Spring Surveys Indicate Strong Whitetail Population in Northwest Montana

Hunters in Northwest Montana can expect a few changes in the fall following the legislative session and a mild winter, which benefited deer populations across the region.

Hunters as young as 10 will now be able to go afield with an adult mentor in search of deer or upland birds. Sen. Mark Blasdel, R-Kalispell, spearheaded a bill creating an apprentice hunting program in Montana. The bill, which was attached to another piece of legislation and signed into law, allows anyone 10 or older who has not completed a state-sanctioned hunter education course to hunt as long as they have a so-called mentor. The mentor must be an adult who has passed hunter education.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is currently crafting the details of the apprentice program and it will be available for public comment this summer. The program will go into effect this fall.

Critics have claimed that the program would undermine the traditional hunter education courses, while proponents say it will increase participation among young hunters and families. Thirty-five other states have similar programs.

Hunting and fishing license fees will increase starting March 2016 following the passage of a bill that provided FWP increased funding for the next four years.

Faced with a funding shortfall, FWP asked the legislature for $5.75 million through fee increases. State lawmakers approved the bill, but trimmed roughly $900,000 from the request. Hunting licenses will stay mostly the same, although a $10 base hunting license must be purchased now along with any other hunting license. For nonresidents, the cost is $15. The cost of a general season fishing license will go up from $18 to $21. A nonresident seasonal fishing license will go from $60 to $86. Seniors 62 and older will no longer receive free fishing licenses, but they will be eligible for discounted ones at $10.50. The changes mark the first fee increase for residents since 2005 and in 2003 for nonresidents.

Hunters will also be able to use sound suppressors, or silencers, starting this fall.

Jim Williams, regional supervisor for FWP, said the legislative debates related to fish and wildlife management were passionate, reflecting the strong connection Montana residents have to the outdoors.

“We’re very fortunate to have so many people who care about fish and wildlife and recreation in Montana,” he said. “It’s woven through the fabric of our lives up here.”

Fishing season is fully underway across Montana, as the general fishing season opened May 16 on the state’s rivers. While fishing on lakes and reservoirs is generally open year-round, the stream fishing season runs through Nov. 30.

Hunters in this region should be excited for fall.

Whitetail deer populations in this corner of the state continue to trend upward and FWP is considering an increased availability of antlerless licenses in certain hunting districts.

Biologists with FWP surveyed the various deer and elk populations in Region One over the past month, although the mild winter and warm spring caused an earlier-than-normal green-up period and hampered surveying efforts. FWP crews were unable to get good population estimates for mule deer and elk, according to Neil Anderson, wildlife manager in Region One.

“We tried to catch them on their winter range, but it really quickly greened up and created pretty tough survey conditions,” Anderson said.

Biologists were able to gather a good tally of fawn-to-adult ratios for whitetail deer throughout the region, and the results indicate a strong, growing population, Anderson said.

“The ratios were looking pretty good in almost all of the districts,” he said.

The Swan and North Fork areas were down slightly in terms of fawn-to-adult ratios, but they were normal compared to historical data, he said.

Hunting districts around Eureka and south of Kalispell showed the strongest ratios of up-and-coming whitetail deer, where the younger population is almost double the annual rates from seven years ago, according to Anderson. This latest batch of young deer benefited from a mild winter.

“Winter is the big deciding factor with our whitetail populations. If we have a very severe winter, especially later in winter with cold, wet weather, it really does a number on the fawns,” he said.

“We’ve been on an upward trend since 2009. We are starting to see that pretty much all over the region.”

As a result, Anderson said FWP is considering increasing the number of doe licenses in certain districts with healthy populations of whitetails. The agency could add an additional 100-200 more available licenses for next fall’s hunting season, he said.

“The population is up so we think we can offer a little bit more hunting opportunity in those specific districts,” he said.

Anterless tags were heavily reduced in Region One in the last decade as the deer population trended downward.

Biologists were able to gather solid data for some herds of elk in the region, especially in the Thompson Falls area. Roughly 1,900 elk were counted in that area, Anderson said. That’s better than normal, Anderson said, and the agency is similarly considering increasing the number of antlerless tags in hunting district 123 from 25 to 50.

Survey results seem to indicate that the elk population in the South Fork remains fairly low.

“We saw half as many elk as observed last year,” Anderson said.

Anderson attributed the low count to the early green-up and difficulty in seeing the elk due to conditions. Being in a wilderness area also makes it hard to track accurate figures, he said.

“Historically we don’t have good calf-to-cow rations in there. But we’re watching that population closely to see how it’s responding. So far it seems to be holding its own,” Anderson said.

The dramatic decline in bighorn sheep has raised serious concerns across the state. FWP closed districts to hunting in April and biologists are investigating the various areas to try and figure out why the numbers have dropped so low. A disease outbreak does appear to be a strong possibility, Anderson said.

“We’ve seen declines in several herds. We’re watching them very closely to see what’s going on,” Anderson said.

In the past two years, an estimated 90 bighorn sheep have died in the Plains area. A helicopter survey this spring counted only 18 sheep, the lowest figure since the herd’s introduction in 1979.

In February, FWP closed the hunting district near Gardiner due to a confirmed pneumonia die-off of 34 sheep.