Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials will meet with the department's internal automated licensing system team next week in Helena to receive a team recommendation concerning the request for proposal evaluation process for developing and operating the state wildlife agency's planned automated licensing system.
(Headlines - July 31, 1998)

The Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission will meet Friday, August 7, in the auditorium of the Montana Department of Transportation building, 2701 Prospect Ave., in Helena. Heading the agenda for the meeting, which is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m., will be the adoption of final quotas for deer, elk and antelope hunting during this fall's hunts, as well as tentative 1998 waterfowl and final 1998 webless migratory bird seasons and regulations.
(Headlines - July 31, 1998)

Fish, Wildlife & Parks has established a memorial fund in the name of the late Dale Tash that will be dedicated to the preservation and restoration of Bannack State Park, Montana's first territorial capitol, southwest of Dillon. Tash died on June 25 at his home in Dillon. For many years, Dale managed the historic state park for FWP. His father was born in Bannack in a house that is one of a number owned and cared for by the State.
(Headlines - July 31, 1998)

Hunters__if you are planning on heading afield in Montana for some black bear hunting this fall, TAKE NOTE: no 1998 black bear licenses will be sold after August 31 (the 1998 fall season begins on September 15 in most hunting districts). Both the spring (licenses had to be purchased by April 14) and fall black bear license purchase deadlines instituted this year have been designed to reduce illegal hunting of bears.
(Headlines - July 31, 1998)

(See the Fact Sheet immediately following this story) Twelve Montanans and a commissioner from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife have been selected to serve on Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks' Preference 2001 Advisory Committee. The group will develop a preference system for hunters who apply for Montana's strictly limited hunting licenses, which are awarded only through annual special drawings.
(Headlines - July 24, 1998)

A research report just released by Fish, Wildlife & Parks represents, according to one of its authors, a "state-of-the-art synthesis," of the Statewide Deer Research Studies conducted by FWP during the period from 1975-1995. The 180-page document, entitled Ecology and Management of Mule Deer and White-tailed Deer in Montana , is available at no charge at all FWP Regional Offices and at the Butte, Helena and Havre area resource offices.
(Headlines - July 17, 1998)

Commercial users of state-owned fishing access sites, wildlife management areas and other Fish, Wildlife & Parks properties should contact their nearest FWP office to ensure they will be properly registered to use those sites. This spring, the Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission approved FWP's request to institute a registration process to identify users of its many properties around the state.
(Headlines - July 17, 1998)

Applications from hunters hoping to obtain tundra swan permits for the 1998 season will be available August 1 and must be postmarked by Friday, September 4. In the Pacific Flyway, which includes Freezout Lake Wildlife Management Area -- 500 permits are offered for swan hunting in Cascade, Chouteau, Toole, Liberty, Hill and portions of Teton and Pondera counties. Final quotas will be set in August. An additional 500 permits will be issued for use anywhere in the Central Flyway.
(Headlines - July 17, 1998)

When the Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission set seasons and regulations for deer hunting in Montana during 1998, it eliminated hunting for either-sex mule deer during the special archery-only season in many hunting districts throughout the state. In other words, antlerless mule deer can not be taken legally by bowhunters in most hunting districts during 1998 .
(Headlines - July 17, 1998)

The comment period on three documents designed to help Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks prepare for the future has been extended to July 31. The documents -- Fisheries Beyond 2000, the Wildlife Programmatic Impact Statement, and 2020 Vision for Montana State Parks -- provide proposed future management direction for the state agency. "Approximately every five years, we take a hard look at the long-term direction of the agency," said FWP Director Pat Graham.
(Headlines - July 02, 1998)

Planning to bowhunt this fall? If so, you will need to act quickly if you need to take a bowhunter education course. Bowhunter education classes will end July 31 and no more classes will be taught until after January 1999. Who needs a class? Regulations state that: All resident youths 12 through 17 years of age are required to present a Montana Hunter Education Certificate when purchasing any hunting license.
(Headlines - July 02, 1998)

Headwaters State Park at Three Forks, one of the focal points of Montana's early history, will be the site of a fur-trade era encampment July 25-26, 1998. With the centennial celebration of the Lewis and Clark expedition rapidly approaching, public interest in the early history of Montana is increasing.
(Headlines - July 02, 1998)

The 1998 Bannack Days celebration will be held Saturday and Sunday, July 18-19, at Bannack State Park located 22 miles southwest of Dillon. "Bannack Days is a traditional Montana pioneer celebration," said Cindy Staszak, Bannack State Park Manager. "We always depend on volunteers to help run Bannack Days, and it's not too late to sign up.
(Headlines - July 02, 1998)