Where have all the mulies gone? | Great Falls Tribune

By Michael Babcock

The mule deer — the signature deer of the West — is in trouble in Montana and Fish, Wildlife & Parks is cutting back on hunter opportunity to halt a slide in the deer's numbers that began a couple of years ago.

The decline in the number of fawns each year is cyclical, however, and game managers expect the deer herds to come back in three or four years.

Biologists blame a decade or more of drought and untimely winter-like storms that occurred in spring of 2009. Coyotes and mountain lions also kill mule deer but when deer numbers are down, that impacts the number of predators as well.

In northcentral Montana and several other FWP administrative regions, biologists this year are suggesting heavy restrictions on mule deer harvest for the next two years. In Region 4, for example all general deer A licenses will be for antlered mule deer only or either sex whitetails. Other restrictions are recommended in Regions 1, 2 and 3.

Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commissioners will adopt final hunting regulations when they meet in Helena on Feb. 11. They will not set quotas until sometime in the summer. That allows biologists to complete their winter and spring deer and elk surveys.

While the decline is just about region wide for northcentral Montana, Quentin Kujala, head of the wildlife bureau for Fish, Wildlife & Parks says the problem goes beyond Region 4.

“We are hearing the same comments from regions 1, 2 and 3,” he said.

“All four had responding adjustments in tentatives this year toward a more conservative antlerless harvest,” he said. “In the comments we have received people are appreciating those moves and in some cases calling for more conservative moves.

“In eastern Montana Region 5, we have made some adjustments but as a region the problem is not as widespread as regions 1 through 4. In the far eastern regions (Regions 6 and 7) the message is a little more scattered.

“But it certainly is on a bigger scale than only one region,” Kujala said.

Tom Stivers, a FWP biologist in Lewistown, said mule deer numbers are down in virtually all of central Montana and south of the Snowy Mountains, too.

FWP game managers noticed the decline a year ago and they began cutting back on the number of B tags — tags reserved for antlerless deer. Hunters began complaining last fall that they failed to get a B tag in areas where they have gotten them for years.

Before that, FWP was generous with B tags and there were a number of hunting districts where surplus B tags — those not taken during the application process in the spring — were sold over the counter.

“Did we go too far with B tags?” Kujala said. “One of the greatest challenges in wildlife management when it comes to mule deer is when you couple the ebbs and flows in a dynamic system.

“Everybody has a different perception of where populations are and then there are season structures and the inherent timeline of season setting. The challenge is trying to match harvest opportunity with the situation.”

Kujala said there clearly are cycles in the mule deer populations and he said 10 to 15 years would be a good generalization.

“We can talk at great length of how to think about cycles. They are intrinsic with mule deer and how they respond to things like the weather or how they impact their environment,” he said. “But is easiest just to recognize that there is an event when you look back you can see the ebb and flow.

“Anyway you look at it the system has a potential to be just behind the curve,” Kujala said. “Increased liberalization might be behind the curve and the same with conservatism. By the time you match the population that might be the population that was there last year.”

Stivers said that mule deer numbers were high in the hunting districts he manages two and three years ago.

“But fawn recruitment dropped off and that is a sign that things are going to happen,” he said. “We still had good numbers of deer in all those places and we were in a biennial season setting structure so you cannot go to bucks only except every two years.”

“There still are deer out there and some hunting districts are in better shape than others,” Stivers said.

“I don’t think this trough is going to be as pronounced as that one in the mid-90s,” he said.

“Region 4 and some others have taken some late snows and there have been extreme conditions when the fawns hit the ground,” Kujala said. “Then there is the drought. Even though we have had better summer moisture the last few years, in some regions the drought has hung on. That shows up in fawn mortality and late in the fall. There have been more than enough weather events to impact fawns.”

“Region 1 (northwest Montana) has been talking about winter conditions and Region 6 had a lot of winter weather last year. The mule deer population is manifesting that dip.

There also are predators.

“That always is a question,” Kujala said. “Classical theory tells you that prey drive the predators. At low levels, predators can impact the lows, dragging them out.”

“Lots of things add up to this,” Stivers said. “And this also is in line with the reduction in numbers that occurs every 10 to 12 years.

“Dry summers effect lactation and fawn survival,” Stivers said.

He explained that mule deer eat forbs or browse and are more sensitive to dry summers.

Elk can shift from forbs or browse to grass in winter but mule deer cannot.

“The mule deer are left with nothing. Oftentimes there are two years like that back to back and you get low fawn recruitment,” he said.

“It is cumulative wear on females and fawn recruitment drops. Dry summers are often followed by slightly worse than normal winter affects.

