The Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission is seeking public comment on a proposal to establish fixed season dates for the opening of the deer, elk, antelope and pheasant hunting seasons. "We're working to get the word out early that the FWP Commission is interested in gathering comments on a possible tentative proposal to establish fixed dates for several hunting seasons," said FWP spokesman Ron Aasheim in Helena.
(Hunting - November 30, 2007)
Snowmobile riders and skiers maybe wondering what December will bring for their favorite winter sports. Those who are paid to watch Montana's snow and avalanche conditions say there are already plenty of places with enough snow to enjoy. "The is snow out there. And remember, if there is enough snow on the ground to ski or snowmobile, then there is enough snow to avalanche," said Doug Chabot of the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center.
(Parks - November 30, 2007)
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is seeking public comment on fishing contests proposed for the open water season of 2008. Participants must comply with state fishing regulations, including daily and possession limits. Most contests require catch-and-release fishing and participants in these contests may not keep any fish. Applications for contests may be approved, denied or approved with conditions.
(Fishing - November 30, 2007)
The Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks State Trails Advisory Committee will meet Dec. 8 at FWP headquarters, 1420 East Sixth Ave. in Helena, from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. The committee, representing multiple trail groups, was formed by FWP to review proposed grant allocations to groups interested in developing or improving recreation trails in communities or in rural areas of the state. Funding for this grant program comes from the Federal Highways Administration via the Montana Department of Transportation.
(Parks - November 30, 2007)
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is hosting a free elk summit in Bozeman, Dec. 8, for elk experts, landowners, hunters, outfitters and others to talk about the best ways to manage elk. Meanwhile, the state's elk will be doing what they always do this time of year. Winter conditions concentrate elk, making this a good time of year for FWP wildlife managers to count them. These surveys show that Montana's elk populations are beyond FWP's management objectives in many elk management units.
(Hunting - November 30, 2007)
(Kalispell, MT) Help us celebrate the completion of the newly renovated Lone Pine Interpretive Center by joining us on Friday, December 7 from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. for an open house.
(Headlines - November 30, 2007)
The Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission is seeking public comment on a proposal to establish fixed season dates for the opening of the deer, elk, antelope and pheasant hunting seasons.
(Hunting - November 29, 2007)
The Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission is seeking public comment on a proposal to establish fixed season dates for the opening of the deer, elk, antelope and pheasant hunting seasons. "We're working to get the word out early that the FWP Commission is interested in gathering comments on a possible tentative proposal to establish fixed dates for several hunting seasons," said FWP spokesman Ron Aasheim in Helena.
(Hunting - November 28, 2007)
Exceedingly low elk harvest prompts season extension for antlerless elk by permitted hunters in Missouri River Breaks and Bear Paw Mountains.
(ALS - November 28, 2007)
Everything was about as good as it gets for the last weekend of the big game season. The weather finally cooperated, lots of deer were available, and the harvest was up. A decided lack of hunters was the only downside.
(Headlines - November 28, 2007)
A steady season-long effort by hunters on the Rocky Mountain Front ended the general deer and elk season Nov. 25 with numbers that mostly reached and passed 10-year harvest averages for deer and elk. While the last week of the season featured snow and cold and brought out many hunters, says Brett Lonner, Fish, Wildlife and Parks wildlife biologist, hunter effort was present throughout the whole season.
(Headlines - November 28, 2007)
After a slow start to big game rifle season in west-central Montana, the season closed on Nov. 25 with harvest totals just above the five-year average for deer and elk.
(Headlines - November 26, 2007)
Results at the six northwest Montana check stations indicated that the 2007 big game season ended on a strong note for deer hunters.
(Headlines - November 26, 2007)
A hunter was charged by a grizzly bear in Lupfer Meadows in the Lazy Creek drainage north of Whitefish on Sunday morning.
