Musician Huey Lewis, who has already irked some of his Bitterroot Valley neighbors for opposing stream access laws that he says shouldn’t apply to his Mitchell Slough property, is in the news again – this time over duck hunting.
Lewis and his Stevensville-area neighbors are feeding ducks on the slough, essentially preventing anyone from hunting them near their property. <a href="http://missoulian.com/news/local/article_032a9d84-d97e-11de-a5a9-001cc4c002e0.html" title="From the Missoulian:”>From the Missoulian:
It is legal to feed game birds and waterfowl. It is also legal to boat or wade below a stream’s high-water mark, even if it passes through private property. But it is not legal to hunt waterfowl in an area where they are artificially fed.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service waterfowl regulations look at waterfowl baiting from a bird’s point of view. Placing feeders in one area can influence ducks elsewhere to fly in. So feeders on one property can affect hunting potential on another.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks says it is aware of Lewis’ feeders and is looking into it.