hunting guide 2011

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Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011

Special supplement to the

Hunting 20112 SUNDAY, SEPT. 11, 2011 SIDNEY HERALD

433-1659 or 1-866-433-1659

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BY RON SELDENREGION 6 INFORMATION & EDUCATION PROGRAM MANAGER

The hunting outlooks for regions 6for this fall:

PHEASANT Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) Re-

gion 6 – northeastern MontanaBiologists say pheasant numbers in

Region 6 are expected to be below aver-age in the Havre and Malta areas, well-below average in the Glasgow area, andnear-to-slightly below average in thePlentywood area.

ANTELOPERegion 6 – eastern Montana near

Glasgow, Glendive and Miles City While all Region 6 hunting districts

will see substantial reductions in ante-lope licenses this year, hunting dis-tricts 600, 630, 650 and 670 were espe-cially hard hit by last year’s severewinter and will see the largest decreas-es. Overall, Region 6 populations are 70percent lower than last year, and fawnproduction was low due to harsh springconditions. Low numbers of licensesare expected to persist for a few yearsto allow populations to rebuild.

ELKFWP Regions 6 – northeastern Mon-

tana near Glasgow Despite a long, hard winter, biolo-

gists say elk throughout the regionseem to be faring well. The only regula-tion changes this year will be reduc-tions in antlerless elk rifle licenses inhunting district 631, from 120 to 100,and antlerless permits in hunting dis-trict 622 dropping from 300 to 100. Allelk hunting in the Bears Paw Moun-tains and the Missouri River Breaks isby special permit, which are awardedin the annual drawing. Elk densitiesare very low in the general-seasonhunting area north of U.S. Highway 2.

DEER FWP Region 6 – northeastern Mon-

tana near GlasgowSurveys completed this spring indi-

cated that white-tailed deer densities inthe western portion of the region were25 percent above the long-term-average.In the eastern part of the region, theywere 10 percent below the long-term av-erage. Following a record-breakingwinter, the lower Milk River Valley sus-tained severe and prolonged floodingthat displaced large numbers of deer. A

disease outbreak of unknown propor-tions also took place this summer. As aresult of all these impacts, the numberof antlerless whitetail licenses hasbeen sharply reduced.

Harsh winter conditions took theirtoll on mule deer populations across

most of the region, but especially inhunting districts 611, 630, 652 and 670.Fawn production was also hampered inmany areas by the long, wet spring. AllRegion 6 hunting districts will see sub-stantial decreases in antlerless muledeer licenses this year.

Numbers down in hunting regions in northeastern Montana

SUBMITTED

Trevor Christman finding success in northeastern Montana.

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Hunting 2011SIDNEY HERALD SUNDAY, SEPT. 11, 2011 3

BY RANDY HUTZENBILERRICHLAND COUNTY GAME WARDEN

Well, the 2011 hunting sea-son is right around the corner,and by the sounds of it peopleare really excited to get outthere and get to hunting.

The most common problem Isee in Richland County is fail-ing to get landowner permis-sion to hunt. Hunters are re-minded that prior to huntingon private property, whetherposted or not, they are re-quired to have landowner per-mission. This also includes re-trieving game animals on pri-vate property. If a hunter isconvicted of criminal trespasswhile hunting, fishing or trap-ping, they may lose their privi-leges to hunt, fish and trap forup to 24 months.

Some other violations inRichland County include:

1. Using someone else’s tagor loaning your tag to someoneelse. This is considered party

hunting and is illegal in Mon-tana.

2. Hunting in the wrong dis-trict. Richland County is splitalmost in half between hunt-ing district 651 and huntingdistrict 703. Hunters should re-view the boundaries of thesetwo districts prior to hunting.This is a common problemwith antelope hunters andmule deer doe hunters.

3. Shooting from the road-way and/or shooting from avehicle. Hunters are remindedthat they need to be out oftheir vehicle and cannot shooton, from or across any publichighway or the shoulder,berm, barrow pit or right-of-way of any public highway.

4. Waste of game. Hunters,or persons in possession of agame animal or game animalparts, are prohibited fromwasting or rendering unfit forhuman consumption, any partof a game animal that is de-fined as “suitable for food.”

For big game animals, exclud-ing mountain lions, all of thefour quarters above the hockincluding the loin and back-strap are considered “suitablefor food.”