(Headlines - November 26, 2007)
The hunting of all mountain lions in northwestern Montana Hunting District 109, which includes portions of Lincoln County, will close at one-half hour after sunset on Sunday, November 25, 2007. The closure notice for the hunt came shortly after Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials received word that the pre-established harvest sub-quota for the district had been met.
(Hunting - November 23, 2007)
The hunting of all mountain lions in western Montana hunting districts 212 and 215, which includes portions of Granite, Powell, Deer Lodge and Silver Bow counties, will close at one-half hour after sunset on Sunday, November 25, 2007. These hunting districts will re-open for the hunting of all mountain lions for the winter season beginning December 1, 2007.
(Hunting - November 23, 2007)
The Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission met today and acted to extend the hunting season for antlerless elk permit holders only to December 9 in the following Region One Hunting Districts: 101, 103, 104, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 130, 132, 140, 141.
(Headlines - November 21, 2007)
Montana’s 2007 general big game hunting season will close Sunday, Nov. 25 at one-half hour after sunset. The general season closure includes hunting for black bear, deer, mountain goat, fall mountain lion, moose, bighorn sheep and most elk.
Some elk hunting season have been extended. Information on extended elk seasons is available online at fwp.mt.gov .
Montana’s 2007 general stream fishing season is set to close Friday, Nov. 30.
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(Headlines - November 21, 2007)
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is seeking public comment on fishing contests proposed for the open water season of 2008. Participants must comply with state fishing regulations, including daily and possession limits. Most contests require catch-and-release fishing and participants in these contests may not keep any fish. Applications for contests may be approved, denied or approved with conditions.
(Fishing - November 21, 2007)
The Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks State Trails Advisory Committee will meet Dec. 8 at FWP headquarters, 1420 East Sixth Ave. in Helena, from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. The committee, representing multiple trail groups, was formed by FWP to review proposed grant allocations to groups interested in developing or improving recreation trails in communities or in rural areas of the state. Funding for this grant program comes from the Federal Highways Administration via the Montana Department of Transportation.
(Parks - November 21, 2007)
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials remind hunters that the two-week elk season extension in west-central Montana’s Region 2 only applies to hunters with special licenses or permits in specific hunting districts. Hunters, including youth, holding only a general elk license may not hunt during the extended season in Region 2, and no special licenses or permits are available to purchase over the counter.
(Headlines - November 21, 2007)
Montana’s Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission will meet Nov. 29 at the FWP Helena Headquarters, 1420 East 6 th Ave, beginning at 8:30 a.m.
(Commission - November 21, 2007)
Despite rain on Saturday, the 5th weekend of the season was one of the busiest 5th weekends ever experienced at the Columbus check station, and hunter numbers are up 41% over last year. "We checked 287 big game hunters this weekend," said biologist Shawn Stewart. "So far this season, hunter numbers are the highest we have seen since 2004."
(Headlines - November 20, 2007)
FWP Warden Nathan Reiner of Kalispell sees waste of game cases each year. He notes that waste of game is defined in the regulations as: “Hunters, or persons in possession of a game animal or game animal parts, are prohibited from wasting or rendering unfit for human consumption, any part of a game animal that is defined as suitable for food.”
(Headlines - November 20, 2007)
Region One Wardens are looking for your help to solve several wildlife cases from this hunting season.
(Headlines - November 20, 2007)
Wildlife in northwestern Montana have more room to roam as a result of a public-private partnership to protect valuable conservation lands near Bull Lake. The Plum Creek Timber Company, Revett Minerals, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, and The Conservation Fund recently finalized a transaction that will add 255 acres to the Bull River Wildlife Management Area and conserves another 400 acres purchased by Revett Minerals
(Headlines - November 20, 2007)
While the general 2007 big game hunting season will end on Sunday, Nov. 25, hunting for elk will continue in many areas for up to an additional two weeks to reduce elk populations in several hunting districts, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks announced today. "The elk harvest in some key areas was much lower than we hoped for," said Quentin Kujala, chief of wildlife management for FWP in Helena.
