Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
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Comment Period Ends Dec. 11 On Bison Habitat Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) and Montana Department of Livestock invite the public to comment on an addendum to their 2013 draft environmental assessment, Year-round Habitat for Yellowstone Bison. The addendum focuses on a new alternative under consideration that combines components of three of the original alternatives with some additional management tools depending on the bison population level. Comments can be submitted by regular mail to MFWP – Bison Addendum, PO Box 200701, Helena M...
Paddlefish season begins May 15 on the Yellowstone River below the mouth of the Bighorn River and Missouri River downstream of Fort Peck Dam. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks biologists continue to monitor these unique populations and take a conservative approach to managing these long-lived fishes. “Opening day this year falls on a catch and release only day so anglers need to be aware that if they intend to fish on opening day, Intake Fishing Access Site is their only option that day”, said Mike Backes, Region 7 Fisheries Manager. All paddlefis...
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks will host a series of nine public meetings in May to review and discuss recent recommendations from an advisory council tasked with adjusting Montana’s hunting and fishing licenses and fees. The Fish & Wildlife Licensing and Funding Advisory Council spent the past eight months examining FWP’s current license system and funding cycle for fish and wildlife management. That work resulted in recent recommendations to FWP Director Jeff Hagener that would provide an additional $6.25 million a year to stave off deep bud...
The most-recent aerial surveys of elk populations in the Region 6 portions of the Missouri River Breaks and the Bears Paw Mountains south of Havre indicate a sizeable increase in animals in both areas over survey numbers that were last gathered. According to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Region 6 Wildlife Program Manager Mark Sullivan, biologists flew the surveys in Breaks Hunting Districts 621 and 622 and then in HDs 631 and 632. A total of 1,950 elk were counted in HD 621 and 622, and a total of 646 elk were observed this winter in HDs 631 a...
Shed-antler hunters and other recreationists planning to visit a Montana Wildlife Management Area are reminded that while many popular WMAs open at noon on May 15, several do not open until June 1. It is illegal to enter a state WMA prior to its formal opening day. Buck deer and bull elk and moose grow antlers each year, some to magnificent size, which drop off to regrow each spring. Hunting for and collecting these “shed” antlers in spring has become a popular activity on more than 30 WMAs managed by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Many of...
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks biologists say lower Fort Peck Reservoir water levels have had an impact on some fish populations, but benefits are still being realized from good water years in 2008 through 2011. “Since 2011, water levels have dropped 29 feet and approximately 65,000 surface acres have been lost on Fort Peck,” said FWP Biologist Heath Headley. “That acreage equals nearly two Canyon Ferry Reservoirs.” Fort Peck Reservoir elevations rose only a foot from January through June of 2013. The impact of these operations is that no shor...
A Minnesota man has been ordered to pay $2,070 in fines and restitution for allowing his teenage son to illegally kill a 5x5 bull elk in the Larb Hills area of the Missouri River Breaks during the 2013 archery hunting season. Troy A. Carlson, 48, lives in the St. Paul suburb of Inver Grove Heights, but his family owns property in the Larb Hills. The elder Carlson was cited by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Warden Ben Morin for possession of the illegal elk and hunting without a license by accountability for allowing his son to shoot and kill th...
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks has scheduled four public meetings along the Hi-Line in January to discuss tentative hunting regulations for the next two years. A total of 43 of the public gatherings are scheduled across the state. In FWP Region 6, the meetings will be held in Plentywood on January 9, Malta on January 14, Glasgow on January 21 and Havre on January 23. Each meeting will run from 7-9 p.m. on their prospective days. At the meetings, FWP will present proposals to aid the recovery of Montana’s declining deer populations by r...
Hunter numbers and reported harvests at the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Region 6 game check station outside Havre are still down when compared to past years. “Hunter numbers so far this year have only been about 2 percent lower than last year’s numbers, but they’re still down 38 percent from 2010 levels,” said Havre-area Wildlife Biologist Scott Hemmer. “Antelope and white-tailed deer are the two species that have seen the largest decreases in harvest.” Region 6 antelope and deer numbers were heavily impacted by several recent hard winters....
A memorandum of understanding between Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation allows about 3,700 acres of federal land near Wagner in Phillips County to be specifically designated as being open to the public, FWP announced. According to Acting FWP Region 6 Hunting Access Coordinator Tim Potter Jr., the new 20-year agreement covers federal lands associated with Reclamation’s Milk River Project. The Milk River Project was authorized by Congress for the primary purpose of irrigation, but the...