5. Baiting. It is illegal to huntor attempt to hunt any gameanimal or game bird by bait-

ing. Baiting shall mean theplacing, exposing, depositing,distributing or scattering ofcorn, wheat or other grain orfood source to lure or attractgame animals or game birds.

6. Spotlighting. It is illegal tohunt or attempt to hunt gameanimals and game birds with

the use of any spotlight or oth-er artificial light.

People wishing to report vio-lations of fish, wildlife andparks laws can do so by calling1-800-TIP-MONT. The TIP-MONT program is similar tothe well-known Crimestoppersprogram and offers rewardsfor information resulting inapprehension of persons thatabuse Montana’s natural, his-toric or cultural resources. Aperson wishing to report viola-tions to TIP-MONT can do soanonymously.

I would like to wish all thehunters best of luck in the2011 seasons, and anyone hav-ing any questions, commentsor concerns can contact me ei-ther via email or by calling406-853-7272. Be safe and have agreat hunting season.

Please send all questions,comments or concerns viaemail to [email protected].

Be careful to not make violations during hunting season

mailto:[email protected]




Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m. • Sat. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. • 406-433-1402 1 Store 2 Locations • 111 S. Central Ave • 114 W. Main • Sidney, MT

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Noxious weeds pose aserious economic and en-vironmental threat toMontana.

Any plant that stateand federal authoritiesdesignate as a seriousthreat to agriculture,wildlife and native plantcommunities is a noxiousweed. A guide to helpidentify noxious weeds isavailable at the Montanastatewide noxious weedand education campaignwebsite athttp://www.weedaware-ness.org.

Noxious weeds andtheir seeds can hitchrides with birds, biggame animals, woolpants, horses, trains, thetires and undersides ofautomobiles and all-ter-rain vehicles, flowing wa-ter and the wind.

Reducing the spread ofnoxious weed infesta-tions is critical to main-taining the quality ofMontana's wildlife habi-tat and the health of thestate’s fish and wildlife.

FWP encourageshunters and others to:

• learn to identify nox-ious weeds,

• check clothes, waders,pets and gear at the endof each trip to be surethey aren’t harboringstowaway weed seeds,

• avoid driving throughor parking vehicles andtrailers in areas infestedwith weeds,

• wash the undercar-riages of vehicles andtrailers between outings,

• pull small infestationsof noxious weeds thathave not gone to seed andleave them in an undis-turbed area with their

roots exposed. If flowersor seeds are present, pullthe plants, place them ina plastic bag, and packthem out for proper dis-posal,

• report large, untreat-ed weed infestations tothe landowner or to thecounty weed district.

For more on noxiousweeds, go to the FWPwebsite at fwp.mt.gov .

FWP calls onhunters to beweed aware

SUBMITTED

Jessie Larson with her antelope in 2009.

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BY DWAYNE ANDREWSREGION 7, FISH, WILDLIFE AND PARKS

PHEASANTFWP Region 7 – south-

eastern MontanaBiologists say pheasant

numbers are expected tobe below average in thesoutheastern part of thestate. Winter conditionswere harsh and lasted forseveral months whichimpacted winter sur-vival.

Spring of 2011 was ex-tremely wet and cool sonesting and brood rear-ing was impacted. Pheas-ant hunting in FWP Re-gion 7 is expected to bebelow last year’s popula-tions.

ANTELOPE Region 7 – southeast-

ern Montana In southeastern Mon-

tana, antelope numbers

are 57 percent below theprevious 10 year average.Winter survival was se-verely impacted due towinter conditions.

Winter stress causedspring female birth rate(fawn production) to bevery low; 47 fawns: 100does in 2011 compared tothe average of 73 fawns:100 does. Either-sex li-censes were reducedfrom 11,000 last year to6,500 for the 2011 huntingseason.

ELKFWP Region 7 – south-

eastern Montana Generally elk popula-

tions in the region arerobust. The managementgoal is to maintain elkpopulations at a reason-able level to addresslandowner concerns andbalance growing popula-tions with available habi-

tat in FWP Region 7. Elkpopulations continue toexpand across the re-gion. South of Interstate94 and in HD 701, antler-less elk can be harvestedby rifle hunters with ageneral elk license, ex-cept in the Custer Na-tional Forest.

In hunting district 703,any elk can be harvestedwith a general elk li-cense. The remaining elkhunting opportunities inthis region are by permitonly.

