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DEC-TI998 



p. O. Box 200701 



Helena, MT 59620-0701 



(406)444-3186 



FAX:406-444-4952 



Ref:PG0885.98 



December 7, 1998 



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Mr. Jim Pellegrini 

 Legislative Audit Division 

 Room 135, State Capitol 

 POB 201705 

 Helena, MT 59620 -1705 



Dear Mr. Pellegrini: 



I would like to offer the following comments on your recent review of the Fish Wildlife & Parks (FWP) 

 Wildlife Programmatic EIS. First, our complements to Jim Nelson on the professional job in conducting the 

 review. My staff felt Jim was very professional and courteous during the review and enjoyed working with 

 him. 



1 believe your review is complete, and the recommendations made are well founded and will help FWP in the 

 future. 1 would like to note that while the process did take seven years to complete, the initial draft was 

 completed in 1996. However, in order to mesh with other plans being prepared by the Fisheries and Parks 

 programs the draft was not released for public review until April 1998. Also, despite the length of time it took 

 to complete this project, it was accomplished well under the original estimated budget. It should be noted that 

 the Draft EIS and the supplement to the Draft have been accepted as the Final EIS by FWP. 



While this was a long and involved process that took several unexpected turns, I do believe we developed a 

 much better product in the end than would have occurred had we not begun again after rejecting the first set 

 of alternatives. The EIS as written provides us with a solid direction for the management of wildlife in the state, 

 and allows for adjustments to our program without having to develop another EIS. During the same period that 

 the Programmatic EIS was being prepared, the wildlife division developed two other EIS's; one on the 

 management of black bears and the other on mountain lion management. 



This has been a learning experience for the wildlife division and the other programs within FWP. Montana's 

 Wildlife Programmatic EIS is the first document of it's kind in the United States. Other agencies have put 

 together programmatic studies of specific portions of their programs, none have taken on the development of 

 an analysis of their entire program. Obviously this was an ambitious task when we undertook it, as I have said, 

 I believe the end product is well worth the effort that had to be extended to develop the EIS. 



Again, JWP believes the recommendations made by the Audit Division are well founded, and we will utilize 

 to them when developing future Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) projects. 



Sincerely, 



Patrick J. Graham 

 Director 



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