Posts Tagged ‘Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks’
New Year for Hunting & Fishing Licenses Begins March 1
March 1 begins the new 2015 license year for Montana hunters and anglers. The new license year is especially important for early-season anglers, and for those who enjoy ice fishing.... more
FWP Access Program Offers Tax Credits to Landowners
Landowners have until March 15 to submit applications to Montana Fish, Wildlife, & Parks for enrollment in a program that may qualify them for up to $2,000 in annual tax credits.... more
Montana Hunting Guide 2014
By DILLON TABISH - The arrival of autumn marks the beginning of big game hunting season, a beloved time of year for the thousands of Montana residents who partake in the traditional custom.... more
Hunting is a Bargain for Nonresident College Students
By BRUCE AUCHLY - A discount on Montana’s big game combination license will be available beginning Sept. 9 for nonresident college students to hunt in Montana.... more
Hunters Must Expect to See Bears
With Montana's upland game bird season opening Sept.1—and the bow hunting season set to open Sept. 6—remember that slow moving, quiet and camouflaged hunters will soon be encountering bears.... more
Hunters: Make Fire Safety a Top Priority This Season
By JOLEEN TADEJ - About 5,000 Montana archery hunters can head afield beginning Aug. 15, and ALL early season hunters need to make wildfire prevention a top priority.... more
It’s Hot Outside: How Animals Cope With the Heat
By BRUCE AUCHLY - Tales and Trails is a twice monthly natural history column. This week's topic: How animals cope with hot weather. If they don’t stay cool, they die.... more
FWP, Anglers Work Together to End Illegal fish Introductions
Montana fisheries officials and major statewide angling groups signed an agreement recently aimed at curbing the spread of illegal fish introductions into state waters.... more
Becoming an Outdoors Woman Summer Workshop August 1-3
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks' popular Becoming an Outdoors-Woman summer workshop is set for August 1-3 at Boulder Hot Springs near Boulder.... more
Prevent Conflicts With Bears
By BRUCE AUCHLY - Here are some tips from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks that will help in preparing for bear-safe outings this summer.... more
Keep Backyards Bear Resistant
By BRUCE AUCHLY - Bear activity is picking up in many Montana neighborhoods and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is asking residents to keep bear attractants contained.... more
Time to Catch a Rainbow
By BRUCE AUCHLY - Want a fishing tip? Rainbow trout are spawning. Run, don’t walk, to your closest reservoir and start fishing near shore for a rainbow trout. ... more
Look Out It’s Spring
By BRUCE AUCHLY - Some things in life we can delay, stop, even ignore without consequence. The changing seasons are not in that category. Animals are much more in tune than us with the changing seasons.... more
Fish and Wildlife Commission Adopts New Hunting Regulations
Montana's fish and wildlife commissioners recently adopted a number of new regulations that will be in effect for the next two hunting seasons.... more
Love in the Winter
By BRUCE AUCHLY - Just in time for Valentine’s Day, we bring you those wonderful love birds – great horned owls. That's right, the most impressive owl in North America as a symbol of Valentine’s Day.... more
Winter Survival
By BRUCE AUCHLY - While we can adapt to winter's overdue cold spells, wild animals have three basic strategies for dealing with winter and they are the same each year, no matter the weather.... more
Elk Totals Above Average, Deer Below Average on Rocky Mountain Front
By BRUCE ACHLEY - At the end of the fourth weekend of Montana’s big game general season, harvest numbers for elk, mule deer and white-tailed deer continues below the long-term average on the Rocky Mountain Fr... more
Big Game Harvest Continues Down on Rocky Mountain Front
By BRUCE ACHLEY - At the end of the fourth weekend of Montana’s big game general season, harvest numbers for elk, mule deer and white-tailed deer continues below the long-term average on the Rocky Mountain Fr... more
Hunter Numbers Strong, Wildlife Harvest Down on Rocky Mountain Front
By BRUCE AUCHLY The number of hunters remains strong on the Rocky Mountain Front but the number of animals taken is mostly below the 10-year average at the close of the second weekend of Montana’s general ... more
Opening of Big Game Season Slightly Below Average on Rocky Mountain Front
By BRUCE AUCHLY - Hunters hit the Rocky Mountain Front for the opening weekend of Montana’s general big game season and took home slightly fewer elk, mule deer and white-tailed deer compared to the past three... more
Diseased Deer Prompt Immediate Changes to Region 4 Deer Hunting
By BRUCE AUCHLY - The Fish and Wildlife commission has taken additional action to address the effects of disease on white-tailed deer in north central Montana.... more
Agencies Advise Limited Consumption of Some Fish Species Below Mill Site on Clark Fork River
F.Y.I. - Three state agencies today issued fish consumption advisories for northern pike and rainbow trout on a 105-mile stretch of the Clark Fork River in western Montana.... more
Hunters Beware: Two Grizzlies Spotted on Sun River near Simms, Fort Shaw
By BRUCE AUCHLY - Two separate grizzly bear sightings since Sunday near the Sun River west of Great Falls have prompted state wildlife officials to alert homeowners and hunters in the area.... more
Fall is Here in Montana
By BRUCE AUCHLY - Fall is a welcome assault on the senses. We see it, hear it and smell it. For those who hunt, or wait for cooler water to fish again, there's not other season like it.... more
The Third Week in September
It's the autumnal equinox, which some equate with death. But for hunters, anglers, and hikers, the third week of September is a time to anticipate, to delight in, to anxiously await. ... more
Fishing Restrictions Lifted on Dearborn, Smith and Sun Rivers
By BRUCE AUCHLY - Fishing restrictions have been lifted on the Dearborn, Smith and Sun rivers in north central Montana, state officials say.... more
Complete Fishing Closure Begins Thursday on Blackfoot River and Tributaries
In an effort to protect fish from the stress of low stream flows, Montana FWP is imposing a complete closure to fishing on the Blackfoot River effective Sept. 5, 2013.... more
No-Wait Nonresident Deer Hunting Licenses Going Fast
F.Y.I. - With fewer than 300 no-wait nonresidents deer combo hunting licenses left for sale out-of-state hunters still hoping to trek to Montana this fall need to move fast.... more
Hunters Must Expect to See Bears
With Montana's upland game bird season opening Sept.1—and the bow hunting season set to open Sept. 7—remember that hunters will soon be sharing the landscape with bears.... more
FWP Considers Buying 189 Acres of Land on Flathead Lake
By FLATHEAD BEACON STAFF - Acquisition near Somers would add shoreline farmlands and wetlands to management area program.... more
Warm Flows Prompt “Hoot-Owl” Fishing on Dearborn, Smith and Sun Rivers
By BRUCE AUCHLY: Montana FWP has advised anglers on three central Montana rivers that all fishing will close daily from 2 pm to midnight until conditions improve.... more
Summer Heat Has FWP Watching Conditions For Possible Fishing Restrictions
With recent temperatures leaping into the 90s throughout Montana, state fishery officials are gearing up now should the need arise to protect wild fish. ... more
Summer Safety Around Water
By BRUCE AUCHLY - Summer swimming in Montana's lakes and rivers can be a great way to cool off if a few simple precautions are taken. How simple? Try these tips:... more
Most Grizzly Bears Still in Their Dens…But Not for Long
By BRUCE AUCHLY - Grizzly bears on the Rocky Mountain Front are still mostly snug in their dens, a state grizzly bear specialist says. But recent warm weather will make them emerge quickly.... more
Montana’s Hibernating Grizzly Bears Will Soon Be Stirring
Adult males usually emerge first from winter dens in mid-March. When bears emerge from their dens they are physically depleted and food is a priority. ... more
New Montana Wolf Laws Take Effect Immediately
By JOLENE TADEJ - A wolf management bill that won swift and overwhelming bipartisan support in the Montana Legislature was signed into law today by the state's new governor.... more
Our Winter Visitors
By BRUCK AUCHLY - Birds that head south for the winter are easy to envy and understand. Who hasn’t occasionally dreamed of spending a winter in the Bahamas, Mexico or the pampas of Argentina.... more
Bear Spray: Carry It and Know How to Use It
Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks and Jack Hanna tell why it's important to carry bear spray and know how to use it this hunting season.... more
FWP Offers New Improved Montana Hunt Planner Map
The Montana Hunter Planner just got rejuvenated—right in time for Montana's primetime hunting seasons. The new, improved Montana Hunt Planner is an interactive search and now combines a one-stop mapping servi... more
Hunting Access: Ask Early, Don’t Wait
It is Montana law that hunters obtain landowner permission to hunt on all private land. Here are a few tips that could improve your chances to secure permission.... more
North Central Montana Deer and Elk Hunting Outlook
By BRUCE AUCHLY - The news for big game this fall in north central Montana is decidedly mixed. Elk and white-tailed deer numbers are solid. However, that’s generally not the case for antelope and mule deer. ... more
Missoula Children and Nature Presents National Public Lands Day
Missoula Children and Nature (MCN) and Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks invite kids and families to visit Montana’s newest state park for a day of kid-friendly activities.... more
The Itch to Hunt in Western Montana
By BRUCE AUCHLY - The itch starts about this time of year. The itch to be in the field, trying to bugle in an elk, following a dog along a coulee on a hunt for Hungarian partridge, scouting an antelope buck as ... more
Between the Sporting Seasons
By BRUCE AUCHLY - Most outdoor enthusiasts are in the doldrums right now, wondering what to do between seasons and how to keep from going crazy.... more