Fish, Wildlife & Parks has set meeting dates in north central Montana to discuss the tentative 2010 big game hunting regulations.
For the 2010 hunting season some of the proposed changes affecting FWP Region 4 include:
This is an email that I received from Larry Copenhaver who is the Conservation Director of Local Issues for the Montana Wildlife Federation.
In keeping with Montana Wildlife Federation’s (MWF) mission to keep you informed, the following meetings are scheduled for Region 4 and Region 6 locations, please forgive any multiple postings. Please attend and share your concerns for the Tentative Regulations for 2010.
MWF will also be sending along other conservation news shortly. If your sporting club would like to know more about MWF please contact us at this email address. If you want to be removed, please respond as well.
Montanans will have an extensive opportunity to review and comment on 2010-2011 hunting regulations proposals by going on online now or by attending one of 46 public meetings beginning in January. The Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission accepted the proposals on Dec. 10.
FWP expects the meetings will be well attended. The meeting schedule is available as a PDF file on the FWP Web site at fwp.mt.gov . Click “2010-11 Hunting Season Comments.”
“Hunters, landowners, outfitters and others are more involved than ever,” said FWP Director Joe Maurier. “We received a lot of participation and interest this summer when we invited the public to propose ideas for the upcoming seasons.”
Last summer, FWP held seven meetings across the state and received more than 370 comments that led to several hunting season proposals. In years past, FWP would propose “tentative” seasons and season structures, from general regulations to types of special permits offered in specific areas, and then ask for comment on the proposals without a formal scoping session.
Details on the proposed hunting regulations are available on FWP’s Web site at fwp.mt.gov.
Comments, due 5 p.m. on Jan. 22, 2010, may be submitted at the local area meetings , or electronically on the FWP Web page at fwp.mt.gov; click “2010-11 Hunting Season Comments.” Written comments may be sent to: FWP—Wildlife Bureau, Attn: Public Comment, P.O. Box 200701, Helena, MT 59620-0701. For questions not covered on the Web site, call: 406-444-2612.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has scheduled three public meetings in southeastern Montana for people to comment on tentative 2010-2011 hunting regulations. The proposed regulations cover all hunting in Montana except for furbearers and migratory waterfowl.
The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission approved the tentative regulations Dec. 10. Text of the regulations is available online at http://fwp.mt.gov and follow the “2010-11 Hunting Season Comments” link under “For Hunters.” Printed copies will be available at the public meetings.
In southeastern Montana, all meetings will run from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
· Glendive, Dawson Community College, Tuesday, Jan. 12
· M iles City, Miles Community College Rm 106, Wednesday, Jan. 13
· Ashland, St. Labre School, Thursday, Jan. 14
Comments gathered at the meetings will be submitted to the commission before regulations are finalized. People also may submit comments online by following the link to “2010-11 Hunting Season Comments” on http://fwp.mt.gov and filling out a form. All comments are due by 5 p.m. Jan. 22.
A list of other public meetings in the state, proposed quota ranges and the 2009 regulations also are available on the FWP Web site.
Tentative proposals for the 2010 big game hunting seasons will be the subject of public meetings across southwest Montana beginning on January 5, 2010.
Public comments collected at these meetings and those submitted by mail or the Web will be weighed as the FWP Commission finalizes Montana’s 2010 hunting regulations in February.
All of the Region 3 meetings will begin at 7 p.m. with the exception of Anaconda, which will begin at 6:30 p.m. The schedule is as follows:
Butte – Jan. 5 – War Bonnet Hotel
Whitehall – Jan. 6 – Whitehall High School
Bozeman – Jan. 6 – Holiday Inn
Ennis – Jan. 7 – Ennis Fire Hall
Helena – Jan. 12 – Red Lion Colonial Hotel
West Yellowstone – Jan. 13 – Holiday Inn Sun Spree
Dillon – Jan. 14 – Search and Rescue Building
Livingston – Jan. 19 – Best Western Yellowstone Inn
Lima – Jan. 19 – Lima Public School
Anaconda – Jan. 19 – Lee Metcalf Center
Gardiner – Jan. 21 – Comfort Inn
Comments are due by Friday, Jan. 22, 2010, at 5 p.m. and can be submitted at any local public meeting, on the Web at http://fwp.mt.gov/hunting/oppForPubCommentDefault.html or by mail to:
FWP Wildlife Bureau
Attn: Public Comment
PO Box 200701
Helena, MT 59620-0701
A complete list of the proposals and the schedule for all forty-six public meetings being held across the state in January can be found on FWP’s Web site at fwp.mt.gov under For Hunters and 2010-11 Hunter Season Comments.
State authorities are seeking the party or parties responsible for illegally shooting a mule deer doe behind a downtown apartment building in Havre earlier this week and leaving it to rot.
