All told, the three adult mountain lions – which either swam to the island or accessed its shores via ice-bridge during recent winters – appear to have killed some 70 of the vulnerable bighorns before being killed by local wildlife officials.
HELENA, Mont. — Despite a recent interpretation of Montana state law that aerial hunting of wolves is not prohibited, doing so runs afoul of federal law. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks argued in state District Court recently that state law does not prohibit aerial hunting of wolves. FWP’s arguments came as legal justification for the agency removing language from the state’s…
The new state-record fish weighed in at 18.02 pounds on a certified scale, measured 32.25 inches in length, and 22 inches in girth.
Officials said the closest grizzly bears had come to the Central Montana island mountain range prior to last week was in 2017. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)BILLINGS, Mont. — Wildlife officials in Montana have confirmed the presence of a grizzly bear in the Big Snowy Mountains, a first for the region. The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks said the adult…
The large male bear was later shot and killed when it charged wildlife workers investigating the attack.
Recorded more than 3.4 million visitors in 2020, a 29.5 percent increase over 2019.
Last year inspection crews checked more than 109,000 watercraft and intercepted 16 fouled with mussels and another 170 transporting aquatic weeds.
Grizzly bears on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountain Front have expanded in numbers and dispersed into areas where they have not existed for decades.
The harvest occurred less than half a mile to the west of the existing Libby CWD Management Zone.
Bears attack people in northwest Montana a few times a year. That’s enough for medical professionals and wildlife managers to have developed a special protocol that’s part treatment, part forensics to ensure both parties recover.
It’s reportedly the first wolf harvested in that region since Congress removed federal protections for the predators in 2011.
Montana officials have adopted a plan to maintain the largest grizzly population in the Lower 48 states at roughly current numbers if the animal is removed from the threatend species list.
Mostly lower-than-average hunter numbers and harvest success in second weekend, with grizzly sighting and reminder for hunters to be bear aware.
The hunter and his partner were in the Beattie Gulch area and surprised a sow and cub at very close range. The sow charged.
As bears become more common in prairie creek bottoms and brush rows, encounters with bird hunters become more frequent as well.
Public hunting of the animals could occur at some point in the future if federal officials move forward with plans to remove the population’s threatened species protections. No hunting plans have been crafted, but officials said if a hunt were to occur it would be constrained by the population objectives that were endorsed Thursday.
It’s the 20th bear to join the region near the Montana-Idaho border under an augmentation program that began in 1990.
(Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks photo)With the proliferation of adult quagga mussels in Lake Powell, on the border of Utah and Arizona, watercraft from this lake that are entering Montana will be subject to additional measures at watercraft inspection stations to ensure they are free from aquatic invasive species. Lake Powell is on the Colorado River and invasive mussels are…
As bears continue to move further into the prairie and remake their home in their historical territory, it’s up to both the agencies and the residents to prevent conflicts.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks wants to remind anglers that as reservoir water temperatures increase, mortality associated with catch-and-release also increases. A past study published in The North American Journal of Fisheries Management found that walleye catch-and-release mortality rate rose from zero to 1.8 percent with water temps below 68 degrees to nearly 16 percent when water temps were above…
With about 900 wolves, it marks the 13th consecutive year that Montana has far exceeded wolf recovery goals, the agency says.
This is the first time a positive test has been found in the mountains southwest of Dillon, which is outside the area where ranchers are required to test livestock for brucellosis.
BOZEMAN, Mont. — Three men have pleaded guilty to the illegal hunting and wasting of bull bison north of Yellowstone Park. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports that Jesse Darr, Ryley Heidt and Peyton Simmons, all of Park County, were sentenced in justice court for unlawful possession. Each was ordered to pay fines and charges totaling $2,605 and each will lose…
It’s a small enough number that more herd management isn’t needed.
State wants to demonstrate its commitment to the grizzly’s long-term recovery.
Elk numbers in northern Yellowstone National Park are greater than they’ve been in 13 years, according to a survey from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Results from the two-day survey, released yesterday, show a count of more than 7,500 in the area, a 40 percent increase from 2017. State scientists say good weather during the aerial survey contributed to the…
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