DEERFWP Region 7 – south-

eastern Montana Mule deer populations

are below the long-termaverage and white-taileddeer populations are ator above the long-termaverage. Miles City andthe surrounding areasaw a severe and sus-

tained winter that re-duced mule deer num-bers and recruitment.Overall the mule deerpopulation across the re-gion is 21 percent belowthe long-term average.

Recent recruitmentlevels, a measure of ani-mals that survive thefirst year of life, was be-low recent averages; in2011 recruitment aver-aged 31 fawns: 100 adultscompared to long termaverage of 61 fawns: 100adults.

Mule deer doe/fawn li-censes were reduced toreflect the current popu-lation and recruitment.Late summer environ-mental conditions areripe for an episode ofepizootic hemorrhagicdisease (EHD) that local-ly may affect white-taileddeer populations.

Elk numbers remain strong in southeastern Montana

SUBMITTED

George Boyce and his 6X6 bull. Boyce shot it in the breaksfall of 2010.


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Welcome Hunters

Montana big game, upland game bird seasons2011 Montana Big Game Season

Species Start Date* End Date*Antelope – archery Sept. 4, 2011 Oct. 7, 2011Antelope – general Oct. 8, 2011 Nov. 13, 2011Bighorn Sheep – archery Sept. 5, 2011 Sept. 14, 2011Bighorn Sheep – general Sept. 15, 2011 Nov. 27, 2011Bison Nov. 15, 2011 Feb. 15, 2011Black Bear – spring April 15, 2011 May 31, 2011Black Bear – archery Sept. 3, 2011 Sept. 14, 2011Black Bear – general Sept. 15, 2011 Nov. 27, 2011Deer & Elk – archery Sept. 3, 2011 Oct. 16, 2011Deer & Elk – backcountry, HD’s 150, 151, 280 & 316Archery Sept. 3, 2011 Sept. 14, 2011General Sept. 15, 2011 Nov. 27, 2011Deer & Elk – general Oct. 23, 2011 Nov. 28, 2011Deer only (youth) Oct. 21, 2011 Oct. 22, 2011Moose Sept. 15, 2011 Nov. 27, 2011Mountain Goat Sept. 15, 2011 Nov. 27, 2011Mountain Lion Sept. 3, 2011 Oct. 16, 2011Mountain Lion – fall Oct. 22, 2011 Nov. 27, 2011Mountain Lion – winter Dec. 1, 2011 April 14, 2011

2011 Montana Upland Game Bird SeasonSpecies Start Date* End Date*Mountain Grouse Sept. 1, 2011 Dec. 15, 2011

Partridge Sept. 1, 2011 Jan. 1, 2012Pheasant Oct. 8, 2011 Jan. 1, 2012Sage Grouse Sept. 1, 2011 Nov. 1, 2011Sharp-tailed Grouse Sept. 1, 2011 Jan. 1, 2012Turkey – fall Sept. 1, 2011 Jan. 1, 2012

* These dates represent the “general” season dates. Be sure to check the 2011 Montana hunting regulations for the most accurate huntingdistrict/species-specific season dates and regulations.

SUBMITTED

Brad Anvik with a muley in 2010.

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BY RANDY HUTZENBILERRICHLAND COUNTY GAME WARDEN

Well like previous years, there was noshortfall of work for me in 2010. The 2010deer season was interesting in that itstarted somewhat slow but really pickedup steam toward the end. Because of theslow start to the 2010 season, I had the op-portunity to do a lot more patrolling.

On one such night in November, I waspatrolling my way home from Jordan. Itwas about 10 at night and it had alreadybeen a long day. I told myself drivinghome “man it’s been a quiet and safehunting season so far.”

I looked up at the night sky and wasthanking God for a safe and quiet hunt-ing season when off in the distance I sawred and blue police lights flashing on thehighway. I saw two deputy vehicles withtheir lights on and thought I better stopand assist them just in case there’s some-thing serious going on.

I got out of my truck and went up tothe first deputy who I knew and askedhim what was going on. He told me theyhad stopped a guy for driving drunk.They had the guy arrested, and he was inthe back of his patrol vehicle and nowthey were trying to figure out how to get

the guy’s pitbull out ofhis pickup truck. I toldthe deputy maybe I couldhelp and started walkingto the pickup truck totake a look at the dog.Well the fella in the back-seat of the deputies’ carwasn’t sure who I wasand started yelling at me“who are you? You’re not

gonna shoot my dog are you?” So Istopped and put my head inside thedeputy’s car and told the guy, “I’m thegame warden and I’m here to help, no-body’s going to shoot your dog.”

