New Montana Program Shoots For Non-Residents

Some out-of-state hunters think Montana is gouging them with the new guaranteed big game licenses that require use of an outfitter, and some outfitters also are concerned.

Fees for the new licenses can top $800.

“This has become a rich man’s game,” Virginian Wayne Gould told the Helena Independent Record. He has hunted in Montana with outfitters for nine years.

The new system for non-resident licenses allows an average of 5,500 big game combination and 2,300 deer combination licenses per year to be sold through a guaranteed system for non-resident hunters sponsored by outfitters.

Non-resident hunters can still use the state’s lottery system, with its fees of $435 for combination big game and $255 for deer combination licenses, but they may not draw a license. In the guaranteed system, they pay $835 for a general big game license and $515 for deer.

Comparable licenses in Idaho cost $817.50 and $491; in Wyoming $595 and $240. Those states do not sell combination or guaranteed licenses.

Montana’s guaranteed licenses come from the lottery’s 11,000 combination big game licenses and 5,500 combination deer licenses. Any guaranteed licenses that don’t sell will revert to the lottery.

Jean Johnson, executive director of the Montana Outfitters and Guides Association, said the changes may drive some outfitters out of business - but only “the kind who don’t provide good service.”

Hearings scheduled

Public comments on proposed black bear and elk management plans will be gathered at two public meetings scheduled in Eastern Washington by the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Eight possible management plans have been proposed for black bears and five for elk.

The meetings begin at 7 p.m.:

Jan. 23 at Spokane Falls Community College’s Student Union Building.

Jan. 24, Yakima Valley Community College’s Anthor Hall.

Copies of the environmental impact statement may be requested from the Department of Fish and Wildlife Wildlife Management Program at (360) 902-2515.

Direct questions about the elk proposals to Tom McCall at (360)-902-2692 and those about black bear proposals to Michelle Tirhi at (360) 902-2361.

Spokane to host R.V. show

The Recreational Vehicle Dealers Association annual RV Show begins Thursday at Interstate Fairgrounds.

The show runs through Sunday and features 14 Spokane-area RV dealers peddling the latest vehicles.

Prizes include a $30,000 motor coach and a Caribbean vacation.

Show hours are: Thursday, noon-9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; and Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Spring hunts readied

The Idaho Fish and Game department will be accepting applications for spring black bear and turkey controlled hunts through Feb. 15. The applications, which are not limited to Idaho residents, carry a $5 fee and can be made through the mail or by calling 1-800-TAG DRAW.

Bighorn die-off continues

Early optimism over the survival of diseased bighorn sheep captured along the Snake River has been dashed.

Last week, 22 of the 72 captured bighorns had died while being treated for a pneumonia-like disease at an Idaho veterinary facility.

This week, the death toll was at least 45, said Pat Fowler, Washington Fish and Wildlife Department biologist.

The disease does not appear to be spreading into Idaho or Oregon from the bighorns that remain in the wild near the confluence of the Snake and Grande Ronde Rivers, he said.

, DataTimes