Recently the Custer Rod and Gun Club Board of Directors decided that it was in the best interest of our club to break our ties with the Montana Wild Life Federation. This decision was made in order to make the most effective use of the memberships limited funds; as well as protect the members personal information, as the MWF was requesting the detailed personal information of our club members. Additionally, many club members were upset that the club was supporting a group that is lobbying for certain wildlife management programs that are directly opposed by many of the ranchers and club members in Eastern Montana.

Below is a letter we received from MWF. CR&GC President Keith Hall requested that the letter be posted on the website for the membership to see…

Montana Wild Life Federation
www.montanawildlife.org
Protecting Montana’s wildlife, land, waters, hunting and fishing heritage since 1936

May 20, 2014

Keith Hall
President
Custer Rod & Gun Club
P.O. Box 303
Miles City, MT 59301

Dear Keith:

Thank you for taking the time to talk last week about the Custer Rod & Gun Club and the
Montana Wildlife Federation (MWF).

I was saddened to hear of your Board’s decision to disaffiliate from MWF. However, I
absolutely understand your reasons for doing so. I think there is no question that MWF as a
statewide organization failed to effectively reach out to your club and deliver results for your
members over a period of many years.

Even though I understand why you want to leave the Federation, I hope you will reconsider.
This is a time of significant change for MWF. As Montana’s oldest conservation
organization, we have an unmatched legacy of success in protecting wildlife, habitat, and
access. At the same time, any organization of our tenure will occasionally need to be
renewed and reinvigorated.

As the new Executive Director, I have made it my personal priority to reinvent our business
operations, rebuild our membership, and reopen lines of communication with our affiliates
all over the state. In addition to restructuring our operations to enhance value for affiliates
and members, MWF is also directing considerable attention to refocusing our policy agenda,
including expanded attention to issues in Eastern Montana.

MWF includes people from every part of the state and from all walks of life. Our members
include people from a diverse array of professional fields and all political stripes. This
diverse group of people is drawn together by an intense commitment to a core set of shared
values: healthy wildlife populations, plenty of habitat, and public access. Elected officials,
agency managers, other conservation groups, and private businesses all know that when
someone speaks on behalf of MWF, they are representing the views of thousands of other
Montanans who care about fish, wildlife, and habitat. Over the years, this has helped us
ensure that Montana has the best wildlife, the best habitat, and the best access in the West.

P.O. Box 1175, Helena, Montana 59624 .
406-458-0227 . www.montanawildlife.org . mwf@mtwf.org

I realize that your club’s decision to leave the Montana Wildlife Federation is the result of
years of neglect, and I respect your assessment of the situation. At the same time, I do hope
that you and the Board will consider the substantial benefits you and your members can
derive from rebuilding a relationship between our organizations. With a few simple steps, I
think we could deliver more results for your members and, at the same time, enhance your
club’s role in our statewide organization.

Thanks again for your time. Please feel free to call me at any time if you have additional
ideas or comments on how MWF can do a better job reaching out to our members and
affiliate clubs. You can reach me at (406) 438-6478 or dchadwick@mtwf.org.

Sincerely,
Dave Chadwick
Executive Director