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SCIENCE-BASED MANAGEMENT SOMETIMES MEANS GIVING UP HUNTING OPPORTUNITY

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Elk sticks out tongue during winter scene.

Hunters are often asked to give up opportunity when a game species is struggling. And as conservationists, we know that it’s the responsible thing to do for the long-term health of our cherished public wildlife resources. In Montana, we have a long history of stepping up and doing just that. An excellent example is with antelope in eastern Montana following the brutal winter of 2010-2011. We went from 13,000 either sex licenses and an additional 7,000 doe tags to a total of 3,000 tags in southeastern Montana. It was a tough change, but that herd is recovering. Future generations will thank us for protecting their opportunity to hunt these antelope.

Hunting District 313, near the town of Gardiner on the north boundary of Yellowstone National Park, is another example where we need to limit hunting in order to support the long-term survival of our big game for future generations. The northern Yellowstone elk herd, which moves between the park and public and private lands north of there, has dropped to an average of just 2.7 mature bull elk per 100 cow elk. The number is below the threshold that Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) considers sustainable, and the agency has proposed to address the situation by going from the current unlimited permit system to a limited draw for 75 bull permits.

This is a dramatic change, but it’s necessary. FWP biologist Karen Loveless has analyzed the data and come up with a science-based recommendation to protection the long-term survival of the herd. That’s what wildlife managers do – they use the best available science to recommend management actions that will keep the herd around for the future.

Unfortunately, FWP’s proposal has encountered some harsh, unwarranted criticism. Last week, the agency held a public information session on the proposal where several outfitters and area hunters criticized Loveless’ data. They pointed to a couple years when the herd wasn’t surveyed, including one year when the agency skipped the survey for budget reasons, to refute all of the data the agency has assembled. One outfitter repeatedly questioned Loveless’ educational background.

We can’t stick our heads in the sand or talk our way out of paying attention to good science. Facts are facts. The herd in HD 313 is struggling when it comes to bull-cow ratios. It’s been on the decline, despite the fact that the overall herd numbers are rising. Some who oppose the proposal are making claims about how much money it could cost the town of Gardiner to limit permits, but doing nothing will cost even more.

The Montana Wildlife Federation supports FWP’s efforts to recover the Gardiner elk herd. As hunters and conservationists, our first priority should always be the long-term survival of the public wildlife resource, managed with the best science. We can thank past generations for limiting their own hunting opportunity so that we can enjoy the best wildlife in the West today. We owe the same to future generations.

Nick Gevock is Montana Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Director.

DURFEE HILLS

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Durfee Hills elk herd

The Montana Wildlife Federation has for eight decades stood up for abundant wildlife, healthy habitat and public hunting opportunity. As part of that, MWF has been a leader in protecting our public lands, places that offer world-class wildlife habitat and equal opportunity for all Montanans to hunt.

Recently MWF debated the proposal by the N-Bar Ranch in Fergus County, which is owned by the Wilks Brothers, to trade roughly 4,868 acres of Bureau of Land Management public lands, including 2,785 acres of the Durfee Hills, for 5,100 acres of Wilks’ land that includes the former 2,243-acre Anchor Ranch in Blaine County. MWF voted to oppose the land trade.

It’s important to note that MWF is not opposed to land trades and public land sales that can benefit wildlife, habitat and public hunting. Montana is rife with examples of major land deals that have had public benefit. For example, land trades in the upper Gallatin River drainage blocked up large areas of public lands that are prime wildlife habitat. Many other carefully planned land trades have helped block up public lands and improve public access.

But in every case, it must be determined whether a land trade would benefit the public. And in this case, clearly it would not. MWF looked at the proposal on a value-for-value basis that considered several criteria, including the quality of the habitat; presence of huntable populations of wildlife including elk, mule deer and sage grouse; and public access and hunting opportunity.
The Anchor Ranch, a small isolated parcel of the much larger N-Bar Ranch, didn’t come close in terms of wildlife habitat to the Durfee Hills. The Anchor Ranch is essentially a sagebrush plain with little big game security habitat and relatively few big game animals. In contrast, the Durfee Hills contain superb wildlife habitat.