“Coyote numbers also are high right now,” he said.

Neither Kujala nor Stivers would point at one factor or another as having been the driving force behind the decline.

Stivers said, “People overlook the significance but the No. 1 thing that drives mule deer population is how green the summers are.

“The real thing that drives mule deer and antelope are forbs — the broad-leafed plants such as dandelions, clover, all the milky sap plants. There are lots of small broadleaf plants in the understory of the prairie.”

“At this point in time, the sense would be to see it more as a mule deer thing than a trouble thing,” Kujala said.

Reach Babcock at triboutdoors@greatfallstribune.com or by calling 791-1487.

via Where have all the mulies gone? | greatfallstribune.com | Great Falls Tribune.

5 charged in illegal commercial hunting scam – Billings Gazette

Gazette Staff |

A Kentucky man has been sentenced for running an illegal commercial hunting business that utilized public Block Management Areas between 2005 and 2007 in northeastern Montana.

Robert Nelsen, 60, of Bowling Green, Ky., was fined $5,555 and was ordered to pay $1,050 in restitution after pleading guilty. He also had his hunting, fishing and trapping privileges revoked for eight years. When he was apprehended, Nelsen had more than 30 pheasants over his limit.

Four other men were also charged as a result of the investigation, some of them associates and the others clients.

Records show the men hit the Block Management Areas 93 days in 2005, 122 days in 2006, and 21 days in 2007. The Block Management Program opens private lands to public hunters. Landowners are paid by the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks for allowing access.

“Unauthorized commercial ventures are not allowed on BMAs,” said Mike Herman, Region 6 warden captain, in a statement.

“We’re seeing an increase in this type of commercial activity in the northeastern corner of the state,” Herman added. “For the sake of the everyday hunter and the program, we’re trying to control it. We don’t want Block Management Areas to become ‘slip in and slip out’ access points for an unlimited number of commercial ventures.”

Nelsen pleaded guilty in Montana 15th Judicial District Court to a felony count of outfitting without a license. He also was convicted on the misdemeanor charges in Roosevelt County Justice Court: wasting and abandoning a game bird, discharging a firearm from a public roadway, three counts of hunting game birds without permission, three counts of accountability (for the conduct of clients), three counts of acting as an outfitter without a license, and seven counts of killing and/or possessing more than the legal limit of game birds.

Nelsen’s associates and clients included William McCarley of Auburn, Ky., Perry Bond of Louisville, Ky., Chris Riopelle of Denver, Colo., and James Booth of Davie, Fla.

McCarley was convicted on a misdemeanor count of violating Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission regulations for illegally shooting a hen pheasant and was fined $135.

Bond was convicted on a misdemeanor count of hunting during a closed season for shooting a hen pheasant. He was fined $135 and was ordered to pay $25 in restitution.

Riopelle and Booth each received deferred prosecutions with fines and restitution attached to two misdemeanor counts of retaining the services on an unlicensed outfitter. They each paid a $575 fine and $500 in restitution and for a period of one year.

via 5 charged in illegal commercial hunting scam.

Charges filed in connection with killing of record bighorn | Great Falls Tribune

By MICHAEL BABCOCK • Tribune Outdoor Editor • August 29, 2009

State investigators filed felony and misdemeanor charges against a Whitehall taxidermist and two other men this week in connection with the shooting of a record bighorn sheep in the Missouri Breaks last fall.

An undercover Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks agent shot the sheep after purposely missing it a number of times over the course of a couple days, according to court documents.

Since last fall, the killing of the ram, which reportedly measured 204 inches on the Boone and Crockett scale, has been a hot topic on the Internet, with chat-room rumor mills churning out all kinds of speculation and accusations regarding the death of the bighorn ram and the actions of the undercover agent.

On Monday, the state filed charges in Chouteau County District Court against John E. Lewton of Whitehall, accusing him of felony unlawful possession of a game animal, two misdemeanor counts of hunting without landowner permission and a misdemeanor count of outfitting without a license.

On Wednesday, the state filed charges against Lewton in Jefferson County District Court, accusing him of felony unlawful sale of a game animal.

Also charged were Blake Trangmoe of Glendive and James Reed of Rexberg, Idaho. Each of those two men faces two misdemeanor charges of hunting without landowner permission, a misdemeanor count of outfitting without a license and one felony count of unlawful possession of a game animal.

In documents filed by the state, the Attorney General’s Office alleges that Lewton claimed to have accompanied a number of bighorn sheep tag holders while they hunted in Montana during the last 10 to 15 years.

FWP undercover agents began investigating Lewton in 2005.