(Hunting - November 20, 2007)
According to results at the six northwest Montana check stations, whitetail deer and mule deer harvest through November 18 is nearly identical to last year at the same point in the hunting season.
(Headlines - November 19, 2007)
After a slow start to big game rifle season in west-central Montana, deer harvest is now in line with the five-year average. Elk harvest continues to lag behind, but the recent snowstorm may help bring totals closer to average by the close of general season on Nov. 25.
(Headlines - November 19, 2007)
On Saturday, Bob Hart of Missoula caught his first walleye, a 14-incher. On Sunday, for his second walleye, he apparently broke the state record. Hart, 46, caught a 17.75-pound walleye at 7:15 a.m., Sunday, on the north shore of Tiber Reservoir southeast of Shelby. The fish measured 35 inches long with a 22-inch girth. The fish has been weighed on an official scale and measured but not yet seen by a state Fish, Wildlife and Parks fish biologist. The previous state record – 16.63 pounds and 31.
(Headlines - November 19, 2007)
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is sponsoring a free gathering in Bozeman in December to discuss the issues and challenges associated with managing elk in Montana . "Montanans have always had a passion for elk," said Jeff Hagener, director of FWP in Helena. "Many are asking how will Montana maintain the traditions that elk have come to symbolize as the state continues to change.
(Headlines - November 16, 2007)
With Montana's big game hunting season nearly half over, many hunters have big game hanging from a garage rafter or aging elsewhere. Now is the time for those carcasses to be transformed into tidy, white packages, labeled and stowed in the freezer. Montana state law requires hunters to process their animals, whether birds or big game, into a state fit for human consumption.
(Headlines - November 16, 2007)
Recent chronic wasting disease test results in Wyoming indicate that CWD is moving closer to Montana. In one case, a white-tailed deer near Lovell, Wyo. about 25 miles from the Montana border, was found to have CWD. These findings make it more important than ever that Montana's hunters take precautions to help reduce the potential exposure of Montana's wild elk and deer to CWD. The disease has yet to be detected in Montana's wild elk and deer.
(Hunting - November 16, 2007)
Some furbearer general trapping seasons are open or will open soon. In some trapping districts, beaver, otter, muskrat and mink seasons opened Nov. 1. Bobcat, marten, fisher and wolverine seasons will open Dec. 1. Before setting out, trappers must check the 2007 Montana furbearer regulations for specific season dates by trapping district, and for specific limits, and quotas. Several trapping district quota changes were made for otter, bobcat, and wolverine for the 2007-2008 season.
(Headlines - November 16, 2007)
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is preparing to create a Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep conservation strategy next year and is seeking public comment now on issues and concerns associated with bighorn sheep and bighorn sheep hunting in Montana. " The conservation strategy for bighorn sheep will draw together into one document Montana's bighorn sheep management history and future goals and objectives," said Tom Carlsen, who is managing the project for FWP in Helena.
(Hunting - November 16, 2007)
The Private Land/Public Wildlife Council will meet in Livingston Dec. 10-11 at the Best Western Yellowstone Inn, 1515 West Park Street, to discuss hunting and fishing access issues. Council members will meet beginning Dec. 10 at 1 p.m. to determine work priorities related to issues involving changes in Montana land ownership and land management, outfitting, wildlife management, and Montana’s hunting and angling traditions. The meeting will continue Tuesday, Dec. 11 from 8 a.m.
(Hunting - November 16, 2007)
Candlelight tours of Lewis and Clark Caverns near Three Forks begin Dec. 15. This is a traditional holiday event for many Montanans. Participants dress for walking in winter conditions, including snow, wind and cold temperatures. To take the winter edge off, coffee, hot chocolate and cookies are available at the visitor center. The tour is two miles in length and takes two hours to complete, including the hike from the visitor center to the cave.
(Parks - November 16, 2007)
The TIP-MONT phone line, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks toll-free hotline for reporting wildlife poaching, property damage, and violations of fish and game laws is in operation 24 hours a day. TIP-MONT is the acronym for Turn In Poachers—Montana.
