Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
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A free youth pheasant and waterfowl weekend kick-off event is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 19, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at the Havre Trap Club for any youth aged 10 and older. Parents or other mentors planning to hunt with the youth are expected to attend as well. This event is planned ahead of the youth pheasant and waterfowl weekend of Sept. 23-24, which is open for properly licensed youth ages 10-15. The kick-off will include a barbecue “open house” for youth and their adult-hunting partners to learn about the youth bird-hunting weekend, ask ques...
To promote the importance of hunter ethics and improved hunter behavior, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is partnering for a second year with several hunting and agriculture organizations to “protect the hunt.” While the campaign encourages hunters to always practice conscientious behavior, it focuses particularly on showing respect for private land and the access landowners provide. The slogan is: It’s up to us. Respect access. Protect the hunt. Landowners play an important role in sustaining healthy wildlife populations, contributing to our e...
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is seeking a current high school student to fill a two-year term on the Future Fisheries citizen review panel. FWP’s Future Fisheries Improvement Program grants approximately $1 million annually for projects to improve and restore Montana’s wild fish habitats. The 14-member citizen review panel meets twice a year to review proposals and recommend projects to the Fish & Wildlife Commission for funding. Review panel members are appointed by the governor, or his representative, and must represent a variety of int...
The annual application period for FWP’s Wildlife Habitat Improvement Program (WHIP) opened Friday, Sept. 1. WHIP is a grant funding program that focuses on large-scale restoration of high-priority wildlife habitats, on private and public land, through noxious weed management. Grant expenditures include herbicide, biocontrol and mechanical treatments, restoration seedings and grazing improvements. Awarded grants can be structured to provide funding for up to five years. Total available funding is $2 million annually; no single grant request c...
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is seeking public comment on several proposals slated to go to the Fish and Wildlife Commission in October. Comment is open through Sept. 19. After public comment, commissioners can offer amendments to the proposals as they see fit. The proposals and supporting documents, commissioner amendments and collected public comment are available on the commission webpage. The commission will make a final decision on these proposals at its meeting on Oct. 19. 2024 Fishing Regulations FWP is asking the commission to...
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks will host a trapper education field day in Billings on Saturday, Sept. 30 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the FWP office located at 2300 Lake Elmo Drive. Students must register for the field day in advance at: fwp.mt.gov/hunt/education/trapping. Capacity is limited to 35 participants on a first-come, first-served basis. Students must also complete the free online education course prior to the field day. To purchase a Montana resident Class C Trapping License, residents 12 and older must complete a Montana trapper...
HELENA – Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks’ Law Enforcement Division will hold its first ever Women’s Warden Workshop on Sept. 16, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Montana WILD in Helena. The workshop is open to anyone 16 years or older who is interested in becoming a warden. Registration is not required. The workshop will cover topics including: a day in the life of a warden how to become a warden opportunities to meet FWP’s female wardens case presentations mock investigations ride-along opportunities Anyone who is interested in the warden profess...
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Region 6 will host two informational meetings on several fish-related topics, including proposals for the 2024 Fishing Regulations, the Statewide Fisheries Management Plan, and the Fort Peck Management Plan. The meetings will be held in Glasgow starting at 6 p.m., on Monday, Aug. 28, at the FWP headquarters Quonset room (1 Airport Road), and in Havre at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 30, at the Best Western Great Northern Inn (1425 US Hwy 2). Montana’s famed fisheries provide amazing recreational opportunities, from b... Full story
Fish, Wildlife & Parks fisheries staff recently investigated a report of a fish kill on the Redwater River east of Vida. According to the concerned landowner, “many fish of all sizes and species” were observed at Redwater Crossing and continued upstream approximately one mile. Upon investigation, fisheries staff confirmed dead fish at the initial reported kill site. Species observed included walleye, northern pike, channel catfish, black bullhead, common carp, shorthead redhorse, freshwater drum, river carpsucker, smallmouth buffalo, many unide...
The upland game bird season is less than one month away, and hunters will soon be able to refer to the Projects Access Guide, published annually by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks’ Upland Game Bird Enhancement Program (UGBEP). Hunters can now view and download the new guide and maps online: https://fwp.mt.gov/conservation/habitat/upland-game-bird-enhancement-program/access-guide. The guide contains all active projects administered through the UGBEP including Open Fields, habitat management leases, food and cover plots, CRP enhancements, shelterb...
The bat walks scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 12 was cancelled due to weather, and has been rescheduled for Friday, Aug. 18 at 8:30 p.m. Join Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the US Army Corp of Engineers for an evening presentation and walk, learning about and observing these fascinating creatures. To kick things off, FWP Region 6 biologist Nikie Hussey will deliver a presentation on bats and their importance in our ecosystem. This will be immediately followed by a “bat walk” around the Downstream Nature Tra... Full story
Block Management Area (BMA) Program information for 2023 will be available to hunters beginning Aug. 10. Hunters can request their BMA Access Guide online and can print individual BMA property maps and rules at fwp.mt.gov/hunt/access/blockmanagement. The Block Management webpage allows hunters to download the Access Guide, up-to-date BMA maps and rules for every individual BMA enrolled in the program. These individual BMA property maps and rules are important for hunters to know and understand for each property they plan on hunting. Not all...