When the undercover agent approached Lewton last year and told him he had a sheep tag, Lewton told the agent he took the last nine holders of the “governor’s sheep tag,” which is auctioned off by the state every year, hunting for their sheep.  Click Link Below For Full Story!

via Charges filed in connection with killing of record bighorn | greatfallstribune.com | Great Falls Tribune.

Judge Will Consider RMEF Support of Wolf Hunting

MISSOULA, Mont.—U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy on Friday granted a motion allowing the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation to enter an amicus curiae brief supporting state-regulated wolf hunting in Idaho and Montana.

The move means RMEF positions will be considered against an emergency injunction filed by 13 environmental groups asking the judge to stop a planned hunt and return gray wolves to the endangered species list.

A hearing is scheduled for Monday and Molloy’s ruling could follow soon afterward.

The Elk Foundation’s amicus curiae brief is posted here:

* RMEF’s Amicus Brief – Wolf delisting – filed 8.28.09.pdf

* Wolf Delisting Declaration and Exhibits to RMEF’s Amicus Brief Filed 8.28.09.pdf

“We’re grateful that Judge Molloy has agreed to hear our side of this issue,” said David Allen, RMEF president and CEO. “Once you cut away the hysterics and hyperbole, this is a straightforward wildlife management issue. State wildlife agencies have proven their professionalism and capability to balance predators with other resident species. They’ve been successfully managing wildlife for decades and we have total confidence in them.”

The Elk Foundation’s brief reinforces four main points:

* Historic success of modern, hunter-based conservation in North America.

* Viewpoints of hunters who continue to pay for the big-game resources that made wolf recovery possible.

* RMEF-funded research, along with other scientific and anecdotal evidence, showing that wolf populations are fully recovered and that, where wolves are present with elk, wolves are having detrimental impacts on elk.

* State wildlife agencies are best suited to manage wolves alongside other species.

About the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation:

Snowy peaks, dark timber basins and grassy meadows. RMEF is leading an elk country initiative that has conserved or enhanced habitat on over 5.6 million acres—a land area equivalent to a swath three miles wide and stretching along the entire Continental Divide from Canada to Mexico. RMEF also works to open, secure and improve public access for hunting, fishing and other recreation. Get involved at www.rmef.org or 800-CALL ELK.

via 2009 News Releases.

Lawsuits over wolf hunting filed in Mont., Wyo.

By MATTHEW BROWN and BEN NEARY

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A pair of federal judges will decide which states in the Northern Rockies have enough gray wolves to allow public hunting, as the bitter debate over the region’s wolves heads to courts in Wyoming and Montana.

Environmentalists filed a lawsuit in Missoula on Tuesday seeking to restore protections for more than 1,300 wolves in Montana and Idaho. The Obama administration in April upheld a Bush-era decision to take wolves off the endangered species list in those two states.

The lawsuit could block regulated wolf hunts slated to begin this fall and scuttle a plan to remove all the predators from part of north central Idaho.

Gray wolves remain on the endangered species list in Wyoming, but in another lawsuit, Wyoming attorney General Bruce Salzburg on Tuesday asked a federal judge in Cheyenne to clear the way for hunts in his state. Salzburg rejected claims by federal officials that local laws were too weak to protect Wyoming’s 300 wolves.

Gray wolves were listed as endangered in 1974, after they had been wiped out across the lower 48 states in the early 20th century by hunting and government-sponsored poisoning. Following an intensive reintroduction program, there are now an estimated 1,645 wolves in the Northern Rockies, not including this year’s pups.

“There’s absolutely no question this population is fully recovered. There’s wolves moving all over the place,” said Ed Bangs, wolf recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  Click link below for full story!

via The Associated Press: Lawsuits over wolf hunting filed in Mont., Wyo..

Bighorn sheep tag sells for $245,000 | greatfallstribune.com | Great Falls Tribune

Bighorn sheep tag sells for $245,000

By MICHAEL BABCOCK • Tribune Outdoor Editor • February 11, 2009

The owner of a chain of sandwich shops in Champaign, Ill., paid $245,000 for a Montana bighorn sheep hunting tag last weekend at the Wild Sheep Foundation Convention in Salt Lake City.

The Wild Sheep Foundation, headquartered in Cody, Wyo., would not release the winner’s name, but they said the tag brought in $50,000 more than last year.

The highest price ever paid for a Montana wild sheep tag was $310,000 in 1994.

“Yes, the bidding was spirited,” said Terry Ziehl of the Sheep Foundation.

A Whitefish hunter paid $10,000 for a Montana mountain goat tag sold at the same show.

