Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks says access from public-road right-of-ways is a fundamental part of the public's constitutional right to use the state's streams and rivers for recreational purposes in a request for the state Attorney General to resolve criminal trespass issues that have erupted along the Ruby River in Madison County.
(Headlines - June 19, 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 - June 19, 1998)

Once again this year, hunters hoping to set their sights this fall on sandhill cranes in the Sweet Grass and Wheatland counties portion of the Central Flyway, as well as in three areas of western Montana, must enter a drawing for permits. A total of 30 permits will be available to hunt from September 12_20, 1998, in Sweet Grass and Wheatland counties.
(Headlines - June 19, 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 - June 19, 1998)

The second annual Spring Meadow Lake Cardboard Cup Regatta will be held on Saturday, July 11, at Spring Meadow Lake State Park just west of Helena. The regatta is a fun and challenging opportunity to test boat building and nautical skills. It's not too early to start gathering those boxes and cardboard to be transformed into creative floating vessels. Registration will be from 8:30 - 10:30 a.m. and races will begin at 11 a.m.
(Headlines - June 19, 1998)

The Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission voted May 29 not to close several northeastern Montana hunting districts to all mule deer hunting this fall. A proposal to close the districts had been offered earlier this month in response to continuing low numbers of mule deer in the area.
(Headlines - June 05, 1998)

The Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission set tentative deer, elk and antelope harvest quotas for the 1998 hunting seasons at its May 29 meeting in Helena. To summarize the tentative quotas: Deer-- Hunters again will notice some reductions from the levels of recent years in tentative quotas for deer, especially mule deer, this fall. Proposed quotas for 1998 include even further reductions in antlerless mule deer B licenses in addition to those proposed earlier this year.
(Headlines - June 05, 1998)

Final quotas for this fall's moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goat hunting seasons have now been set by the Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission. There are only a few changes to the tentative quotas as printed in the 1998 Big Game Hunting Regulations. In general, moose and mountain goat quotas will remain basically the same as last year, while bighorn sheep quotas would be decreased slightly out of concern for the health of some sheep herds in portions of the state.
(Headlines - June 05, 1998)

Montana's Private Land/Public Wildlife Advisory Council will meet in Miles City on Thursday, June 18, from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn. The 14-member council, comprising landowners, hunters and outfitters appointed by Governor Racicot, is charged with reviewing current hunter access programs and working with the public to develop recommendations concerning hunter access, private lands and outfitter issues.
(Headlines - June 05, 1998)

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is now soliciting proposals from wildlife conservation organizations interested in conducting the auctions through which Montana's 1999 bighorn sheep and moose auction licenses will be sold. To be eligible to conduct the 1999 moose license auction, an organization must have prior involvement in the conservation of moose.
(Headlines - June 05, 1998)

At its meeting on May 29, the Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission adopted tentative furbearer trapping and hunting regulations for 1998-99. Included in the furbearer tentatives is a regulation change proposed by FWP that would require permission of landowners before resident trappers can trap on private lands.
(Headlines - June 05, 1998)