FWP seeks comment on open-water fishing contests
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is seeking public comment on open-water fishing contests proposed for the 2023 season.
Participants must comply with state fishing regulations, including daily and possession limits.
Applications for fishing contests were approved, approved with conditions or denied by the FWP Fisheries Division in Helena. Conditions placed on contests may help to minimize fish mortality, regulate harvest, reduce user conflicts and require additional access site maintenance when needed.
Information on the proposed fishing contests can be found at: https://fwp.mt.gov/fish/regulations/contests, or by calling 406-444-2449. All comments must be received on or before Dec. 30.
Comments may be mailed to FWP Fisheries Division, Attn: Fishing Contests, P.O. Box 200701, Helena, MT 59620-0701, or emailed to FWPFishComments@mt.gov.
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Road kill harvest needs salvage permit
Anyone wanting to salvage a road-killed deer, elk, moose or antelope must obtain a Vehicle-Killed Wildlife Salvage Permit.
These are free and must be obtained within 24 hours of the time a person takes an animal into their possession. Permits are available either through law enforcement officers on the scene of collisions or online on the FWP website.
As a reminder, any salvaged animal must be removed in its entirety from the roadway by the permittee. The animal may be field dressed before it leaves the area but entrails or any other parts of the animal carcass must be removed from site to prevent attracting scavengers and predators.
Other things to keep in mind if salvaging a vehicle-killed animal:
Road-killed animals may not be tagged and possessed with carcass tags issued for the purpose of hunting.
Any person who is picking up an animal to be salvaged must comply with all highway rules and regulations while removing the animal. Vehicles shall be parked off the roadway and out of the line of traffic. The permittee acknowledges that collecting vehicle-killed animals on state highways is inherently dangerous and is undertaken at the permitee’s own risk.
A person may not kill an injured or wounded animal that they encounter for the purpose of salvage. A law enforcement officer may, however, when on the scene of a collision, kill an animal injured in the collision and that animal may be taken for salvage.
Meat rendered from salvaged animals must be used for human consumption. It may not be used for bait or other purposes.
Meat rendered from salvaged animals may not be sold.
Any meat that is unfit for human consumption or unusable animal parts must be disposed of at a legal disposal site. It is unlawful to dispose of animal carcasses or parts in or upon any highway, road, street, or alley or upon public property. It is also illegal to dispose carcasses or parts within 200 yards of a public highway, road street or alley or public property
For more information, visit FWP's website fwp.mt.gov/buyandapply/vehiclekilledsalvagepermit.
Hunting season totals up slightly
MISSOULA -- Montana’s 2022 general big game hunting season closed Sunday, much the way it began five weeks ago, with harvest totals up slightly from last year and cold and snowy conditions prevailing across much of west-central Montana.
During the six weekends of the season, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks operated wildlife check stations in four locations around west-central Montana, where biologists collectively recorded 9,726 hunter stops and a harvest of 301 elk, 110 mule deer and 567 white-tailed deer. This compares to 10,216 hunter stops, 192 elk, 109 mule deer and 513 white-tailed deer at the 2021 season’s end.
The pattern of slightly higher than average harvest totals held true all season long, as did overall cold and snowy hunting conditions, which was one contributor to elk hunter success. All four west-central Montana hunter check stations saw more elk in the 2022 season than in 2021. The Darby station checked more elk this year than it had since 2015.
There were some local variations in harvest patterns across the region. While elk harvest was up at all hunter check stations, the mule deer harvest tally was up at the Bonner station, down at Fish Creek, in line with average at Anaconda and down slightly from last season at Darby. White-tailed deer harvest numbers were up at Darby and Bonner, down at Anaconda, and on track with average at Fish Creek.
Check stations only account for a small percentage of total harvest across the region, but because the stations have been in operation consistently for many years, they monitor important early harvest trends and are a key way to gather biological information on wildlife health and age.
The general rifle season closed on Nov. 27, but some late seasons, such as the muzzleloader season (Dec. 10-18), are coming up. Find out more:Â fwp.mt.gov/hunt.
Deadline for pheasant release applications is Jan. 15
Applications are being accepted for the 2023 pheasant release program through Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Upland Game Bird Enhancement Program (UGBEP). Guided by statute, pen-raised birds are released in areas suitable for ring-necked pheasants with the intent to enhance wild pheasant populations. Landowners interested in releasing pen-reared pheasants have until Jan. 15 to submit an application.
Projects must comprise at least 100 contiguous acres of land and contain a combination of suitable habitat components – including cover and food – that pheasants need to survive. Suitable habitat includes a combination of small grains, idle grasses and forbs such as lands enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), and effective winter cover, including shrubby or riparian habitats adjacent to food sources.
