposals, and the Commission will be asked to render its decision on this proposal at its October 2019 meeting.