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Senator Gillespie suggested that maybe some brainstorming sessions be held by the LLB to discuss how some of the grants be justified, because Montana funded most of those grants
- The first public comment was received in the form of an email that was read by Brian Simonson, requesting that the LLB compensate for pregnant animals at a higher rate than market value
Jordan Mannix moved to approve the letter of support to the Western SARE Research and Education regarding the Range Rider Training grant request. Raina Blackman seconded. (Doreen Gillespie abstained from voting). The motion passed.
(3:14:39) 4:02 PM
Leslie Doely presented a letter to the LLB from Sabrina Bradford, who was working with the Western Sustainability Exchange who were applying for a grant that would help fund training for Range Riders. The grant would come from the Western SARE. The letter was requesting that the LLB submit a letter of support for them to receive that grant
The LLB decided to set their next grant award cycle for Wednesday, December 9, 2026, with a deadline for grants to be turned into the LLB by November 4, 2026. The LLB also set a meeting date of July 29, 2026 for a short meeting to make a decision on what amount of the leftover claims money should be given to Wildlife Services
With the expectation of receiving even more grant applicants in the future, Leslie Doely shared her ideas on changing grant scoring criteria in the future and was open to hearing ideas from the LLB as well
Joe Kipp complimented and thanked Senator Gillespie on his work on State legislation that would not require State of Montana Tribal members to have an MOU with the LLB