Eligible UGBEP pheasant releases take place on agricultural lands east of the Continental Divide but are ineligible to be released in Fergus, Richland or Roosevelt counties because of administrative rule. Lands enrolled in the UGBEP pheasant release program must allow free public access to hunt upland game birds during the season the releases take place.
Application for releases must be received at FWP’s headquarters in Helena no later than Sunday, Jan. 15. Applicants will be notified in late March of their enrollment status and the number of pheasants pre-authorized for release. Applicants are responsible for obtaining pheasants for release either by raising birds on their own or by purchasing from National Poultry Improvement Program certified stock. Approved applicants will be reimbursed at a rate established in March. Pheasants eligible for release through UGBEP will take place between Aug. 1 and Sept. 15.
Hunting preserves, lands that host a commercial hunting enterprise and lands where hunting rights are leased or paid for are not eligible.
For more information and to download an application form, visit UGBEP’s web page at https://fwp.mt.gov/ugbep and click on PHEASANT AND TURKEY RELEASES. You may also contact Debbie Hohler, UGBEP coordinator, at 406-444-5674 or dhohler@mt.gov.
Wolf trapping not yet open in occupied grizzly habitat areas
While trapping season opened Nov. 28 in most parts of Montana, wolf trapping is not yet open in areas in or near occupied grizzly bear habitat.
Trapping in these areas, which includes sections of trapping districts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, will start Dec. 31 unless opened earlier by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks due to evidence the majority of bears in these areas have begun hibernation.
Trapping is currently closed in the following areas in or near occupied grizzly bear habitat:
Trapping District (TD) 1;
TD 2 except for area beginning at the Montana-Idaho border on US Highway 93 at Lost Trail Pass, then southwesterly, northerly and westerly along said border to Interstate 90 at Lookout Pass, then easterly along the northern boundary of Mineral County to its intersection with I-90, then easterly along I-90 to the first I- 90 bridge west of the Ninemile interchange, then southeasterly along said highway to the Rock Creek interchange, then south along Rock Creek Road to Eagle Creek Cable Crossing, then west on USFS Trail 215 to the Rock Creek-Bitterroot River Divide, then southerly along said divide to the Continental Divide (at West Pintler Peak), then southwesterly along said divide to the Montana Idaho border, then westerly along said border to Hwy 93, the point of beginning;
TD 3 except for the portion west of I-15 and south of I-90 and that portion north of I-90, north and east of state route 69, and east of I-15;
TD 4 except for the eastern portion (south and east of I-15–Hwy 87, east of Hwy 223 between Fort Benton and Hwy 2 at Chester, north of Hwy 2 between Chester and I-15 at Shelby, and east of I-15 between Shelby and the Canadian border); and
TD 5 west of US Route 310 and south of I-90.
To view a map of these areas, or for more information, including updates regarding trapping season open dates for areas in or near occupied grizzly habitat, please see see fwp.mt.gov/hunt/regulations/wolf.
Meetings to discuss conservation easements in northwest Montana
KALISPELL — The public is invited to attend upcoming meetings between Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and private landowners whose land is under conservation easement in northwest Montana.
These meetings encompass lands under the following easements: Lazy Creek, Lost Trail, Kootenai Valleys, Kootenai Forestlands, Swan Valley, and Thompson-Fisher. All together, the combined easement acreage encompasses approximately 226,300 acres.
A conservation easement is a voluntary legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust or government agency that permanently limits uses of the land to protect its conservation values. FWP holds conservation easements to protect vital fish and wildlife habitat, retain working lands, and maintain recreational access opportunities for the public. Lands under easement remain in private ownership and management, and landowners continue to pay property taxes.Â
The upcoming meetings are required annually by the conservation easement agreements and provide a forum for discussion of any issues related to public use, land use, access issues, conditions, or other unanticipated issues involving conservation easement lands.
Dec. 7 - Kootenai Valleys (28,000 acres) and Kootenai Forestlands (22,300 acres) conservation easements near Libby and Troy, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m., Ponderosa Room at Libby City Hall, 952 E. Spruce St .
Dec. 7 - Thompson-Fisher River conservation easement (142,000 acres) west of Kalispell, 1–3 p.m., Ponderosa Room at Libby City Hall, 952 E. Spruce St.
Dec. 15 - Lost Trail Conservation Easement (7,300 acres), 10 a.m. – 12 p.m., Ponderosa Room at Libby City Hall, 952 E. Spruce St.
Meetings for the Haskill and Trumbull Creek conservation easements with F. H. Stoltze Land and Lumber Co. will be held later this winter, and times and locations will be announced at a later date.
For more information, contact Leah Breidinger at lbreidinger@mt.gov or 406-751-4573.
-- Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks