The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
Sorted by date Results 51 - 75 of 155
HELENA – Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is seeking public comment on several proposals slated to go to the Fish and Wildlife Commission in June. Comment is open through May 11. After public comment, commissioners can offer amendments to the proposals as they see fit. The proposals and supporting documents, commissioner amendments and collected public comment are available on the commission webpage. The commission will make a final decision on these proposals at its meeting o...
HELENA – Each spring, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks receives calls from people who have picked up deer fawns or other wildlife. It's important to remember that FWP does not accept, hold or rehabilitate moose, deer, elk and most other animals. Often times, people think they are rescuing an orphaned animal. However, it's important to understand that wildlife care for their young much differently than humans. They have strategies to provide the highest chance of survival for...
HELENA – With warmer temperatures and snow quickly disappearing, shed-antler hunters are anxious to get into the field. 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. Many of Montana's wildlife management areas (WMAs) provide security to wildlife during the winter. However, shed hunters need to be aware that Montana's big game winter range WMAs are closed to p...
BOZEMAN - As part of a multi-state and Canadian research effort involving the Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University, more than a dozen new reports summarizing the latest science and economics of structures designed to reduce animal-vehicle collisions are now available online. The Western Transportation Institute was the research lead of the Wildlife Vehicle Collision Reduction and Habitat Connectivity Pooled Fund Study, a $1.2 million project involving...
HELENA, Mont. – March 9, 2023 - The Montana Discovery Foundation and the Helena- Lewis and Clark National Forest are looking for a heritage/archeology field instructor and eleven high school students (grades 10-12) who love the outdoors-or are curious about the outdoor-based jobs-to apply to the 2023 Youth Forest Monitoring Program. "Twenty-five summers ago, this program started in response to the community's desire to see youth with a greater understanding of natural r...
FWP Header Three grizzly bears test positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza HELENA – Three juvenile grizzly bears tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus this fall. The three bears, one near Augusta, one near Dupuyer, and another near Kalispell, were observed to be in poor condition and exhibited disorientation and partial blindness, among other neurological issues. They were euthanized due to their sickness and poor condition. These were t...
Kids on snowmobiles zipped back and forth across the meadow below the Ponderosa Snow Warriors clubhouse as part of a Snowmobile Safety Education Course, Saturday, Jan. 14. Six kids enrolled in the class, which was the first one in four years. Instructor Zach Muse said snowmobile riders under the age of 18 must have a driver's license or the snowmobile safety certificate they earn during the class. "They keep it with them," Muse said of the certificate, adding they still have...
HELENA -- The Senate will now debate a bill passed in committee Friday that would double the limit on payments to landowners who opt to participate in the Block Management Program, which allows public hunting on private land through contracts with the state Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department. Sen. Steve Hinebauch, R-Wibaux, is sponsoring Senate Bill 58, which would increase the maximum payments for landowners from $25,000 to $50,000. The committee voted to move the bill to th...
Citing threats posed by disease and climate change, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that the whitebark pine is receiving federal protection under the Endangered Species Act. A 2018 assessment found that more than half of the standing whitebark pine trees in the West had died by 2016. The die-off is largely attributed to blister rust, a non-native fungal disease. Additional threats to the species' long-term survival include mountain pine beetle infestations,...
This story is excerpted from the Montan Free Press MT Lowdown, a weekly newsletter digest containing original reporting and analysis published every Friday. In anticipation of eventual delisting, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has produced a proposal to guide grizzly bear management in Montana, which is home to more than half of the Lower 48's grizzlies. In an introduction to an Environmental Impact Statement accompanying the plan, FWP Director Henry "Hank" Worsech said the...
There has been a huge growth in the number of people who, in addition to feeding birds, also directly or indirectly feed deer, bear and other animals around their homes and cabins. Feeding of wildlife places wildlife at risk and puts them on a collision course with humans. Help keep wildlife from coming into conflict with people because when that happens, everyone loses. The Reality of Feeding Supplemental feeding encourages wildlife to become dependent on handouts that are...
HELENA – Montana's 2022 wolf regulations passed by the Fish and Wildlife Commission in August will go back in effect immediately after a court ruling in a lawsuit against Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks denied the plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction and lifted a temporary restraining order. The lawsuit challenges Montana's wolf management. Two weeks ago the judge in the case issued a temporary restraining order reverting wolf regulations back to the 2020 wolf h...
HELENA – It is the most wonderful time of the year on the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest! This year our Forest Service offices and districts will once again be providing Christmas tree permits. "The Christmas tree permit provides local communities a fun way to create adventures and family traditions on their local forest," said Forest Supervisor Emily Platt. "For safety, we advise folks to ensure they have winter essentials in their car such as chains, a shovel, e...