It’s true that the Durfee Hills are accessible primarily by air at this time. But in recent years, more and more hunters are accessing the area via airplane for a relatively affordable fee. The area has had roughly 200 elk hunter days per year, and high success rates, according to data from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The hunting district that encompasses the Durfee Hills has an elk population of more than 5,200. Roughly 2,000 of those elk inhabit the Durfee Hills at some time of the year. In addition, the Durfee Hills are the only remaining federal lands available for public big game hunting in Herd Unit 530, and are the core habitat for an elk herd that has provided 1,120 to 2,563 public elk hunter-use days over a decade.

In contrast, the Anchor Ranch, in Herd Unit 680, has walk-in access off of nearby dirt roads. The elk herd is small enough to warrant hunting by special permit only. It shows in elk hunter-use days, which have ranged from 100 to 533 over a decade.

One of the arguments to make the land trade was to open the Bullwhacker Road, which leads to the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument south of the Anchor Ranch and the hunting opportunities it offers. However, that area is already accessible by boat on the river, as well as farther upstream via some roads.

A final reason to retain the Durfee Hills and the other parcels of nearby BLM public lands is to continue the public use and hunting access to a pair of state land sections that adjoin the federal lands there.

It is not in the interest of the public to trade away some of the best wildlife habitat in Montana. Land trades with private landowners have offered some solid benefits to the public over the years, but this would one would not. The BLM should reject this offer and keep the Durfee Hills in public ownership for the public to enjoy.

Bill Geer is a retired wildlife biologist and a board member of the Montana Wildlife Federation. Contact him at whgeer@bridgemail.com

This column appears in the Missoulian and in the Billings Gazette

BIRD HUNTING SOLO IN EASTERN MONTANA

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Bird Hunter Robin Poole

Let me start by saying that if you do not have access to a bird dog, but you know someone who does, it is time to invite him or her hunting. For me, it is simply more enjoyable to have a companion, two or four legged, in the field but there will always be times when hunting alone is the only option. Montana offers such amazing habitat that sitting around and watching football on the weekends would be a tragic waste of public hunter’s time. Below are strategies to guide a hunter on the day he turns off the television and sets off to fill his game bag.

Shoot straight:

Alright so this one is obvious, but it still has to be said; without a dog, you are responsible to chase down cripples, a task easier said than done. Hunting alone is not the time to take impressive or long shots. Shoot one bird, mark it, and immediately retrieve it. It is critical to put a good mark on the bird and get to that spot as quickly as you can. Pheasants are tough birds and they will vanish if your shot is not dead accurate.

Hunt the seams:

The highest percentage areas for a solo hunter are usually along the seams that separate food from cover. The essential element to hunting the seams is setting up for the flush, and the follow-up.

Hunt into the wind:

The best way to get within range of pheasants is to minimize noise and hunt into the wind whenever possible. This creates easier shooting opportunities as the bird will most likely flush against the wind.

Concluding thought:

Montana has some of the best pheasant hunting in the country and a lot of it is accessible to the average hunter who is willing to grab a map and hit the road. Between all the private lands enrolled in Block Management, state Wildlife Management Areas, and BLM land there is no excuse not to get out this season, even if you do not have a dog.

BLOCK MANAGEMENT

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Nickblockmanagementwithantelope
MWF Conservation Director Nick Gevock recently took this nice antelope buck on a Block Management Area in southwestern Montana that opened up thousands of acres of private and public land to public hunting. If you’ve got a photo you’d like to share, send it to mwf@mtwf.org

For thousands of Montanans, as well as hunters from around the country, this upcoming Saturday is the best day of the year. It’s the opening day of Montana’s general deer and elk hunting season, the day that many have for months been waiting for.

There has been a lot of preparation going into the day. Rifles have been carefully sighted in, vehicles packed with tents and gear and supplies to make camp for days or even weeks. And of course hunters have been getting ready by scouting his or her chosen area to find a place with a chance to punch a tag.

