Montana State Parks is again conducting a statewide poster contest as an educational endeavor to enhance student’s understanding, awareness and appreciation of what exists in Montana’s State Parks. The contest is open to all fifth grade students. The contest theme for 2000 is "Who ONCE Lived in Montana State Parks…Historic Homes of Our Parks." CONTACT HELENA.
(Parks - April 01, 2000)

The State Parks system relies heavily on volunteers to be successful. Helena Parks staff recently worked on a Habitat for Humanity home in East Helena. It was a great way to celebrate the holiday season and give something back to the community. Whether it is supporting the community through co-sponsoring an event or working creatively with community leaders to complete a project, Montana State Park staff looks for ways support the community they are a part of. CONTACT FWP OFFICES.
(Parks - April 01, 2000)

We at State Parks are excited to be part of the programmatic review of important Montana resources. Governor Racicot appointed a 14 member committee, consisting of six legislators, and two members of the Historical Society Board, the Heritage Commission, the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commission and the Tourism Advisory Council.
(Parks - April 01, 2000)

The Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission has ask the department to survey the public to better understand the type and amount of conflicts there are on Montana waters. As our Montana population increases, and more visitors come to the Big Sky Country, we are seeing more people use our lakes, streams and reservoir for more diverse types of recreation. At times there are conflicts between these user groups.
(Parks - April 01, 2000)

The Parks Division has received grant applications from individuals, clubs, and state and federal agencies requesting $221,000 (approximately $164,000 available) for projects including trail maintenance, education workshops, weed control, equipment leasing and trail-head signings. Funding for these grants is derived from State Gas Tax and OHV registrations. Off-Highway-Vehicle grant funds must be used for established motorized trails, safety education, noxious-weed control and public awareness.
(Parks - April 01, 2000)

CARA, as H.R. 701 has become known, is landmark legislation that will provide on-going wildlife, land, and parks conservation with the largest infusion of federal funds in history. Most of the funds would go to various state and local conservation programs, including state wildlife conservation and local parks and recreation developments. Montana, which faces tremendous challenges attempting to conserve declining wildlife and dwindling habitats, could see an infusion of more than $5.
(Parks - April 01, 2000)

The Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission approved the sale of a State Park Passport for low-income residents and families. The Low-Income Parks’ Passport is available for $16.00 to those residents who have been determined eligible. Eligibility for low-income is determined by standard Medicaid or Food Stamp documentation as set by the Department Public Health and Human Services.
(Parks - April 01, 2000)

Recreationists heading afield this spring need to be aware that a State Lands Recreational Use License is required if, in the course of their activities, they will be on state land. Licenses are available from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks license agents for $10 for adults ages 18 to 59 and $5 for youngsters age 17 and younger and for senior citizens 60 or older. A $20 family license for up to six immediate family members living in the same household is also available.
(Headlines - March 31, 2000)

A series of creative land exchanges could soon put Alberton Gorge near Missoula, with its popular whitewater stretches and fishing access on the Clark Fork River, into state ownership, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Director Pat Graham.
(Headlines - March 31, 2000)

The TIP-MONT program's Board of Directors awarded $9,450 to 30 individuals who offered tips in 1999 that led to the apprehension of violators. Cases for which rewards were paid varied from overlimits of fish, unlawful possession of deer, wildlife harassment, wasted game, and a number of residency and license fraud violations, said Shelly Hiron, TIP-MONT coordinator for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks in Helena.
(Headlines - March 31, 2000)

Montana's spring black bear season opens on Saturday, April 15, in most areas of Montana. Don Childress, administrator of the Wildlife Division for the state wildlife agency, cautioned all prospective bear hunters to make sure they have new licenses in their possession before they take off on their hunts. Black bear licenses for residents cost $15 and $120 for nonresidents, with a $4 additional charge for the resident conservation license and $5 for the nonresident conservation license.
(Headlines - March 31, 2000)

Grizzly bears have begun to emerge from their long winter's sleep along the Rocky Mountain Front, says a Montana bear biologist. "Several bears are out," says Mike Madel, wildlife biologist for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks in Region 4, north central Montana. At least one female grizzly with year-old cubs is out -- an early emergence which is becoming more common than in past years.
(Headlines - March 31, 2000)

This year's Big Game Hunting Regulations will be available beginning April 1 from all Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks regional offices and from most FWP license agents. The Big Game Regulations books are for Deer and Elk, and for Moose, Sheep, Goat and Antelope.
(Headlines - March 31, 2000)

Hunters preparing to apply for bighorn sheep licenses by the May 1 deadline should note that the hunting district map numbers for sheep were inadvertently left off the district map by the printer in the 2000 Moose, Sheep, Goat and Antelope Big Game Hunting Regulations. Map-correction inserts that include the hunting district numbers will be available April 1 at all Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks offices and license agents statewide. The corrected maps are also available on the FWP web site.
(Headlines - March 31, 2000)

Hunters who want to pursue mule deer bucks in 20 hunting districts in southwestern Montana need to apply for a special permit by June 1. All other hunting districts within the former Southwestern-8 hunting area that once required specific hunting-license validations are open to any hunter with a general Deer A license.
(Headlines - March 31, 2000)