HELENA – On Tuesday, a District Court in Lewis and Clark County issued a temporary restraining order impacting some of Montana's wolf hunting and trapping regulations. The changes go into effect immediately. The changes outlined in the temporary restraining order are as follows: *Reinstitutes wolf management units (WMU) 110, 313, and 316 as they existed in the 2020 wolf regulations. WMU 110 borders Glacier National Park and WMUs 313 and 316 are north of Yellowstone National P...
MISSOULA –Hunter check stations in west-central Montana continue to report elk and deer harvests up from last year and the five-year average. The number of hunter trips through the check stations near Darby, Bonner, Fish Creek, and Anaconda totals 6,769 so far this season. These hunters checked 239 elk, 81 mule deer and 299 white-tailed deer, compared to 141 elk, 71 mule deer and 258 white-tailed deer at this point in the 2021 season. Cold, snowy weather began almost as s...
MISSOULA –Big game hunting season hits its midway mark this week, and hunter check stations in west-central Montana are reporting elk and deer harvests up from last year and the five-year average. The number of hunter trips through the check stations near Darby, Bonner and Anaconda totaled 4,772 for the first half of the season. During the season's first three weekends, those hunters checked 179 elk, 53 mule deer and 185 white-tailed deer, compared to 119 elk, 52 mule deer a...
MISSOULA – For a researcher who studies wildfire, University of Montana graduate student Kyra Clark-Wolf couldn't have had better timing. Clark-Wolf arrived in Missoula to start her graduate studies on the impacts of wildfires on forests at the W.A. Franke College of Forestry & Conservation on July 4, 2017. Eleven days later, a lightning strike sparked the Lolo Peak Fire just south of the city, burning nearly 54,000 acres and leaving lasting and indelible images among M...
It's up to us. Respect access. Protect the hunt HELENA – In Montana, good relationships between hunters and landowners are integral to our opportunities, lead to proper wildlife management and ensure that our hunting traditions continue. Landowners play an important role in sustaining healthy wildlife populations, contributing to our economy and communities by creating jobs, and providing valuable habitat and treasured open spaces. But the relationship between hunters and l...
HELENA - The National Visitor Use Monitoring survey is underway on the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest to help gather data for forest managers on where visitors go, what activities they engage in, and what experiences they have. "Although the survey is entirely voluntary, participation is important so we can assess visitor experiences on the Forest and strive to make it a better place to visit," said Forest Recreation Program Manager Rory Glueckert. "We would...
MISSOULA – Coming in at a weighty 143 pages, Montana's 2022 book of deer, elk and antelope hunting regulations is an impressive tome listing license costs, permit drawing stats, season start dates, tag requirements and the ominous penalties for breaking any of its stated rules. It's a valuable resource in the management of the state's beloved big game animals and a must read for hunters heading out into the field, but it also can be an intimidating opus for even the most e...
GREAT FALLS – A 51-year-old hunter from Washington state sustained non-life threatening injuries when he was attacked by a grizzly bear on Tuesday afternoon in Teton County. The hunter and his wife encountered the bear around 1 p.m. while hunting for upland birds in a creek bottom east of Choteau. The bear charged out of thick brush at close range. The hunter fired at the bear with a shotgun and handgun, wounding the bear and stopping the attack. The hunters and their dogs l...
The Lincoln Community River Park along the south shore of the Blackfoot River just east of the Stemple Pass Road bridge got a bit of a facelift following a fall open house hosted by Five Valley's Land Trust Saturday Sept. 24. The open house involved about an hours worth of volunteer work to put up a couple new signs and to give visitors a chance to enjoy sandwiches and refreshments. The event was part of National Public Lands Day. The sign identifying the park, and another...
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks will be hosting a meeting in Lincoln Oct. 11 to gather public input on revisions to the statewide Elk Management Plan adopted in 2005. The meeting, scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Lincoln Community Hall will seek input on the existing elk population objectives and local elk management challenges that should be considered in the revision, which has been in the works since 2020. The scoping period began this summer and will continue through Oct. 15....
The Helmville-Gould Trail (#467) and Forest Service roads 1829 and 4128 on the Lincoln Ranger District remain closed south of Lincoln to accommodate the Dalton Timber Sale. Forest Service Road 1829-C is closed through the end of the year, but according to the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, they are working with the contractors to reopen many of the roads and trails each weekend for visitors....
HELENA, Mont. (Oct. 5, 2022) - Fire personnel across the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest (HLCNF) are preparing for fall and winter prescribed burning operations to reduce hazardous fuels, protect communities from future unwanted wildfires and improve wildlife habitat. Prescribed burning could begin as soon as this week on the Helena and Lincoln ranger districts, pending favorable conditions. "The prescribed fires planned for this fall and winter are essential to change...
