Montana triples bison tags

The number of licenses to hunt bison that wander into Montana from Yellowstone National Park this winter will almost triple from last season.

The Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission has authorized 140 licenses, including 40 specifically for bison cows, making the hunt more of a herd management tool rather than just tipping them over for trophies, one commissioner explained.

“If you want a public relations nightmare, I think you’re moving in the right direction,” said Dan Brister and activist member of the antihunting Buffalo Field Campaign.

The state considers the hunt part of a plan to manage bison that migrate from Yellowstone and may carry the cattle disease brucellosis, which is present in Yellowstone’s bison herds.

Some ranchers fear wandering bison will spread the disease to cattle in Montana, where it has eradicated. A state-federal management plan allows for bison that stray to be hazed back into the park, or captured and in some cases shipped to slaughter. Hundreds have been sent to slaughter this year.

In March, Yellowstone officials estimated the park’s bison herd at 3,500 animals. In the bison management plan, 3,000 is the target population size.

The hunt will take place in two hunting districts, one in the Gardiner basin near the park’s northern entrance, and the other in the West Yellowstone area near the park’s western entrance. Hunters will be licensed for a specific district. Each has a bison quota and specified periods for hunting. Overall the season will run from Nov. 15 to Feb. 15.

Licenses will cost $125 for Montana residents and $750 for nonresidents. Of the 140 permits, 16 will be allocated to American Indian tribes at no charge, said Tom Palmer, a spokesman for Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Associated Press

WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT

Bighorns benefit from raffles

Washington and Idaho each made more than $100,000 this year in raffles for bighorn sheep tags. Both states will use the money for research to fight disease and expand bighorn sheep herds.

John Amistoso of Spokane won the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s tag, a special permit, to hunt Rocky Mountain bighorns in the Blue Mountains of southeastern Washington.

The agency netted $101,250 from selling 5,625 raffle tickets. That’s up from $61,434 last year when the bighorn raffle debuted. The Washington chapter of the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep conducted the raffle and kept 10 percent of the proceeds for its bighorn sheep enhancement programs.

The proceeds are the most ever raised for a single big-game permit of any kind in Washington, said Madonna Luers, department spokeswoman in Spokane.

Mike Carpinito of Kent, Wash., won the Idaho Fish and Game Department tag for hunting Idaho’s top bighorn areas this fall. The Idaho chapter of the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep this year has raised $104,852 in the lottery, up from $68,000 last year.

Idaho Fish and Game officials say most of the money will go to improving sheep numbers and habitat, particularly in Hells Canyon, which contains the largest area of ideal bighorn range in the continental United States.

Washington’s permit is the second of its kind issued in the past decade for hunting Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep in a part of the state where disease had devastated the herd. Donny Martorello, department special species manager, said recovery has been slow, but the bighorn population is stable and healthy enough for a limited harvest. The special raffle was established to help fund bighorn research and management.

Rich Landers

WILDLIFE HABITAT

Teachers learn wildlife lessons

A group of about 20 teachers from around the country were in Missoula last week for a three-day High Schools for Habitat workshop sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

This wasn’t just a classroom lesson. They helped clear the migration route for the hundreds of elk that winter in Grant Creek and the upper Rattlesnake. They pulled weeds, removed downed barbed wire, and made fences separating public and private lands safer for the animals to navigate.

The workshop was organized to give teachers hands-on experience in conservation issues and challenges facing elk and their habitat so they can better educate their students, said Mike Mueller, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s senior lands program manager.

It gave teachers an opportunity to see how knapweed and toadflax take over prime feeding grounds and push out the native grasses elk eat – and to see how recreational activities and housing developments affect herd behavior and health.

Rich Landers

HUNTING

Trapshoot for youth

A trapshoot for youngsters under 16 years old is set for Sept. 10 at Double Barrel Ranch hunting preserve south of Spokane, sponsored by Pheasants Forever.

The first 20 youths who register will be invited to shoot clay targets, learn about hunting dogs and wildlife habitat and enjoy a barbecue as guests of chapter members, said Mark McNaghten, club spokesman. Participants must have completed a state-approved hunter education course. Cost is $10, or free for Pheasants Forever junior members.

Young shooters will get a free hat and vest.

The newly organized chapter held its first fundraising banquet in May and cleared more than $5,000 McNaghten said. The group already has initiated a pheasant habitat improvement project.

Information: Jeff Ronngren, (509) 290-1146 or e-mail J.J.Ronngren@comcast.net

Rich Landers