In some hunting districts in the former "Southwestern 8" area special permits will be required to hunt antlered mule deer bucks. Applying for these permits may be a new process for some hunters. FWP recommends these steps: To see if the southwestern Montana hunting district you plan to hunt requires a special permit check the new Deer and Elk Hunting Regulations which will be available April 1.
(Headlines - March 31, 2000)

The Montana Bowhunters Association is offering single parents a chance to learn about the outdoors. The Discover the Outdoors Camp, set for June 9-11, is designed for single parents and a child ranging in age from 11 to 15. The camp will be held at FWP's Beartooth Wildlife Management Area north of Helena. Activities will include camping, cooking, bow and gun shooting sports, and fishing followed by evening educational programs to round out the days. Previous outdoor experience is not necessary.
(Headlines - March 31, 2000)

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is seeking grant proposals aimed at preventing or solving human/wildlife conflicts in urban and suburban settings. FWP's "Living With Wildlife" grant program was funded by the Montana Legislature to promote the successful coexistence of people and wildlife. The program emphasizes local involvement, partnerships, cost sharing, prevention, and solutions designed to address human/wildlife conflicts.
(Headlines - March 31, 2000)

Hunters accustomed to the license validation requirement to hunt antlered buck mule deer in a portion of southwestern Montana known to some as the "Southwestern 8" need to be aware of a big change, according to Glenn Erickson, Wildlife Management Bureau Chief for Fish, Wildlife & Parks.
(Headlines - March 17, 2000)

It may seem too early in the year to talk about hunting, but the deadline for purchasing a spring bear hunting license is only a month away. Black bear hunters who plan on taking part in the spring season need to purchase a bear hunting license by April 14. Two years ago, the Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission passed a requirement that spring black bear hunters purchase their license no later than April 14.
(Headlines - March 17, 2000)

The Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission at its meeting last week in Helena established "no wake" restrictions for motorized watercraft, including jet skis or personal water craft (PWC), on a portion of the Tongue River and on the Tongue River Reservoir. The ruling creates a 300-foot-wide no-wake zone extending around three-quarters of the shoreline on the northeast and west sides of the reservoir.
(Headlines - March 17, 2000)

Over $290,000 in funding was approved in March by the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission for 30 Montana Future Fisheries Improvement Program projects. The funding was matched by nearly $615,000 from outside sources. Private citizens, citizen groups, watershed groups and others submitted a total of 40 proposed projects. The Commission makes final decisions on funding requests after a 13-member citizen panel reviews proposals and submits funding recommendations.
(Headlines - March 17, 2000)

The annual Smith River permit drawing has taken place and the results are in the mail and on the Internet. "We received 4,300 permit applications this year," says Joe O'Neill, Fish, Wildlife & Parks Smith River manager. "We gave out 780 permits." The 59-mile scenic float south of Great Falls has become increasingly popular. Last year, 3,700 people sent in applications for the same number of permits.
(Headlines - March 17, 2000)

State Parks showcase Montana's historical, geological and recreational treasures, but people are one of the biggest assets at these parks according to Parks Division Administrator, Doug Monger of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. "State parks are a people intensive operation. From our 1,504 volunteers to our regular and part time employees -- there are many people behind the scenes making state parks the great recreational opportunities that they are.
(Headlines - March 17, 2000)

The recent annual auctions of a bighorn sheep and a moose license to supplement Montana's bighorn sheep and moose management programs garnered $95,400. Montana's 2000 bighorn sheep license auction at the annual convention of the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep (FNAWS) in Reno, Nevada, brought $95,000 according to Fish,Wildlife & Park's Glenn Erickson, Wildlife Management Bureau Chief.
(Headlines - March 17, 2000)

Montana's Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission will meet March 10 at FWP headquarters in Helena from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
(Headlines - March 03, 2000)

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks reminds recreationists that all 2000 hunting and fishing licenses expired at midnight on Wednesday, February 29. To fish or pursue any game animals during scheduled seasons from March 1 of this year through Feb. 28, 2001, hunters and anglers will need to have new 2000 licenses. New licenses are now on sale at all FWP offices or may be obtained from FWP license agents around the state.
(Headlines - March 03, 2000)

To help encourage youth and their families to get out more and experience Montana's great outdoors, the 1999 Montana Legislature created new youth pricing on some fishing and hunting licenses to begin this year. Resident youth ages 15 to 17 may purchase a Fishing License for $6.50 and resident Upland Game Bird License for $3 -- both about 50 percent less than the fees in previous years.
(Headlines - March 03, 2000)

For the first time since 1995 about $360,000 from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund is available to Montana for parks and recreation projects. "We are pleased that Congress has funded this program this year, and we are also hoping to see Congress pass the Conservation and Reinvestment Act," said Doug Monger, Fish, Wildlife & Parks division chief.
(Headlines - March 03, 2000)

As the 2000 fishing and hunting license year begins on March 1, anglers should note some new fishing regulations adopted by the Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission for the 2000-2001 biennium. Included among the most important changes in regulations are the following new catch limits: One sauger in the Marias River and on the Missouri River upstream from the PN Bridge on State Highway 236. Five trout daily on the Beaverhead River, but only one may be a rainbow trout.
(Headlines - March 03, 2000)

A quick and easy way to make a difference for wildlife in Montana is to check YES next to the eagle on the Montana state income tax form. A simple check mark helps raise funds for a variety of research, education and management programs for non-game wildlife managed by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.
(Headlines - March 03, 2000)