Consider The Cow Elk Option

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Elk hunters this fall will have the opportunity in some hunting districts to shoot an antlerless elk, cow or calf, in addition to the elk they harvest with their general elk hunting license under the 2005 elk regulations. This opportunity, new last year, will also be available this season.

FWP wildlife officials believe that by creating a larger pool of hunters with the option of taking a cow, elk numbers may be reduced, especially in areas where land-owners have severe depredation problems.

"Successful elk hunting is so dependent on weather, that it is hard to predict how effective this approach will be in any one year, but giving hunters more opportunities increases the odds we’ll take some elk out of the population," said Gary Hammond, FWP wildlife division management bureau chief. In 2004 hunter success was limited by mild weather and a lack of snow.

FWP will carefully and regularly monitor the harvest, and the FWP Commission can close down the antlerless portion of the season on 24-hour notice, if necessary.

The new regulation applies primarily in FWP’s Region 3 south of I-90 and in Region 2 in five hunting districts in the Bitterroot Range. The regulation allows hunters to shoot either an antlerless or a bull elk (only brow-tined in some districts).

Hunters are urged to read the 2005 Montana hunting regulations for details.