MOLT — A 2,700-acre piece of land in Stillwater County is now known as the James L. Hansen Waterfowl Production Area.
“When he found out about it about a week before he passed away, he said, just put a sign out there and say Jim's watering hole,” said Phyllis Hansen, Jim’s wife.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) put a big sign with his name on the 2,700 acres it acquired next to the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) Big Lake Waterfowl Management area.
“He would have been very humbled, to see the sign and the people that were here on Friday,” Phyllis said.
Phyllis Hansen was married to Jim for 53 years until he died in October of 2022.
The USFWS honored Jim on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, for his more than 50 years working with waterfowl, 31 of those with FWP.
Phyllis said Jim always wanted to teach people about the waterfowl.
“He wanted them to appreciate their beauty,” Phyllis said. "He wanted them to know that you have to shoot some of them. Hunting is a form of management. It's not cruel."
"His love of wildlife and especially birds, really resonates, I think with rural America,” said USFWS Charles M. Russell Wetland Management District manager Cortez Rohr. “Jim is going to be their kind of guy.”
Rohr said Jim Hanson was instrumental in the USFWS acquiring the land.
“He's just an avid conservationist,” Rohr said. “He had many friends far and wide. People gravitated to him. They enjoyed him. They enjoyed his stories.”
Phyllis told a story about Jim's straight-shooting involving what he said to golf course management who wanted a pair of geese.
“Next year when you have multiple pairs of geese and you have the problem of geese eating and the results, I'm not going to get them off of your land for you,” Phyllis said about Jim’s warning.
Rohr and his coworkers understand why Jim Hanson had a passion for waterfowl that lasted more than five decades.
“Most folks and in our line of business, we love the land and we love the intrinsic value that you get, not only from harvesting wild game but seeing the other species,” Rohr said. “It's just a way to connect.”