(Hunting - November 16, 2007)
Back in the 1900s, O.D. Robertson guided hunts on the Rocky Mountain Front. He described one of his secret spots on the north fork of the Sun River in detail in an account published in Outdoor Life Magazine in 1913 titled "Elk Hunting In Montana." Robertson came by his work as a guide honestly. When he was 15, he worked on the Two-Bar Cattle ranch on the Smith River where he rode with 40 other cowpunchers, including Charlie Russell.
(Hunting - November 16, 2007)
By order of the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission, Hunting District 250,which includes portions of Ravalli county, as described in the legal descriptions of the 2007 Montana Deer, Elk, Antelope Hunting Regulations, shall be closed to all hunting of antlerless elk, effective one-half hour after sunset on Friday, November 16, 2007. Hunting District 250 will remain open to brow-tined bull until November 25, 2007.
(Hunting - November 16, 2007)
Public comments are being sought through early December on a proposal to release as many as 50 wild turkeys on the Cowan Ranch in Blaine County.
(ALS - November 15, 2007)
The next meeting of the Region 6 Prairie Dog Implementation Committee will be Wednesday, Nov. 28 at the First State Bank in Malta.
(ALS - November 15, 2007)
A combination of cooler weather, calm winds, and moderate rut activity resulted in a rebound in hunter numbers over the past weekend. Lavina saw a decrease in hunter numbers over last year, but at Columbus and Big Timber numbers were up 34% and 8% respectively from the same weekend last year. This brings the numbers closer to the normal range for the fourth weekend of the big game season. There was no check station at Laurel this weekend.
(Headlines - November 15, 2007)
Neither rain, snow, gumbo, or hard prairie winds can keep the Stiff family from hitting the road on weekends during the big game season and bagging enough game to feed this hungry family of five (three of them teenagers).
(Headlines - November 15, 2007)
Hunter harvest was slow in southwest Montana during the fourth week of the general big game season.
(Headlines - November 14, 2007)
The hunting of all mountain lions in northwestern Montana hunting district 130, which includes portions of Lake and Missoula counties , will close at one-half hour after sunset on Thursday, November 15, 2007. The closure notice came shortly after Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials received word that the pre-established harvest sub-quota for lions in this district had been met.
(Hunting - November 14, 2007)
A hunter was attacked by a mountain lion Sunday morning in the Squeezer Creek area of the Swan Drainage southeast of Kalispell. The hunter has been treated for his injuries and released from the hospital. FWP Warden Chuck Bartos is investigating the incident and he interviewed the hunter several times.
(Headlines - November 13, 2007)
After three weeks of Montana’s rifle big game season, deer and elk harvest are beginning to pick up in west-central Montana.
(Headlines - November 13, 2007)
The harvest of white-tailed deer and elk continues to lag behind last year, according to results at the six northwest Montana check stations.
(Headlines - November 13, 2007)
FWP urges deer hunters with unfilled Deer B tags for antlerless whitetail and mule deer to get out and harvest animals before the season ends on Nov. 25
(ALS - November 13, 2007)
Mule deer buck harvest has increased in northeast Montana as the rut has kicked in, but elk harvest is behind last year's pace.
(ALS - November 13, 2007)
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is seeking to create a Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep conservation strategy next year and is seeking public comment now on issues and concerns associated with bighorn sheep and bighorn sheep hunting in Montana.
(Hunting - November 09, 2007)
Blame it on the warm weather or call it the mid season doldrums, but state wildlife officials in north central Montana say the deer and elk hunting season appears to be going slow to average. “It’s kinda quiet,” says Wendy Kamm, Fish, Wildlife and Parks game warden in Fort Benton. “It’s the mid season lull, although people who are out are finding animals.
