Celebrate Montana's gifts this Christmas
Saturday it's Christmas. 'Tis the season for American's to be especially thankful for our wealth of blessings. Since this column is not designed to discuss world peace, nuclear proliferation or other trivial matters, let's mention a few of our outdoor recreation blessings.
Montana citizens are privileged to enjoy the finest hunting and fishing opportunities of any state. That's why a larger percent of Montana citizens hunt and fish than any other state.
Montana citizens can hunt for 10 different big game species. These species are elk, whitetail deer, mule deer, turkey, big-horn sheep, mountain goat, mountain lion, antelope, black bear and moose. No state can match that list!
If you want to hunt elk in Montana, it's just a matter of going to your favorite sporting goods store and buying a license. This year, there were more opportunities for hunting elk than anytime during the last 50 years. The good old days of elk hunting are now.
Compare our elk hunting opportunity to the state of Pennsylvania. Forty lucky Pennsylvania elk hunters were awarded elk licenses from 22,750 applicants. So the odds of getting an elk license in Pennsylvania were 1 in 569.
But even those 40 elk hunters were lucky. Four years ago there hadn't been an elk hunt in Pennsylvania for over 150 years.
In 2003, our legislature gave Montana hunters a present for 2005, a chance to hunt buffalo. While the legislature authorized 25 buffalo tags, only 10 licenses will be issued for the 2005 buffalo hunt next month. But that's 10 more buffalo licenses than we had last year.
If you want to apply for a buffalo license, there are applications at Fish, Wildlife and Parks offices or you can apply online. Applications are due in Helena by Jan. 3 and drawings will be held on Jan. 7. The application fee is only $3, plus another $75 for a license if you get a permit. Good luck.
Not only are Montana citizens blessed with unlimited hunting and fishing opportunities, but we also have vast wild lands to hunt without any cost or very minimal cost. Montana has over 16,000,000 acres of national forest land, 8,000,000 acres of BLM land, over 5,000,000 acres of school trust land and hundreds of thousands of acres of FWP land open to hunting.
Plum Creek Timber Company, Montana's largest landowner, generously open their 1,400,000 acres for hunting at no cost. Thanks Plum Creek!
Last year fishermen regained the opportunity to catch bull trout. Thanks to excellent work by dedicated FWP personnel, who documented healthy bull trout populations in Hungry Horse and Koocanusa, and that limited sport fishing would not imperil the species. As more research is done and the impacts of sport fishing analyzed, even more bull trout fishing will be allowed.
I suspect that we may soon have the opportunity to begin harvesting a few grizzly bears and perhaps some wolves.
The Flathead is blessed with a strong economy that has brought prosperity to most of our citizens. Because of this prosperity and our love for the outdoors, our Christmas trees will be packed with many hunting, fishing and outdoor gifts.
Under our Christmas tree there will be hunting books, range finders, scent-lok camouflage clothing, gun cases and other modern necessities of hunting and fishing. Perhaps the most enjoyable gift under our tree will be a small pink-colored fishing rod and reel for Sarah, my sweet 3-year-old granddaughter. In reality, that fishing rod is a gift to me. Think of the fun when Sarah and I go fishing next summer. Lucky grandpa.
Have a Merry Christmas and great New Year. May you all draw a moose or sheep permit in 2005!