Still deer hunting in MT

[mtmiller]

Thoughts?

Deer Management Season Expanded on Portion of Milk River Valley


GLASGOW, Mont. - A special white-tailed deer management season already underway in the Milk River Valley between Nashua and Saco has been expanded to include any legal resident or non-resident hunter.

The special season in portions of Hunting Districts 630 and 670 started Dec. 15, 2008. The extra harvest of antlerless white-tailed deer was approved by FWP to help reduce crop damage on private lands and help meet deer-population objectives.

The season initially only included hunters selected from FWP’s game-damage rosters, but as of Jan. 6, 2009, any legal resident or non-resident hunter can participate, said Glasgow-based Wildlife Biologist Kelvin Johnson.

Hunters who wish to participate in the hunt can use any number of unfilled deer licenses or permits from the 2008 Montana big game hunting season. Hunters also may purchase up to five additional antlerless white-tailed deer licenses for use in the area. The additional deer tags will soon be available from all license vendors, any FWP office, or from the agency’s Web site (fwp.mt.gov).

Johnson said the decision to open up the hunt was based on the low number of animals harvested so far and the continued high concentrations of white-tailed deer in the Milk River Valley. About 30 private landowners are participating in the special hunt, which was originally slated to close on Jan. 15.

The management hunt has a harvest quota of 500 antlerless deer and will now run, at the latest, until Feb. 15, 2009. Johnson said the special season will be closed earlier than Feb. 15 if harvest objectives are met before then.

“Deer problems that are occurring this winter are expected to continue next summer unless numbers are reduced closer to population objectives,” Johnson said. “A relatively large harvest level is needed in these areas to adequately reduce numbers to levels that are tolerable and in balance with available habitat.”

All hunters participating in the Milk River special season are required to report each deer they harvest to FWP by calling (406) 228-3700, sending an e-mail to [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> , or sending written correspondence to Montana FWP, Region 6 Headquarters, 54078 U.S. Highway 2 West, Glasgow, MT 59230.

Hunters are required to obtain permission to enter the private lands either by completing registration cards at sign-in boxes on the Block Management Areas or by contacting landowners directly. Maps of the management season area and contact information for participating landowners are available at FWP offices.

Two other special management hunts - in the Sandhills area near Medicine Lake and in the Big Dry Creek area east of Jordan -- are also underway in FWP Region 6.

-- FWP --

 

[Oak]

How many of these 15 landowners who are participating are also leasing their land to outfitters or hunting groups during the regular season? Tempting to tell them to stick it in their ears.

 

[Big Fin]

How many of these 15 landowners who are participating are also leasing their land to outfitters or hunting groups during the regular season? Tempting to tell them to stick it in their ears.

I will let NEMont tell us if this is the "Realtree" stretch of the Milk River. If not, it is very close. Saco is pretty much ground zero for those guys.

According to MT crop damage laws, special seasons and damage payments are not supposed to be provided, unless "reasonable access" is allowed by the landowner. Guess it depends upon what is reasonable access.

Could be a case of the poor working ranch guy being over run by deer that hide out in the "sanctuaries" of the leased properties during hunting season, then they leave the sanctuaries after season an come to the working ranch and eat his feed. That poor working ranch is probably providing access, but if all the deer are gone, access is of no value.

In most part, these leasing/outfitting arrangements are the worst herd management situations you can imagine. Yes, due to not shooting many bucks, they do grow some old ones, but no does get harvested, numbers skyrocket, and non-leasing ranches get to help feed this crazy amount of does, many of which should have been harvested.

So, who really pays the price and manages the does? The price is paid by hunter dollars via direct payments or the cost of FWP to hold and manage these special hunts.

An even bigger price is paid by the neighbor who is trying to keep numbers in check by allowing some sort of hunting. But, as soon as the shooting starts, the deer run to the leased properties and are not accessible. As soon as season is over, the guy is overrun with deer, as they leave the leased properties and spend the winter on his place. Not the kind of neighbor a rancher needs when cattle prices are at .80/# and winter is forcing him to feed much more than he otherwise would have.

Welcome to the screwed up world of private land outfitter welfare in Montana, and the price it imposes on everyone else.

 

[Oak]

Thanks for the info, Fin. That makes a lot of sense (well, you know what I mean).

 

[Bambistew]

Fin, How big of a ranch does one have to own to be a recipient of crop damage?

 

[Nemont]

The landowners participating are not leasing to Outfitters.

I think the term used by one of the FWP guys I talked was that the Milk is infested with whitetails. Even the Mule deer are causing damage. This is one of my clients haystacks the other day I went to meet with him.

You should see how many deer were on one the RealTree leases. I drove by one of their leases on my way to hunt pheasants on New Years Eve. I bet there were 500 deer out in that field.


There is an example of what happens to neighbors of these guys right out of Glasgow. The State bought a conservation easement on the Page-Whitam ranch, which is HUGE. They encourage hunters to come out and hunt deer because it is destroying their corn and hay fields. Just down the road their is a big ranch that is leased by an outfitter and every deer has been pushed onto that place but they just bed down there and at night they return to the Page-Whitam place.

There are landowners now who won't let you on during the season that now want hunters to come thin out "their" deer. Their definition of reasonable access is different then mine.

One thing I wonder is how many bucks that shed already get killed by hunting into mid February.

Nemont

 

[MattK]

I find it hypocritical that the FWP only allow antlerless tags for white-tail to get the numbers back to objective but they allow any elk to be shot in the 300's. If they want more hunters to go after deer wouldn't you think they would allow any sex deer to be shot (to get more people involved as was their excuse for the expanded elk season). BTW- I'm not advocating buck deer to be shot but I wonder how much realtree has to do with the antlerless only by the milk river?

 

[JoseCuervo]

I am confused. In Montana, do only the antlerless deer do crop damage? Bucks don't eat during the winter?

 

[Oak]

I find it hypocritical that the FWP only allow antlerless tags for white-tail to get the numbers back to objective but they allow any elk to be shot in the 300's. If they want more hunters to go after deer wouldn't you think they would allow any sex deer to be shot (to get more people involved as was their excuse for the expanded elk season). BTW- I'm not advocating buck deer to be shot but I wonder how much realtree has to do with the antlerless only by the milk river?

Hey, those guys with leases might be more inclined to increase doe harvest if their bucks started getting whacked in January. Not a good management decision, though.

 

[MTwapiti]

Last week a lot of buck, not all, had already shed their antlers. Which makes me wonder how many people will end up shooting an anterless buck.

 

[cornfed]

Here in Iowa some areas have a late season doe hunt to control numbers.Season starts after the tenth of January and runs for a couple weeks and I think they figure around 22 to 28 percent of the deer harvested are bucks(males).That is with an average type winter.More if the weather is severe.Some are shedding already.

 

[280rem]

I've hunted the Milk River a couple of times & i was amazed at the number of deer i seen. I don't know if reducing the numbers will help with the EHD problems but it's gotta help the landowners reduce crop damage. I never checked to see if doe permits were available but i sure will next time.