HELENA –Anyone training bird dogs using game birds not raised in captivity needs to hold a bird dog training license, whether on private or public land. If you are training dogs with captive-reared birds, a license is not required. These licenses can be purchased online through the FWP Online License Service, any FWP regional office or any license provider. The license is $5 for residents ages 18 and over and $10 for nonresidents 18 and over. For residents and nonresidents ages 12 to 17, the license is free. Bird dog training season with w... Full story
HELENA – While mule deer populations remain steady in portions of the state, spring green-up surveys conducted by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks wildlife biologists showed populations in some parts of the state remain lower than desired, and as a result, licenses available to hunters in those areas have been cut back. Over the past few years, persistent drought, particularly in southeast Montana, has affected both survival and recruitment rates for mule deer. This drought has also, at times, been coupled with hard winters, making it e...
A popular Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Region 6 program that allows kids and their friends or families to check out free fishing rods and tackle is in full swing again this year. In time for summer fishing, FWP staff has restocked and maintained over 350 fishing rods in most of the 41 different location sites across Montana’s Hi-Line. The “Kids to Fish” program lets anglers check out fishing rods and reels equipped with basic tackle, such as hooks, bobbers, and sinkers. Typically, eight rods are at each location, and some places have a tackl...
Last year, the Fish and Wildlife Commission approved an amendment to the “hoot owl” rule that directs fishing restrictions during drought. The amendment allowed Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks to implement restrictions in designated reaches of Montana streams according to the Statewide Fisheries Management Plan. The Statewide Fisheries Management Plan is scheduled to be finalized later this fall after public review and comment this summer. Given this timeline, hoot owl restrictions this summer will continue to be implemented as they were in pas...
Volunteer instructors are hosting a Montana Fish, Wildlife, & Parks Bowhunter Education in-person classroom course in Glasgow, July 25-27. The course will be held at the Glasgow FWP office Quonset from 5:15-9:15 p.m. each evening. Who needs bowhunter education? All first-time bowhunters in Montana must complete a Bowhunter Education course or show proof of a prior year's archery license from another state or province. Students must be at least 12 years old by Jan. 16, 2024, to take a Bowhunter... Full story
July 1 marks the beginning of the archery-only paddlefish season in the Fort Peck Dredge Cuts below Fort Peck Dam. Archery anglers need to purchase a 2023 blue paddlefish harvest tag to target paddlefish in the Dredge Cuts. As in previous years, harvested paddlefish are required to be reported within 48 hours. Anglers can self-report their harvested paddlefish and voluntarily submit a dentary (jaw) sample at three self-creeling locations near the Dredge Cuts: Floodplain (Winter Harbor), Nelson Dredge, and Roundhouse Point boat ramps. Anglers...
Working with the 68th Legislature, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) simplified licensing requirements on state lands as part of Governor Gianforte’s Red Tape Relief Task Force. The two agencies consolidated the conservation license and state lands recreational use license into one annual conservation license, supporting the maintenance of places like fishing access sites (FAS), wildlife management areas (WMA). On Montana school trust lands, conservation license sales...
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is seeking public comment on proposed 2023 Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) grant proposals. Public comments will be accepted through Friday July 14, at 5 p.m. The OHV program received 12 grant requests and proposes to award $500,000. The program receives funding through OHV/motorbike registrations, gas tax and the Summer Motorized Trail Pass revenues. Montana’s Off-Highway Vehicle Program supports projects such as trail maintenance, signs, trail stewards, ethics education, noxious weed control, safety and mapping e...
Anglers on Fort Peck Reservoir this summer may be asked a few questions about their fishing experience when they come off the water. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is conducting an angling “creel” survey at one of the state’s largest and most popular warm water fisheries. The information collected help biologists understand angler catch rates of popular game fish and determine level of satisfaction with the fishery. The data-gathering surveys will be based at marinas and boat ramps around the reservoir. Creel clerks will ask several quest...
Debbie Henry, of Glasgow, was fishing from shore with her family at Nelson Reservoir over the Memorial Day weekend when she noticed one of the fishing rods begin to severely bend in its holder. After over 10 minutes of fighting the fish, with it nearly spooling her line and dealing with a broken net, she was able to land the new state record smallmouth buffalo! The behemoth tipped the scales at a whopping 40 pounds! Congratulations to Deb on catching a beautiful specimen of one of Montana's...
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks’ Region 6 Citizen Advisory Council (CAC) will meet from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., on Thursday, April 13, at the Cottonwood Inn Convention Center. The public is welcome to attend. FWP will give updates on current legislative bills, fisheries, wildlife season setting for 2024-25, and a presentation on shooting range development. Following a working lunch for CAC members and FWP staff, there will be a short tour of local shooting range facilities. Each of FWP’s seven administrative regions has a volunteer CAC to help gui...
The winter and spring of 2023 is proving to be tenacious, with roughly 30 inches of ice remaining in some areas on Fort Peck Reservoir and nighttime temps in the single digits well into early April. It begs the question: what’s happening with the walleye spawn operation on Fort Peck this year? In most years, FWP fisheries crews start setting trap nets in early April. Traps are set to collect walleye that are beginning the spawning process. While photoperiod (day length) plays a role in walleye spawning activity, water temperature is the most i...
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks’ Region 6 is hosting a hunter/bowhunter/trapper education instructor workshop from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 15, at the Cottonwood Inn Convention Center. All current instructors and any person interested in becoming an instructor is welcome to attend. The workshop is an annual event that invites all the volunteer instructors across the region for a day filled with visiting, updates to the program, demonstrations of new equipment and ideas, and awards for years of service. “These volunteers play a key...