I hadn’t so much as gotten the wordsgame warden out of my mouth and theguy’s jaw dropped, and he puts his headdown. He says to me, “You’re the gamewarden? I know why you’re here, it’s be-cause I sold them my hunting licenses is-n’t it?” Well now my jaw drops, and I lookat him and say “Ummmm….sure!”

I asked the deputy if it would be al-right if I followed them down to the sher-iff ’s office to visit with the guy. Thedeputy, trying not to laugh, says “manyou have the worst luck.” I told thedeputy I was just thanking God for a safeand quiet hunting season and now look

what I got! So after five hours of visitingwith the guy, I came to the conclusionthat there might be some hunting issueswith this group of non-resident hunters.To top it off, I found out a majority of thenon-resident hunters were law enforce-ment officers from other states.

The investigation that followed led meon one of the most complex cases in mycareer. The investigation involved searchwarrants, DNA evidence, photographicevidence as well as processing a ton ofphysical evidence. It also included sever-al game wardens and investigators fromother states assisting me as well as feder-al agents from several states.

Currently, 18 charges have been filed.

Those charges included several counts ofkilling game animals in Montana with-out licenses, several counts of loaningdeer tags to other people, waste of gamebirds and possession of unlawfully killedgame animals.

The night this whole thing started, Iwas looking up at the night sky thankingGod for a safe and quiet hunting season.Next thing I know, I’m wrapped up inseveral months of case work and a com-plex case spanning several states andseveral other agencies. I guess the oldsaying my mother always said is true,“The Lord works in mysterious ways!”

Have a safe hunting season!

A game warden’s luck – quiet night turns into complex case

Hutzenbiler

‘The investigation involved search warrants, DNA evidence,photographic evidence as well as processing a ton of physical evidence.

It also included several game wardens and investigators from otherstates assisting me as well as federal agents from several states.’

Randy HutzenbilerGame warden


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In response to high mortalityfrom last year’s extremelyharsh winter, Montana Fish,Wildlife & Parks (FWP) hassharply reduced the number ofdeer and pronghorn antelope li-censes in many Region 6 hunt-ing districts.

“Our surveys show that muledeer experienced large popula-tion decreases across the re-gion, but especially in huntingdistricts (HDs) 611, 630, 652 and670,” said Wildlife ProgramManager Mark Sullivan. “Inthose districts, antlerless muledeer ‘B’ licenses have beengreatly reduced, in some casesup to 92 percent below whatwere available last year.”

Post-hunting season surveys,which are conducted in the win-ter, and additional spring sur-veys on 11 deer trend areas(DTAs) across Region 6 are acouple of the ways that biolo-gists keep an eye on numberseach year.

“Total deer observed on DTAs

are highly variable,” said biolo-gist Scott Thompson, Malta.“But they do indicate generaldeer population status.”

Thompson said post-seasonsurveys indicated a mule deerpopulation well above the long-term average (LTA), with 24 per-cent more mule deer counted ontrend areas in 2011 than 2010.Deer were densely packed onwinter ranges during most post-season surveys, which greatlyincreased the count. He saidthis was largely due to wintermigration from surroundinghabitats.

In the case of Region 6 hunt-ing districts north of U.S. High-way 2, Thompson said muledeer migrate south from Cana-da onto Montana winter ranges.This makes it particularly diffi-cult to distinguish between mi-grant populations and residentpopulations for managementpurposes.

Spring surveys in late Apriland May indicated a region-

wide mule deer population nearaverage. Counts were consid-ered on the high end of the actu-al number of deer due to thelate arrival of spring, whichkept many deer on the winterranges. High winter mortalitywas also documented in por-tions of the center part of theRegion

Thompson said thefawn/adult ratio in the sur-veyed animals indicates over-winter survival of the popula-tion, as well as recruitment intothe population. It also indicateswhich direction biologists ex-pect the population to trend to-ward in the near future.

“Region-wide, spring ratiostotaled 50 fawns:100 adults,which is sufficient to maintainthe population at its current lev-el,” Thompson said. “Biologistswill be closely tracking this ra-tio in future years to determinewhere the mule deer populationis headed.”

Specifically:

• The eastern third of the Re-gion 6 saw higher mule deerfawn ratios coming out of win-ter (68-78 fawns:100 adults), andthis population is expected tomaintain to increase.