Of course that key element – a place to go – is vital for hunting opportunity. Montana is blessed with millions of acres of public land, including national forests, Bureau of Land Management and state Wildlife Management Area lands that are open to all. Montana is also blessed with thousands of generous landowners to welcome hunters to their properties to enjoy the abundance of wildlife we’re blessed with.

Some of them chose to do this through a program that is a model throughout the country, and that is the popular Block Management program. More than 7.5 million acres are enrolled statewide. Through Block Management, landowners allow public hunters onto their lands. In return, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks through fees paid by hunters provides services including enforcement, hunter management and proper signage to help out landowners. And landowners also receive payments to help offset some of the impacts of hunters, including weed management. Each area has its own rules, and hunters need to check with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks for more information.

Block Management is mentioned by hunters from throughout the West as a great partnership. Montanans as well as non-resident hunters have come to rely on these areas throughout the state as great hunting opportunity. The program not only opens up private lands, but in many cases also provides access to adjoining public lands. It’s been a huge success, and one that the Montana Wildlife Federation strongly supports.

If you get out on a Block Management area this fall, be sure to thank the landowner. Hunters are still guests on these areas, and without them we’d have less hunting opportunity.

SHEEP STATION OFFERS WIN-WIN OPPORTUNITY

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Hunters could gain access to more than 16,000 acres of prime wildlife habitat in the Centennial Mountains with some basic changes to the way a federal research facility is run.

For over a year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been trying to close the Agricultural Research Service’s Sheep Experiment Station based in Dubois, Idaho. The outdated facility doesn’t conduct the type of high-value research that would benefit the American sheep industry, Agriculture Sec. Tom Vilsack wrote in a letter to Congress. He proposed moving the station’s research to a facility in Clay Center, Neb., that is equipped with modern labs and with the capacity to do good research. But twice now, Congress has rejected the station’s closure, at the request of the American Sheep Industry which wants the station maintained.

So how does that affect wildlife, habitat and hunters? The station, founded in 1915, includes 16,000 acres in Montana that sit along the Continental Divide in the Centennial Mountains. The area is just south and above the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, squarely in the middle of the “High Divide, a crucial migratory corridor between the Greater Yellowstone region with the wilderness of central Idaho. The area supports abundant wildlife including elk, moose and antelope, as well as numerous birds and nongame species. It also offers incredible hunting opportunity.

This year the National Wildlife Federation analyzed the research conducted at the Sheep Station. It found that the high-alpine meadows of the station are not essential to the research conducted there. NWF, the Montana Wildlife Federation, and the Idaho Wildlife Federation have urged the congressional delegation from Montana and Idaho to resolve the conflicts with wildlife on the station by permanently removing the domestic sheep from the alpine meadows. Those conflicts are real – in recent years a couple grizzly bears have been found dead on the station lands. In addition, the presence of domestic sheep there precludes the opportunity to reestablish native bighorn sheep. And the area is off limits to hunters.

These high meadows, which sit at more than 10,000 feet elevation, aren’t essential to the station’s mission: for the past two summers, the University of Idaho, which owns the sheep grazed there, has not used the meadows.

This is one of the rare cases in which we can have a win-win solution that benefits everyone. Sheep producers can get better research, taxpayers can get a better return on their money, and we can reclaim an important stretch of wildlife habitat. Whatever the future of the Sheep Station is, it shouldn’t include livestock grazing in an area that is so rich in wildlife.

Jeff Lukas – MWF Elk Campaign Manager

Jeff Lukas

Elk Campaign Manager

Jeff Lukas is a passionate conservationist who has been fishing and hunting his entire life. Whether it’s floating a small stream chasing trout, pursuing elk in the high country, or waiting in a blind for ducks to set their wings, Jeff is always trying to bring more people afield to show them what we are trying to protect. He loves being in the arena, and he will never shy away from conversations about the beautiful and unique corners of Big Sky country.