Also at the auction, the Mule Deer Foundation sold a Montana mule deer tag for $8,500.

In all, Montana’s 2009 big game auction licenses drew a total of $263,500.

The special tags allow the holder to hunt in any hunting district where there is a season for that species.

The show was the 32nd Annual Wild Sheep Foundation Convention and the Western Hunting and Conservation Expo. Next year’s show, called The Sheep Show, will be held in Reno, Nev., on Feb. 3-6  Click link below for full story

via Bighorn sheep tag sells for $245,000 | greatfallstribune.com | Great Falls Tribune.

Access, weather only obstacles for elk hunters this year | greatfallstribune.com | Great Falls Tribune

By Tribune Staff and Fish, Wildlife & Parks

Montana’s got elk and hunters by the thousands are planning for what could be a great season.

The state’s general elk hunting season opens Oct. 26.

“Hunters are going to see very healthy populations of elk and liberal hunting opportunities. If the weather works in hunters’ favor, and they do some advance work to gain access where it’s needed, plenty of elk are potentially available for harvest,” said Quentin Kujala, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks wildlife division management bureau chief.

Weather plays a huge role. For several years, Montana has seen mild winters and late snows. Kujala said that has contributed to lower elk harvests in some areas of the state, despite additional elk-hunting permits and more liberal seasons.

“This has been a pretty good weather year in Montana,” Kujala said. “We’re all hoping it leans in the hunters’ favor this fall.”

Hunters may obtain a free Hunting Access guide from the FWP region where they plan to hunt; another aide is the hunter tool kit on the FWP web site at www.fwp.mt.gov on the hunter access page.

Here is an overview of 2008 elk hunting opportunities in the state  For Full Story click link below.

Access, weather only obstacles for elk hunters this year | greatfallstribune.com | Great Falls Tribune.

Study: Grizzlies’ range has expanded | Great Falls Tribune

By KARL PUCKETT • Tribune Staff Writer • September 17, 2008

WEST GLACIER — The occupied range of the threatened grizzly bear in northwest Montana has expanded far outside the original recovery boundaries set 15 years ago, a new population study has found.

The five-year study, based on DNA collected from bear hairs left behind in the woods, has concluded an estimated 765 grizzlies live in northwestern Montana.

That’s 2 1/2 times the number of bears previously estimated to live in the 7.8 million-acre Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, which is about the size of Maryland and Delaware combined, according to study leader Kate Kendall of the U.S. Geological Survey.

Previously, the population of bears was deduced by sightings of females with cubs.

“We never knew how many we had,” Kendall said.

The study, the first ecosystemwide assessment of northwest Montana’s bears since they were listed as a threatened species in 1975, provides previously unavailable baseline data to assist in gauging the success of recovery efforts, Kendall said.

She said the study’s accuracy was better than any previous study she’d seen on grizzlies or brown bears and described it as the largest “noninvasive” study of bears to date. A paper on the results will be published in January in The Journal of Wildlife Management.

“It is some really cool information,” Kendall said.

Besides the population number, the study also examined gender, genetic health and occupied habitat

Study: Grizzlies’ range has expanded | greatfallstribune.com | Great Falls Tribune.

A bipartisan approach is best for Montana’s wildlife | Greatfallstribune.com | Great Falls Tribune

By M. DAVID ALLEN And TONY A. SCHOONEN

Wildlife and wildlife-related recreation define Montana — the serenity of a flock of ducks in flight, the majesty of herds of elk, the springtime gobbles of wild turkeys are all emblematic of the natural abundance of this state.

Particularly in the fall when the crisp air and shorter days signal the instinctive rituals of migration or breeding season, our unique tie to wildlife and wild places touches the very core of all of us. Seeing these creatures in their natural habitats is something that many of us take for granted, but a century ago it was only through the hard work, determination and financial support of a dedicated group of hunters that we reversed the downward spiral of wildlife populations.

Today, many of Montana’s wild places and the wildlife that depend on them are facing new challenges from development to climate change to loss of relevance as new generations suffer through “nature deficit.”

Hunter conservationists remain the driving force behind most wildlife management and still fund most conservation efforts. Protecting our rich hunting tradition and heritage will ensure continued abundance of wildlife populations, and help sustain the most successful model of wildlife conservation the world has ever known — the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation,  Full Story

M. David Allen is president and CEO of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and a resident of Billings; Tony A. Schoonen is the chief of staff for the Boone and Crockett Club based in Missoula

A bipartisan approach is best for Montana’s wildlife | greatfallstribune.com | Great Falls Tribune.