• The center third of the Re-gion, which includes the Maltaand Glasgow areas, saw lowerfawn ratios (39-66 fawns:100adults), indicating this popula-tion will likely maintain.

• The western third of the Re-gion, including the Havre area,saw the lowest fawn ratios (27-29:100 adults), indicating thepopulation may be expected todecrease.

Data from deer surveys is on-ly one factor in deer manage-ment. FWP biologists and man-agers also take into accountmany other issues, includingobservations and input fromlandowners, hunters, the gener-al public ,and other state andfederal agencies. Another largefactor in determining licensequotas is the threat of chronic

wasting disease, which has al-ready been found in some sur-rounding states and provinces.

MULE DEER QUOTASSullivan said mule deer

antlerless “B” licenses acrossFWP Region 6 will be reducedfrom 6,400 issued in 2010 to 2,925being issued this year.

Specifically:• HD 600 reduced from 800 to

400• HD 611 reduced from 400 to

100• HD 620/621/622 complex re-

duced from 500 to 300• HD 630/631/632 complex re-

duced from 1,200 to 100• HD 641 reduced from 100 to



25• HD 670 reduced from 1,350 to

200

Quotas change for hunting in FWP Region 6 for season

SEE QUOTAS | PAGE 9


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ATTENTIONHUNTERS

Other FWP regions west ofRegion 6 also continue to see asuppressed mule deer popula-tion resulting in more restric-tive hunting seasons and quo-tas. In past years, Sullivan not-ed Region 6 has seen a large in-flux of hunters. In 2011, fewerhunters should be in the field,as well as fewer deer observed.Additionally, far fewer surpluslicenses are available this yeardue to the low quotas that havenow been set.

WHITE-TAILED DEER QUOTASFor white-tailed deer, which

were not hit as hard by the se-vere winter, the number ofavailable antlerless 699-00 “B” li-censes – which can be used allacross Region 6 – initially wasdecreased from 5,000 to 4,000 forthe 2011 hunting seasons. Butnow an apparently widespreadoutbreak of disease amongwhite-tailed deer has prompted2,000 more of these antlerless li-censes to be withheld from sale,

Sullivan said.Surveys completed during

spring 2011 indicate white-tailed deer densities in the west-ern portion of the region were25 percent above the LTA and 10percent below the LTA in theeastern part of the region. ButSullivan said the full impacts ofthe recent die-offs of whitetailsare not yet known.

PRONGHORN ANTELOPE QUOTASPronghorn antelope were also

especially hard hit last winterin HD 630, HD 650 and HD 670.According to Kelvin Johnson,wildlife biologist in Glasgow,the overall Region 6 populationsare 70 percent lower than lastyear.

“Although we suffered a lot ofwinter mortality this year, wealso observed lower numbers inplaces because a lot of antelopemigrated south of Fort PeckReservoir and did not return,”Johnson added. “In addition, wehad very few fawns born thisyear. Typically, around 30 per-cent of our antelope popula-

tions are composed of our newfawn crop. But this year theyare only making up a small per-centage. In some localized hunt-ing disticts, fawns are almostnon-existent.”

In HD 630, either-sex antelopelicenses will decrease from 150to 10, a 93 percent decline, anddoe-fawn license will bedropped from 10 to five. In HD650, either sex-licenses havebeen cut from 700 to 200, a 71percent drop, and doe-fawn li-censes decreased from 300 to 25,a 92 percent reduction. In HD670, either-sex antelope licenseswill go from 350 to 25, a 93 per-cent decline, and doe-fawn li-censes there will decrease from25 to 10. Johnson expects lownumbers of licenses to persistfor at least a few years.

“In addition to this year’svery poor fawn crop, we hadpoor fawn crops in these hunt-ing districts last year as well,”Johnson said, “and most ofthose did not make it throughthis past winter.”

This year’s surveys indicate

there are very few individualsfrom the 2010 and 2011 fawncrop in these populations. John-son said this means these ageclasses will have very little con-tribution to the overall popula-tion throughout the life ex-pectancy of these animals,which can be eight to 10 years.

“Consequently, the popula-tion cannot and will not be ableto rebuild as fast as we wouldotherwise expect,” he said.“This will require us to focus onrebuilding these populationsover a longer period of time,which equates to issuing lownumbers of licenses.”

Quotas: Number for white-tailed deer decreased in areaFROM PAGE 8

SUBMITTED

Sisters Tiffany Kittleson, left, and Courtney Christman with a kill.


