Cover shot by photographer Chris McGowan of Helena, MT.
Full January-February Issue
Breathing Room After decades, bison are finally allowed to roam year round outside of Yellowstone National Park
Soft Landings How can duck and goose hatchlings survive falls of 50 feet or more?
What about the Others? A popular new bipartisan bill working its way through Congress could kick-start Montana into caring about the majority of its wildlife species.
My Favorite Tax For decades, we hunters, shooters, and archers have been paying a federal surcharge that helps conserve elk, bighorn sheep, geese, grouse, and other wildlife. If you didn't know that, you're not alone.
Mussel Loss What can we do about the western pearlshell's steady decline?
Securing Homes for Montana's Wildlife For 30 years, Habitat Montana has conserved living places for game, nongame, and endangered species. Will it survive?
A Fresh Look at Fisheries - Montana’s new fisheries chief talks about illegal stocking, invasive species, and why native fish are such a priority. Full story
From Banning TNT to Scanning DNA - What 100-plus years of fisheries management says about Montana and its people. Full story
The Big Day - Behind the scenes at FWP’s annual lottery drawing for moose, bighorn sheep, and mountain goat hunting licenses. Full story
Still Turning Heads - Despite record floods, growing recreational use, and a brief scare last summer, the upper yellowstone river continues to reign as one of the nation’s top trout waters. Full story
Clearing Things Up - Scientists have a good idea why Clark Canyon reservoir is sending murky water into one of Montana’s premier trout rivers. now what? Full story
Eyeing the New Neighbors Smallmouth bass are moving upstream on the Yellowstone. Will they harm the river’s renowned trout population? Full story
Counting Ghosts - In the deep of winter, far into the backcountry, wildlife biologists search for the West’s most elusive carnivore. Full story
Continental Continuum - Searching for the origins of the Old North Trail along the Rocky Mountain Front. Full story
From Abstraction to Reality - At FWP’s Montana WILD education facility, kids and adults discover, appreciate, and take pride in the natural surroundings where they live. Full story
Great Gravel - New research shows how underground floodplains maintain healthy river “immune systems.” Full story
Face to Face - What I learned from an angry grizzly bear. Full story
Moving Meat - Your deer or elk is down. Now what? Full story
Saving Lives, Building Ethics - For 60 years, Montana’s volunteer Hunter Education Program instructors have been molding safe, responsible hunters. For 30 years, bowhunter instructors have done the same. Full story
38 for 38 - Every hunting season for nearly four decades, this West Yellowstone hunter has taken a bull elk on public land. How does he do it? Full story
Good to Be Back - A quick trip to paradise in early September. Full story
Disease at the Door - Montana will rely on hunters and landowners to help control CWD when (not if) it arrives. Full story
Where to Hunt Elk in Montana - An insider’s guide for new hunters and nonresidents to locating the best spots this season. Full story
The Eagles Have Landed Ten years after delisting under the Endangered Species Act, Montana’s bald eagles are putting up numbers worth celebrating. Full story
Safe Passage - Bridges, tunnels, and other creative structures allow wildlife to cross U.S. Highway 93 on the Flathead Indian Reservation without ending up as roadkill. Full story
In the Driveway - Following a mountain lion from my house to the forest. Full story
Doing Just Fine - We have heaters, parkas, and freezers full of food. Wildlife have found their own ways to survive winter. Full story
Green Grazing - Why The Nature Conservancy and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks are using cows to improve wildlife habitat. Full story