Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
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It’s fall and hunting season is upon us. Soon the mornings will be crisp and cold and the leaves will be turning. Under the Big Sky, this is the season many of us spend the whole year looking forward to. In the following forecasts, FWP outlines what hunters can expect for deer, elk and pronghorn seasons around the state. We also have a fairly in-depth upland game bird forecast. Along with this great information, we have some tips on being safe in bear country and the importance of being good stewards when hunting on private lands. D...
Montana’s two-day, youth-only deer hunt is coming up Oct. 17 and 18, and general deer season opens Oct. 26. Now is a good time to consider signing up for the Apprentice Hunter Program and the application is available on Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks’ website at fwp.mt.gov/hunt/education/apprentice-hunter. The apprentice hunter program allows people ages 10 and older to hunt as apprentices with a mentor for two seasons without completing a Hunter Education course. People interested in the Apprentice Hunter Program should visit the website and...
The Fish and Wildlife Commission is accepting public comment on agenda items for its Oct. 10 meeting. The meeting will be held at the Montana State Capitol in Room 102 and through Zoom. Written comments can be submitted through Sept. 19 on the FWP website or sent to 1420 E. 6th Ave., Helena, MT 59601, Attn: Erik Wickman. The following proposals are up for public comment: 2025-26 Fishing Regulations – FWP is proposing 48 regulation changes, and the rest of the regulations as written in the current 2024 regulation book, for the 2025-26 Montana F...
Montana Fish, Wildlife, & Parks is seeking public input for a proposed public shooting range project in Glasgow. A public scoping meeting will be held at the FWP Region 6 headquarters in Glasgow, in the Quonset building meeting room, on Thursday, Aug. 22, at 5:30 p.m. Written comments on the proposal must be received by Aug. 31. FWP is seeking to lease property from the City of Glasgow where the current Glasgow public shooting range is located, approximately one-half mile north of Glasgow off Skylark Rd. FWP would improve and manage the...
Fisheries management of northeast Montana's ponds and small reservoirs can be a challenge. Habitat limitations, excess nutrient input from multi-use practices, and extreme winter and summer conditions can all negatively impact these biologically and recreationally important fisheries. In addition to these challenges, illegal fish introductions are a pervasive issue that further complicate management. Whether done intentionally or by accident, it is illegal to move or introduce live fish from...
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks will host public meetings around the state to present proposals for the 2025-26 fishing regulations and answer questions from the public. The public meetings will all be held at 6 p.m. and at the following locations: Aug. 27, Miles City, Miles City Community College, Room 110 Aug. 28, FWP Office, Glasgow, 1 Airport Rd. Aug. 29, FWP Office, Billings, 2300 Lake Elmo Dr. Sep. 12, Statewide Zoom Meeting This past spring FWP held meeting around the state to gather input on regulation changes. That input helped to...
As you are hunting, hiking, and exploring Montana this fall, be sure to take a break from scanning the horizon and look down at the ground once in a while. Not only will this help you avoid stepping on a cactus or a rattlesnake, but you might also see one of eastern Montana’s rarely seen critters…the greater short-horned lizard, commonly known as a “horny toad.” If you do, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks would like to know about it. The greater short- horned lizard, Phrynosoma hernandesi, was once considered the second most abundant reptile...
The Fish and Wildlife Commission will meet Friday, Aug. 16, at 8:30 a.m., at Montana WILD and via Zoom. The deadline to submit written comments on most agenda items was July 25. However, public comment will be taken during the meeting; those wishing to make a comment must register at fwp.mt.gov/aboutfwp/commission/august-2024-meeting. Registration deadline is Thursday, Aug. 15 at noon. Agenda items for the Aug. 16 commission meeting are: Resident SuperTag Administrative Rule Selection of Organizations to Auction 2025 Shiras Moose, Bighorn Sheep...
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is looking for public feedback on work from a citizen advisory council tasked with developing guiding principles for developing a new Mule Deer Management Plan. “We know how concerned people are with mule deer numbers across the state,” said FWP Director Dustin Temple. “Our focus is developing a new plan that will guide our efforts to manage herds well into the future. The council’s work is a critical first step for our planning process.” In early 2024, FWP solicited applications from Montana citizens to serve on...
Monday, June 24, alongside Wildlife Manager Brett Dorak, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Director Dustin Temple held a press conference to address the status of eastern Montana’s mule deer. “Our job at FWP is to manage Montana’s wildlife resources by providing full contextual, transparent, accurate data with full context,” Director Temple said. “Across the state, we are making the effort to ensure our management of mule deer is based on the best science and data.” FWP biologists have completed annual spring surveys. For Region 5, the numbers...