With some antelope archery huntingunder way and other hunting seasonscoming soon, Montana Fish, Wildlife andParks urges hunters to prepare for Mon-tana’s fire season.

“As early season hunters take to thefield, we are especially concerned aboutaccidental fire starts caused when dryvegetation accumulates in a vehicle’s skidplate or catalytic converter,” RonAasheim, Montana Fish, Wildlife andParks spokesman, said.

“Hunters, whether on the prairie or inthe mountains, are responsible for know-ing what the fire danger level is and fortaking appropriate precautions as ad-vised by local land management agenciesand fire personnel,” he said.

FWP suggests that hunters take thesesteps to minimize the danger of starting a

fire while afield.• Don’t drive off road.• Don’t park over dry grass. A vehicle’s

catalytic converter or exhaust system canspark a fire. Find a bare spot along theroadside to park.

• Avoid driving on roads with tall vege-tation in the middle where possible. If itis necessary to drive on vegetated roads,take the time to clean out the vehicle’s un-dercarriage and skid plate often.

• Carry a shovel, axe, water and, if pos-sible, a fire extinguisher.

• When requesting permission to hunt,discuss the fire threat with the landownerto show you are aware of the problem andwill act accordingly.

Information on fire restrictions isavailable on the FWP website atfwp.mt.gov.

Outdoor recreators urgedto be fire aware this season

An archery only management seasonhunt has been enacted for the area inand adjacent to the town of Glendive.The city of Glendive has requested addi-tional antlerless mule deer licenses bemade available five per hunter and validfrom the start of the archery season,which was Sept. 3, until the end of thebig game season, Nov. 27, in an effort toreduce the number of mule deer in andimmediately adjacent to town.

For this management season hunt,archery hunting is the only means oftake due to safety concerns imposed bythe proximity to residential areas andbusinesses. An additional 200 mule deerdoe-fawn licenses will be made availableon a first come, first serve limited to fiveper person. These licenses are availablethrough the ALS system. These licensesplus currently valid resident and nonres-

ident Region 7 deer B licenses and resi-dent and nonresident deer A licenseswill be valid through Nov. 27. Deer A li-cense will be valid for either-sex deer.Archers must harvest a mule deer doebefore any attempt to harvest a muledeer buck with the deer A license.

The hunt area encompasses openspace areas within the city of Glendive,and the land is owned by the city ofGlendive and by approved private prop-erty owners. The hunt area is legally de-fined as T15N R55E Sections 2, 3, 10, 11;T16N R55E Sections 23-26, 35, 36; T16NR56E Sections 19 and 30. Hunters mustobtain permission for the city of Glen-dive property and approved private prop-erty from Glendive City Hall (377-3318)by signing in at Glendive City Hall Mon-day thru Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Archery only management season hunt in GlendiveSUBMITTED

Pheasants shot by Pat Berka off of County Road 120, south of Sidney.


THINKBEFORE

YOUSHOOT

A potshot at an insulator can often have a far-reaching effect.Linemen may risk their lives in order to restore service; a hospitaloperating room may go dark, resulting in serious injury or death; afarmer’s chicks may be lost when an incubator grows cold; familiesover a wide spread area may suffer all manner of inconvenience.

Please remember, a lot of modern daily living depends on dependableelectric service... so think before you shoot!

BY LOUISA BARBERSIDNEY HERALD

Every hunting tale starts like a roman-tic comedy, right? Boy meets girl. Girlfalls in love who boy who enjoys hunt-ing. She tags along, discovers she likes ittoo and it’s happily ever after.

Mostly this was the case for Sidney na-tive Allison Anvik, who not only contra-dicts the stereotypical hunter, she lovesto compete with the boys. “The adrena-line rush, it’s ridiculous. It”s an awe-some feeling I guess, and so that’s whatkind of got me to keep going,” Anvik, 20,said.

Anvik has always loved the outdoorsand outdoor sports like fishing. But itwas an ex-boyfriend who got her to takehunter safety classes in 2008. That sameyear she shot her first buck and hasn’tlooked back since. One buck a year so far,and she’s getting better with time.

There’s nothing like getting up and outearly, dressed in camouflage searchingfor a mature, beastly buck, setting hersights, pulling the trigger and see itdown in one shot. Hunting is not for thefaint of heart. “It’s a different kind of

feeling. It’s definitely a feeling that youdon’t get from anything else,” Anviksaid. She has her favorite hunting spots,but those are trade secrets. And thisyear’s season could be dismal because ofa harsh winter and spring.

