Field Reports
HUNTING
Elk season extended
Big-game hunters today are ending a two-week extension of several antlerless elk hunts in Montana that were created in a continuing effort to reduce crowded elk herds in the southwestern portion of the state.
Mild weather during the regular season combined with good forage in the high country kept hunters out of the fields, and those that ventured out met with slim pickings. Hunters generally do better when conditions drive elk down onto their winter ranges where they’re more vulnerable.
The extension applies to 15 hunting districts west of the Madison River and one district west of Choteau along the Rocky Mountain Front.
Staff and wire reports
HUNTING
Idaho deer plan rejected
A proposal to offer a statewide white-tailed deer hunting tag was rejected in a split vote recently by the Idaho Fish and Game Commission.
In addition to the general deer tag, the white-tail tag would have allowed hunting for that species only and would have been good for hunts beginning after Nov. 3, the prime time for hunting rutting white-tail bucks. The general deer tag would have been good only up to Nov. 3 in popular white-tail areas.
The commissioners voted to stay with the current general tag and a whitetail tag that is valid only in the Clearwater Region.
Staff and wire reports
ALPINE SKIING
Lolo resort proposed
A Montana rancher has revealed a proposal for a destination ski resort just south of Lolo, including 10 lifts that would transport skiers and snowboarders from a village.
Tom Maclay envisions a village with lodging, a sports center, a skating pond and a golf course on land that has been in his family for five generations. The skiing on Lolo Peak, which is federal property, would feature a vertical drop of 5,342 feet.
The project has drawn support and opposition.
Issues raised in information sessions include slope stability, Maclay’s use of his agricultural water rights to make snow for skiing and the project’s effect on wildlife.
Forest Service officials said it could take three years to develop environmental-impact studies involving the proposed resort.
Associated Press