(Headlines - November 09, 2007)
Warm fall weather has been a bonus to duck and goose hunters at Freezout Wildlife Management Area between Fairfield and Choteau. “This year is one of the better years as far as a steady flow of birds,” says Brent Lonner, Fish, Wildlife and Parks wildlife biologist in Fairfield. Lonner cited the lack of ice and warm weather as reasons that thousands of ducks and geese are spending time at Freezout before migrating south.
(Headlines - November 09, 2007)
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) is seeking public comment on a proposal to implement site improvement and protection projects at the Little Blackfoot River Fishing Access Site (FAS) near the town of Avon.
(Headlines - November 08, 2007)
All four check stations reported high winds and above normal temperatures that made for a couple of slow hunting days, and mostly low hunter and harvest numbers. Both Big Timber and Columbus reported signs of the rut beginning, but overall there was very little game movement with many animals bedded down to stay out of the wind. Hunters, too, kept a low profile during the third week of the 2007 hunting season.
(Headlines - November 07, 2007)
By order of the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission, the above listed hunting district (s) as described in the legal descriptions, Montana Regulations, Deer and Elk 2007 shall be closed to all hunting of mountain lions one-half hour after sunset on Thursday, November 8, 2007. These hunting districts will re-open for hunting of all mountain lion for the winter season beginning December 1, 2007. For more information, visit FWP's web site at fwp.mt.gov.
(Hunting - November 07, 2007)
The Ross family, fifth-generation ranchers in the Bears Paw Mountains south of Chinook, received the Montana Neighbor Award from FWP Director Jeff Hagener.
(ALS - November 06, 2007)
Mule deer hunting activity and harvest is well above last year's pace across northeastern and north-central Montana
(ALS - November 06, 2007)
The hunting of all mountain lions in western Montana hunting districts 200 and 201, which includes portions of Mineral, Sanders and Missoula counties, will close to hunting of all mountain lions one-half hour after sunset on Wednesday, November 7, 2007. This hunting district will re-open for the hunting of all mountain lion for the winter season beginning December 1, 2007. For more information, visit FWP's web site at fwp.mt.gov.
(Hunting - November 06, 2007)
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials said training sessions for snowmobile safety instructors and trail groomers are set for Dec. 1-2 in Libby, at the Lincoln County Campus, beginning at 10 a.m.
(Parks - November 06, 2007)
Elk harvest during the second and third weeks of the general big game season in southwest Montana remained steady and similar to the three-year average. Hunter numbers region-wide were above the three-year average.
(Headlines - November 06, 2007)
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is asking for the public’s help with the investigation of a young bull moose poached last weekend near Anaconda.
(Headlines - November 06, 2007)
Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks reminds waterfowl hunters that even though the Central Flyway duck season runs through Jan. 3, 2008, hunting for pintail and canvasback ducks ends at sunset today, Nov. 6.
(Hunting - November 06, 2007)
Private pond owners who have fish-stocking permits that are 10 years old and older have until Feb. 28, 2008 to renew the permit under a law passed by the 2005 Legislature.
(Headlines - November 06, 2007)
State wildlife officials are seeking public comment on a draft environmental assessment that proposes releasing wild turkeys along the Missouri River south of Great Falls. The draft EA calls for FWP to trap 25-75 wild Merriam’s turkeys from eastern Montana and transplant them along the Missouri River between the towns of Ulm and Cascade.
(Headlines - November 05, 2007)
Recently completed rainbow trout estimates on the Smith and Missouri rivers indicate healthy fish populations, a state fisheries biologist says. “Despite near record low flows in the Missouri River in 2007, the trout numbers are remarkably good,” says Grant Grisak, Fish, Wildlife and Parks fisheries biologist. Near the town of Craig, Grisak estimates about 3,789 rainbow trout per mile, which is 129 percent of the 26-year average.
(Headlines - November 05, 2007)
Harvest totals are below average for the first half of big game season in west-central Montana. Elk and mule deer totals are nearly 20 percent below the five-year average harvest for the first two weeks of the season. White-tailed deer harvest is seven percent behind the five-year average for the first two weeks and 30 percent below this time last year.