Havre Game Warden Wes Oedekoven said a complaint about the downed deer, left on a hillside behind the Eagles Manor Apartments at 20 3 rd Street West, was received about 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 1. Oedekoven said the animal had been shot in the head with a small-caliber firearm. It was determined that the shooting had taken place within 12 hours of the deer being found.
Anyone with information about the incident can call Oedekoven directly at (406) 262-2407 or they can contact FWP’s Turn In Poachers program at 1-800-TIP-MONT. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward.
Montana lion hunters have a new Web-based education tool aimed at helping to properly identify the sex of mountain lions in the field.
“The new Mountain Lion Identification Course will help hunters and houndsmen learn to identify whether a lion is a male or female and then challenge their identification skills with an interactive test,” said Thomas Baumeister, the education program supervisor for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.
The voluntary and free mountain lion identification course is available via FWP’s Web site at fwp.mt.gov . Click, “Mountain Lion ID.”
FWP is asking hunters, guides, outfitters, and houndsmen to take time to review and complete the course to help them better determine the sex of a mountain lion before heading afield. Many of Montana’s lion hunting districts are managed to limit female lion harvests through a quota system.
Baumeister said the identification effort will help reduce unintended female lion harvests. “Our goal is to provide useful education programs for hunters and eliminate the over-harvest of female lions,” Baumeister said. “This type of training started in Colorado. We feel it will prove to be an excellent way to help hunters participate in the conservation and management of mountain lions here in Montana.”
FWP has required black bear hunters to pass a bear identification course since 2001.
Harvest of elk and white-tailed deer during the 2009 general big game season in southwest Montana was up from 2008, but below the five-year average. Harvest of mule deer was lower than in 2008, as well as below the five-year average.
Overall eight percent of hunters checked game through the six check stations with 616 elk, 254 mule deer, and 110 white-tailed deer. About 12,319 hunters stopped at a check station.
In 2008, hunters checked 482 elk, 299 mule deer, and 87 white-tailed deer. About seven percent of 11,789 hunters who passed through a check station had game.
2009 season totals for hunter numbers and harvest of elk, mule deer, and white-tailed deer were down from the five-year average of 15,068 hunters, 732 elk, 435 mule deer, and 140 white-tailed deer. The percentage of hunters with was less than a percentage point below the five-year average of 8.7 percent.
Montana’s Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission will meet at in the Old Supreme Court Chambers at the Montana State Capitol in Helena on Dec. 10.
Hunting seasons for the next two years top the agenda and some proposals reflect FWP’s effort to ask hunters, landowners, outfitters and others to become involved earlier than ever before to help set upcoming hunting season regulations.
In years past, FWP would propose “tentative” seasons and season structures, from general regulations to types of special permits offered in specific areas and then ask for comment on the proposals.
This summer, FWP invited the public to list or suggest things to change or consider for any upcoming big game or upland game bird hunting season before FWP developed tentative regulation proposals.
“We think this new way of doing business worked well,” said FWP Director Joe Maurier. “We held seven meetings across the state, received more than 370 comments, and came away with several pretty good proposals.”
Some proposed changes for the 2010 -11 hunting seasons include:
“It’s important to remember that these are only proposals at this point,” Maurier said. “On Dec. 10, commissioners will approve, reject or modify the proposals, and then those ultimately moved forward will undergo an intensive 43-day public comment period that will run through most of January.”
The Montana State Capitol is on the 1200 block of E. Sixth Ave. in Helena. The meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. Live a udio of the meeting will be steamed via FWP’s Web site at fwp.mt.gov. Click the live audio button available Dec. 10. TVMT, a state run television service, will broadcast the meeting live to more than 20 communities via local cable providers. A full agenda and list of issues is available online at fwp.mt.gov. Click “FWP Commission.”
FWP ensures its meetings are fully accessible to those with disabilities. Individuals with special needs may request arrangements by contacting FWP at 406-444-3186.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks’ recently acquired 245-acre Foys Bend Fisheries Conservation Area east of Kalispell will be open to limited permission-only public hunting starting Friday November 27 th. Deer, upland bird and waterfowl hunting will be available through the end of the big game season on November 29. Deer hunting is limited to use of shotgun, muzzleloader, traditional handgun, cross bow, or archery. After November 29, the area will be open to upland bird and waterfowl hunting through January 15, 2010 based on standard Montana hunting regulations.
Because of the anticipated high demand for deer hunting, allocation of permission will be by a drawing system for the remainder of the big game season. Hunters should come to the FWP office in Kalispell on Tuesday November 24 from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. to sign up for the drawing that will be held shortly after 9 a.m. Hunters must be present to be drawn for a spot. After the big game season hunters will be able to sign up on a first-come-first-served basis. Hunter numbers are restricted to one party of no more than four people per day, and any one individual may access the property as a hunter or a party member only one day/week and not on consecutive days.
For more information, contact FWP at 752-5501.
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