Deer hunting faces sharp reduction
After being spooked from the roadway, a doe and fawn whitetail deer peer out from the timber in the Many Lakes subdivision Monday afternoon. Because of declining whitetail deer populations and a harsh winter so far, state wildlife managers are proposing sharp cuts in the number of antlerless hunting licenses in Northwest Montana for the 2009 season. Karen Nichols/Daily Inter Lake
A sharp reduction in antlerless deer tags is being proposed for the 2009 hunting season in Northwest Montana, reflecting estimated declines in the region's whitetail deer population.
"We are essentially moving from a liberal hunting season package in Region One to a conservative hunting season package," said Jim Williams, the regional wildlife manager for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
Williams and his staff are proposing an "emergency" package with changes that will be considered for tentative adoption by the state Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission in Helena on Thursday.
Antlerless deer licenses, known as "B tags," are proposed to be reduced to 25 in all regional hunting districts except for two - 100 will be offered in District 121 and 100 permits in District 124. That is a big change, considering that there were 200 to 800 B tags offered in most regional districts for the 2008 general season.
"We're pretty much cutting 5,000-plus B tags," Williams said of the proposal.
"We're going back to the days of one deer per hunter in Region One," he said, noting that similar changes were made after severe winterkill in 1996 and 1997.
Changes in the season structure also are being proposed. For the last few years, antlerless deer could be harvested with a regular license during the first week and the last four days of the hunting season.
The commissioners will consider allowing antlerless deer hunting during the first two weeks of the season and eliminating the popular final-four-days provision.
Season structure changes typically are adopted every other year, and that opportunity normally wouldn't arrive until 2010.
But Williams said an exception is in order.
"We need to be proactive here rather than wait another year," he said, noting that the proposed changes have generally strong support from rod and gun clubs such as Flathead Wildlife Inc.
The urgency is prompted by evidence that the region's whitetail population was in decline coming out of last year's protracted winter. Spring field surveys found 29 fawns per 100 adult deer, well off the long-term average of 50 fawns per 100 adults.
A proliferation of wolf and mountain lion populations and hunting also had impacts on deer numbers.
But hunters were less successful during the last hunting season. A delayed arrival of winter weather made hunting conditions difficult, also playing a part in the percentage of hunters stopping at check stations with game dropping from 9.8 percent in 2007 to 7.6 percent.
A stronger indicator - the number of whitetail bucks counted at check stations - dropped from 1,064 to 876.
And there is concern about the impacts of this winter, which delivered two weeks of subzero temperatures along with heavy snowfall at low elevations, including winter range areas.
"We're obviously nervous about this year's fawn crop," Williams said. "This winter is very similar to 12 years ago."
Some low-elevation weather stations, in fact, have recorded snowfall exceeding measurements from 1996-97, Williams said.
Whitefish Mountain Resort, for example, has measured 129 inches of snow at the village area, elevation 4,450 feet. That's the same snowfall total as of Jan. 13 a year ago when the ski resort had a record snow year.
The commission will consider adopting the proposed changes as tentative regulations on Thursday. That will be followed by a public comment period, and consideration for final approval most likely at the commission's February meeting.
Public comments can be delivered on the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Web site at:
Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com