(Headlines - November 05, 2007)
Hunter numbers are up ten percent but whitetail deer harvest is down about six percent as compared to last year at the six northwest Montana check stations through November 4.
(Headlines - November 05, 2007)
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks field crews completed the 2007 bull trout redd (nest) counts between September 24 and October 25.
(Headlines - November 05, 2007)
A hunter killed a female grizzly at close range in the Shanley Creek drainage north of the town of Ovando on Nov. 3 after the bear advanced towards him. The hunter was not hurt in the incident.
(Headlines - November 05, 2007)
Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP), Region One, has completed environmental assessment (EA) for the purpose of reducing fish loss on the Young Creek irrigation diversion by installing an effective fish screen.
(Headlines - November 02, 2007)
By order of the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission, Hunting District 424, as described in the legal descriptions of the 2007 Montana Deer, Elk, Antelope Hunting Regulations, shall be closed to all hunting of antlerless elk, effective one-half hour after sunset on Saturday, November 3, 2007. Hunting District 424 will remain open to brow-tined bull until November 25, 2007.
(Hunting - November 02, 2007)
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) in conjunction with DNRC and CS & KT fire crews will be periodically burning slash piles on Wild Horse Island over the next 3-4 weeks.
(Headlines - November 01, 2007)
November is when most big game hunting seasons close in Montana. In general, antelope hunting ends Nov. 11. Hunting seasons close Nov. 25 for bighorn sheep, black bear, deer, elk, moose, mountain goat and mountain lion. Winter mountain lion season begins Dec. 1. In all cases, hunters are responsible for checking the 2007 hunting regulations for season dates, exceptions and other regulations that apply in the specific hunting district where they plan to hunt.
(Hunting - November 01, 2007)
Montana's top wildlife official was recently named “Professional of the Year” by group of western states conservation agencies. Jeff Hagener, director of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, was chosen as the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies' top professional at its annual meeting. Hagener, 53, joined FWP in 2001 as agency director after a 20-year career with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.
(ALS - November 01, 2007)
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks’ annual game harvest survey will begin Dec. 3 and continue into early April of next year. FWP wildlife biologists and managers use the information collected during the survey to estimate the annual wild game harvest and to recommend quotas for upcoming hunting seasons. FWP harvest statistician Justin Gude in Helena said that about 80,000 Montana households are generally contacted over the course of the survey.
(Hunting - November 01, 2007)
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks requests that hunters report any sightings or signs of wolves. A gray wolf is about 2.5 feet tall, 5-6 feet long, and weighs between 70-120 pounds. Wolves have a broad snout, round ears and fur ranging from gray, black or tan to white. FWP must prepare annual reports to document the recovered status and distribution of the Montana wolf population.
(Hunting - November 01, 2007)
After five hunter-bear encounters in southwest Montana since early September, FWP officials remind hunters in grizzly bear country to be aware of bears out looking for food before winter denning. A hunter was injured on Tuesday morning by a bear near Mulherin Creek about 5 miles northwest of Gardiner. Officials have not yet been able to determine what type of bear it was. In the surprise encounter, the hunter was struck by the bear and sustained multiple serious facial injuries.
(Hunting - November 01, 2007)
The secrets of skunks were hidden behind a shroud of human miscalculation and reluctance to work around striped skunks until very recently. "The skunk is unique among North American mammals in using scent as a defense. Skunk spray is also one of the few wildlife defenses that remain effective in today's world," said Kristi DuBois, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks native species coordinator.
(Hunting - November 01, 2007)
The hunting of all mountain lions in southwestern Montana hunting districts 319 and 341, in portions of Silver Bow and Deer Lodge counties, will close at one-half hour after sunset on Saturday, November 3, 2007. The closure notice for the hunt came shortly after Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials received word that the pre-established harvest sub-quota for the district had been met. For more information, visit FWP's web site at fwp.mt.gov.
(Hunting - November 01, 2007)
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