Biologists conducting spring deer and elk surveys found some areas with improved herd growth and some areas with lower recruitment due to poor habitat conditions and disease. During the spring season, FWP wildlife staff get a pulse on deer and elk numbers by conducting aerial spring trend surveys or green-up flights across the state. These flights occur in the same areas year after year so biologist can understand population trends. During the flights, staff count the total number of deer and elk they see and classify fawns/calves and adults...
Landowners have until May 1 to apply for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks’ Elk Hunting Access Agreement (EHA) Program. These EHA agreements, which were established by the 2001 Legislature, provide landowners with an elk license (including elk B), an either-sex permit or combination of the two in exchange for allowing free public hunting access for elk management purposes. The licenses/permits issued through this program may be designated to an immediate family member or an authorized full-time employee of the landowner valid only on the l...
The new license year opens March 1, which means that is the day you can buy your 2024 hunting, fishing and conservation licenses and begin applying for permits and special licenses. The deadline to apply for deer and elk permits is April 1. Applications for most species – deer, elk, antelope, deer B licenses, elk B licenses, antelope B licenses, moose, sheep, goat, bison, bear, turkey – can be made beginning March 1. A new online feature this year is the option for applicants to reapply for the same offerings as last year with just a sim...
The State Trails Advisory Committee (STAC) will meet from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. via Zoom. updates to the Recreation Trails Grant Program (RTP) and the Trail Stewardship Grant Program (TSP) for the 2024 grant cycle. For information on how to join the Zoom meeting, go to fwp.mt.gov/aboutfwp/commission-councils-committees/state-trails-advisory-committee. STAC advises FWP on trail issues in Montana, including funding, use and the promotion of recreational trails across land ownership....
The Montana Off-Highway Vehicle Advisory Committee (OHVAC) will meet from 1 to 4 p.m. via Zoom. The committee will review and discuss updates to the Off Highway Vehicle Grant Program (OHV) and the Summer Motorized Trail Pass Grant Program (SMTP) for the 2024 grant cycle. For information on how to join the Zoom meeting, go to fwp.mt.gov/aboutfwp/commission-councils-committees/ohv-advisory-committee. OHVAC advises FWP on trail issues in Montana relating to the funding, provision of, development, renovation, maintenance, management, usage and...
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is seeking public comment on two environmental assessments (EAs). For more information, including how to submit comments, click on the link provided or visit fwp.mt.gov/public-notices. White Bear Fishing Access Site EA FWP is proposing a project to provide security features and develop additional recreational amenities to mitigate undesirable and illegal public behavior at White Bear FAS near Great Falls. The proposed project would provide the following benefits: Provide additional security features to increase...
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...
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...
Interested in volunteering your time to advise the Bureau of Land Management on public land management issues? BLM Resource Advisory Councils are citizen-based groups which assist in the development of recommendations that address public land management issues. Both the Western Montana and the Missouri Basin RACs are accepting applications until April 28, 2023. Resource Advisory Councils are chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act and consists of 15 members who serve two to three-year terms. The BLM is looking to fill vacancies in...
GLASGOW –Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is holding a public listening session regarding mule deer management in Region 6 in northeast Montana. The listening session is from 6-8 p.m. at the Cottonwood Inn in Glasgow on Wednesday, March 15. Hunters, landowners, and wildlife enthusiasts are encouraged to attend. Region 6 wildlife staff will provide a background on mule deer management, the current status of mule deer populations in the region, trends in hunters and harvest, and an update on CWD. Following the presentation, the floor will be o...
HELENA – The new license year opens March 1, which means that is the day you can buy your 2023 hunting and fishing licenses and begin applying for permits and special licenses. The deadline to apply for deer and elk permits is April 1. Applications for most species – deer, elk, antelope, deer B licenses, elk B licenses, antelope B licenses, moose, sheep, goat, bison, bear, turkey – can be made beginning March 1. Hunters and anglers can also take advantage of the MyFWP mobile app, if they haven’t already. The app holds and displays license...
Critical financial help is on the way for researchers and game managers dealing with chronic wasting disease (CWD). Congress included the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Research and Management Act within the Omnibus Budget Bill that passed prior to adjournment of the recently completed 117th session. “This funding to fight CWD was a 2022 legislative priority for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and is vitally important for the future of elk and other ungulates, CWD research, wildlife management and hunting,” said Kyle Weaver, RMEF pre...
