People in Montana want everyone to believe that wolves have decimated their elk herds… They must think YOU are stupid, this proves that They are… Now they want to make elk season 6 months long so they can KILL more elk….
Half-year elk hunts, wolf and lion management and what to expect in deer quotas lead the list of topics as Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks staff convene their annual season rules conversations in January.
Hunters will have plenty to talk about, and plenty of options to talk in western Montana, where Region 2 has a dozen listening sessions scheduled in communities around Missoula. The tentative rules and regulations, available for review and comment now at fwp.mt.gov, include statewide and local regulations for antelope, black bear, bighorn sheep, bison, deer, elk, moose, mountain goat, mountain lion and upland game birds.
Regional wildlife manager Mike Thompson said elk policies would probably top the agenda.
An elk shoulder season pilot project in four hunting districts of Region 4 has generated thousands of phone calls to game wardens in the Smith River drainage between White Sulphur Springs and Cascade. Any hunter with an unfilled elk license can seek permission to hunt antlerless elk on private land in that area through Feb. 15. The goal is to reduce elk numbers on ranches and farms where they’re relatively safe from both human and feral hunting pressure.
On Dec. 11, the FWP Commission authorized six of the state’s seven regions to explore their own shoulder season ideas for the 2016-17 fall and winter. Some could start as early as Aug. 15 and run through February. But before anything is imposed, the commissioners ordered each region to get public feedback on the proposals.
“That will be a big part of what we talk about,” Thompson said. “We have a handful of those we’ve proposed here in different local areas.”
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But the conversation won’t end there.
Another topic many hunters may look forward to is a new way to untangle the system of elk licenses, permits and special permissions that has bedeviled the application process. Currently, hunters can buy a license over the counter to take antlered elk, but must enter a lottery for an additional permit to kill bulls in certain districts in the state. Still other districts allow bull hunting but use the lottery to award antlerless cow permits. And others, such as parts of the southern Bitterroot Valley, require hunters to request a free permit to use their bull license there.
Source: Rules for coming hunting seasons get public review in January | Local | missoulian.com