FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATE November 13, 2007
Contact: Carillon Steorts – Information Desk – 406-247-2943
HUNTER NUMBERS REBOUND TO NEAR NORMAL LEVELS
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.
Harvest statistics were disappointing again at Lavina, with only 33.7% of hunters harvesting game as compared to 36.7% at the same time last year. "Harvest on all big game animals checked were lagging behind," said Jay Newell, game biologist out of Roundup. "Antelope harvest was 3% lower, mule deer 25% lower, whitetail 2.8% lower, and elk harvest down 15.2%, compared to the long-term average for the years 1993-2006," added Newell.
In Big Timber, whitetail harvest was up 17% and mule deer harvest was down, about 25% below the same day last year. Mature bucks made up the bulk of the harvest checked, with 44% of the mule deer and 23% of the whitetail being 4.5 years old or older. "Several hunters harvested very nice mule deer bucks on public lands as the deer traveled from private lands in search of does," was the report from Justin Paugh, Big Timber wildlife biologist.
Other game checked through the Big Timber station included one mountain goat harvested on the east side of the Crazy Mountains, and "Six harvested turkeys—our highest one day turkey count so far this season," according to Paugh.
Elk harvest is slow to get started this year and about 70% below where it was last year at this time. "Even though we have very liberal antlerless elk seasons in place, high numbers of elk, and plenty of elk hunters, elk harvest lags behind normal because hunters are unable to gain access to the elk," Newell says. At Columbus, no elk were checked and only one hunter reported seeing elk on public land. The harvest at Big Timber was 5 elk.
The best news is definitely from the Columbus area where whitetail harvest was 41% and mule deer harvest 31% ahead of last year. In fact, "More mule deer were harvested this weekend than any weekend so far this year," said wildlife biologist, Shawn Stewart. Nearly 65% of the mule deer checked and 54% of the whitetail were bucks. "Of that, well over 80% of both species were mature bucks, 2 years old or older," Stewart added. "If hunters are interested in finding a nice whitetail buck, this may be the year to make it happen."
Harvest statistics for the fourth week of the big game season and a picture of hunter Timothy Lorash with his first buck are attached.
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