State wildlife officials are seeking tips from the public about the poaching of a mature bull elk on the Williamson Ranch Block Management Area south of Chinook. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Warden Dirk Paulsen said the elk was shot from the Lloyd Road just south of Cow Creek Reservoir in southern Blaine County on the night of Nov. 2. The meat was left to waste on the private property that is enrolled in FWP's Block Management Program. "The bull was discovered by hunters driving the road...
Figures compiled from the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Region 6 game check station outside Havre for the weekends of Oct. 12-13 and Oct. 19-20 show reduced hunter numbers overall, but increased harvest of some upland birds and waterfowl. “Over the first two weekends of the season, harvest for most species has been down,” said Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Havre-area Wildlife Biologist Scott Hemmer. “Antelope numbers and licenses have remained low since the winter of 2010-11, and this fact...
Tom Flowers, a 25-year veteran of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, has been named as the agency’s new Region 6 supervisor. In his new position, Flowers, 54, will supervise about 40 full-time employees in an administrative area that spans from the North Dakota and Saskatchewan borders to Sidney, Circle and Loma, and the Liberty County line west of Havre. The sprawling and diverse Region includes a wide variety of fish and wildlife habitats, the Missouri River and Fort Peck Reservoir, and the Fort Peck, Fort Belknap and Rocky Boy Indian r...
A half-dozen experienced hunters attended the hunter scoping session in Glasgow on Aug. 13 to give their comments on the proposed hunting seasons for 2014-2015. Comments will go to the Fish, Wildlife and Parks commission meeting on Oct. 10. FWP will present its proposal on Dec. 12, hold more public meetings and issue the final rule in February. Hunters and FWP wildlife managers discussed the slow recovery of deer and antelope from the devastating winter of 2011 and the EHD that came along that summer. They agreed that eagles and coyotes are...
A dangerous chokepoint that migrating antelope encountered each year just west of Nashua now has one less hazard the animals will have to contend with. Old woven-wire and barbed wire fencing strung for about a mile along U.S. Highway 2 has long served as a potential barrier for pronghorn and other wildlife trying to cross the busy road and get over an adjacent set of Burlington Northern-Santa Fe train tracks. In fact, ground on both sides of the old fence – which was removed by a Montana F...
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is seeking public comment on fishing contests proposed for the winter season of 2013-14. Participants must comply with state fishing regulations, including daily and possession limits. Most contests require catch-and-release fishing and participants in these contests may not keep any fish. Applications for contests may be approved, denied, or approved with conditions. Conditions placed on contests may help to minimize fish mortality, regulate harvest, reduce user conflicts, or require additional access site...
By Samar Fay Courier Editor Whether the Yellowstone bison now living on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation are classified as livestock or wildlife was the subject of debate at the Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region 6 Citizens Advisory Council meeting Tuesday at the Fort Peck Fish Hatchery. “The designation of bison will be a contentious and hard-fought issue for many years to come,” said Steve Dalbey, the acting FWP Region 6 supervisor. The memorandum of understanding between FWP and the Fort Peck tribes does not make clear the present or fut...
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks’ Region 6 Citizens Advisory Council will meet from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on June 11 at the Fort Peck Fish Hatchery. The meeting, which is open to the public, will include a review of recent legislative changes and FWP budget and staffing issues, an overview of Region 6 big game surveys and hunting season outlooks, presentations on Fort Peck Reservoir management issues and a walleye stocking study on Fresno Reservoir, tribal bison management updates, and a member roundtable discussion. Time for public comments is reser...
A black bear captured on a ranch near the McCone County town of Brockway over the Memorial Day weekend has been moved by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks wardens to a new home in the Little Belt Mountains. FWP Region 6 Warden Todd Tryan of Glasgow received a report from McCone County Undersheriff Lonny Jensen on May 24 that a bear had just been spotted in the Brockway Cemetery. Tryan immediately headed to the area and eventually located the animal in a scrap woodpile more than three miles north...
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Director Jeff Hagener and members of the FWP Commission will be in Havre June 4-5 to host a public open house and conduct the commission’s regular monthly meeting. The open house for area residents to informally visit with Director Hagener, FWP Commission Chairman Dan Vermillion, and fellow commissioners Richard Stuker, Lawrence Wetsit and Matthew Tourtlotte – as well as other FWP staff -- starts at 6:30 p.m. on June 4 at the Best Western Great Northern Inn’s conference room, 1345 1st Street. Earlier on June 4 the...
