Dave Stalling knows that's true.
He's heard their stories of favorite fishing haunts going dry, wildfires burning up hunting hideaways and grizzly bears that refuse to hibernate.
Stalling hopes they're worried enough to step up and try to make a difference.
Over the past year, Stalling has been traveling the state to spread the word about how Montana's fish and wildlife could be impacted by global warming. Along the way, he's been recruiting others to help.
“I call it the Amway approach to conservation,” Stalling said. “I'm finding there are a lot of people with a conservation ethic that are motivated to help spread the word.”
Stalling is the National Wildlife Federation's global warming outreach coordinator. He's also a hunter, fisherman and long-distance hiker.
His interest in the issue of global warming peaked after an eight-week, 800-mile-long backpack trip from his doorstep in Missoula to Waterton, Alberta.
Along the way, Stalling saw some of the wildest country left in the lower 48 states.
He also saw diminished glaciers in Glacier National Park, huge tracts of parched forest impacted by insects and streams reduced to just a trickle. It was enough to make him a believer in what scientists have been warning for years: Global warming is here and it could change Montana's rich natural heritage.
And so, Stalling meets with outdoorsmen and anyone who will listen to talk about the issue and suggest some things people might do to make a difference.
“Wildlife in this state are already facing so many challenges,” he said. “The spread of noxious weeds, urban sprawl, development in crucial corridors - add global warming to all of that and it just becomes almost overwhelming. Their habitat can change so rapidly that they don't have time to adapt.”
The impacts are already being felt.
On Colorado's Roan Plateau, hotter temperatures and less moisture have combined to wipe out huge patches of oak brush and other important plants mule deer need to survive in the sagebrush habitat. Over the last quarter century, mule deer numbers in that area declined by 50 percent and harvest levels dropped by 75 percent.
If the current climate trends continue, Stalling said scientists estimate a 59 percent decline in sagebrush habitat by 2100.
“Sage grouse are already in trouble,” he said. “There are so many other species that depend on sagebrush.”
Waterfowl hunters are also facing a bleak future if global warming continues unabated, Stalling said.
The breadbasket of waterfowl production is found in the prairie potholes region that covers the northern Great Plains and Canadian prairie. Nearly 50 percent of North America's waterfowl still breed and nest in the area, which depends on rain and snowmelt each year to fill thousands of shallow depressions carved out during the last Ice Age.
“We're starting to see some of those areas dry up,” Stalling said. “I always tell people that it's going to make for a lot of unhappy retrievers.”
Montana's anglers are feeling the impacts of global warming already.
Declining snowpacks, earlier runoffs and hotter summers have forced the state to close many rivers and streams to fishing over the last few years.
“Cold-water fisheries start to feel it when water temperatures rise over 70 degrees,” Stalling said. “When it gets above 75 degrees, it's lethal to trout.”
Hunters and anglers are well aware of the issue.
In 2006, the National Wildlife Federation conducted a nationwide survey of sportsmen about global warming. Three out of four of those who participated said they've already seen changes that include shifts in waterfowl migrations, earlier arrival of spring and lingering autumns.
“Whenever I go to tell my story, people stand up and tell me theirs,” Stalling said. “They see it. They know its happening.”
People need to know it's not too late to turn the situation around, he said.
The National Wildlife Federation is calling on hunters and anglers across the nation to join a long-term program that reduces greenhouse emissions by 2 percent over the next 40 years - a total of 80 percent by the middle of the century.
“We can't do it overnight,” Stalling said. “It's not going to go away in my lifetime.”
Little things like changing from traditional incandescent light bulbs to more efficient fluorescent bulbs is one way people can start making a difference.
Over the lifespan of a fluorescent bulb, people can save $30 in energy costs and keep 1,400 pounds of carbon dioxide out the air, Stalling said.
“Why wouldn't you use them?” he asked. “We need to find ways of being more efficient in how we use energy.”
Perhaps more importantly, Stalling said, hunters and anglers need to let political leaders know they want to see changes coming on both the federal and state levels.
Besides the push for reduction in greenhouse gases, Stalling said there needs to be increased funding for state wildlife agencies to ensure that wildlife habitat will be protected and restored to ensure wildlife has a chance to adapt to the changes that are sure to come.
“It's not all gloom and doom, but the situation is urgent,” he said. “We need to do something now, not tomorrow or the next day. It needs to happen right away.”
2007 Montana Big Game Seasons
Antelope 900 series archery, Aug. 15-Nov. 11Antelope archery, Sept. 1- Oct. 13
Antelope general, Oct. 7- Nov. 11
Deer and elk archery, Sept. 1-Oct. 14
Backcountry deer and elk, Sept.15-Nov. 25
Deer and elk general, Oct. 21-Nov. 25
Bighorn sheep, Sept. 15-Nov.25
Moose, Sept. 15-Nov. 25
Mountain goat, Sept. 15-Nov. 25
Black bear fall, Sept. 15-Nov. 25
Mountain lion fall, Oct. 21-Nov. 25
Mountain lion winter, Dec. 1-April 14, 20082007 Montana
Big Game Seasons Antelope 900 series archery, Aug. 15-Nov. 11
Antelope archery, Sept. 1- Oct. 13
Antelope general, Oct. 7- Nov. 11
Deer and elk archery, Sept. 1-Oct. 14
Backcountry deer and elk, Sept.15-Nov. 25
Deer and elk general, Oct. 21-Nov. 25
Bighorn sheep, Sept. 15-Nov.25
Moose, Sept. 15-Nov. 25
Mountain goat, Sept. 15-Nov. 25
Black bear fall, Sept. 15-Nov. 25
Mountain lion fall, Oct. 21-Nov. 25
Mountain lion winter, Dec. 1-April 14, 2008
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