Last Christmas, she was given her firstrifle, a Remington .243, from her father,Mike, which she looks forward to puttingto good use this season. Hunting in herfamily is almost a group activity. Herbrother, Brad, hunts as does her moth-er’s boyfriend, Bryan Riedmann, whohas taught Anvik a thing or two aboutthe sport. The two have plans to one dayhunt in the Alaskan wilderness – ahunter’s dream – when Anvik reachesher dream to teach in The Last Frontier.Eventually, she’d like to take on a bear, amoose or an elk. And she’d love to learnto bow hunt, a sport that takes a lot morepatience than she’s able to offer.

In the meantime, Anvik takes whatev-er chance she can get to go out huntingwith friends from school in Spearfish,S.D., or childhood. She knows she doesn’tfit the bill for the “typical” hunter

Not your typical hunter: Young woman loves the hunt

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Allison Anvik showing her success.SEE ANVIK | PAGE 12


Montana’s deer, elk and antelope regu-lation book – the hunter’s bible – contin-ues to evolve with the user in mind, Mon-tana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officialssay.

“We’ve changed type size and fonts,streamlined the organization of the sec-tions, and used color to draw attention toinformation hunter’s need most,” RonAasheim, an FWP spokesman, said.

Deer and elk hunters will find every-thing they need in one place markedwith blue tabs, including the legal de-scriptions for deer and elk hunting dis-tricts. Antelope hunting district maps,regulations and the antelope huntingdistrict legal descriptions are in a secondsection marked by forest green tabs. Thelegal descriptions are also in easy to readdark type.

Red-colored type emphasizes whichhunting districts require licenses ob-tained through a drawing and the dead-line to apply. If a license can be pur-

chased over the counter that fact is notedin green type with the date when licensesbecome available.

“We’ve put all the critical, general reg-ulations at the front of the book,”Aasheim said. “That includes the list ofclosed areas or those where limited biggame hunting methods are allowed.”

Other useful background information– how to obtain licenses, prerequisites,establishing residency, hunter educationrequirements, application and drawingdeadlines, bonus point system detailsand more can be found at the back withthe brown tabs.

“We will continue to make improve-ments so the hunting regulations are aseasy to read as we can make them,”Aasheim said.

Montana’s annual big game huntingregulations and drawing applicationsare available on the FWP website atfwp.mt.gov and from most FWP officesand license providers.

Hunters be aware: detailed regulationsapply to transporting harvested birds.

Hunters must leave one, fully-featheredwing naturally attached to any sagegrouse, sharp-tailed grouse, mountaingrouse or partridge when it is transport-ed from where it was taken to thehunter’s permanent residence.

In another example, pheasant huntersmust leave a leg and foot naturally at-tached to any pheasant they transportwithin the state so the sex of the bird can

be identified.A bird hunter who leaves game birds

somewhere for a period of time, or whoturns them over to someone else to trans-port, must tag the birds with the follow-ing information:

• hunter’s ALS number• hunter’s signature• hunter’s address• total number of birds by species• dates birds were killed

Hunting regulations even easier to read

(heck, she watches the hunting channel!)but that doesn’t bother her.

“I think it’s an awesome sport to con-trol the deer population and get peopleout there,” she said. And it doesn’t hurtto have more women participating in a

generally male-dominated sport. “I thinkit’s awesome. More power to them. Ithink girls can do pretty much anythingguys can do.”

[email protected]

FROM PAGE 11

Anvik: She feels hunting is awesome activity

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Allison Anvik started hunting in 2008.

Montana State Parks announces thatFish, Wildlife and Parks has partneredwith the Montana Trail Vehicle RidersAssociation, U.S. Forest Service and theBureau of Land Management to step upeducation on the ethical, legal and safeuse of OHVs, including the most popu-lar form – all terrain vehicles.

In the past decade, off highway vehiclenumbers have increased three-fold inMontana.While more OHV use hasmade access to hunting areas and biggame retrieval easier for some hunters,the increased use can cause problemsthat negatively affect the sport.

Vehicle noise can create conflicts be-tween traditional walk-in hunters andhunters using four-wheelers and othermotorized vehicles. Off-trail use candamage foraging grounds due to thespread of noxious weeds. In addition,operation of OHVs in riparian areas cancause unsightly damage to those sites.

“There are an estimated 66,250 regis-tered OHVs in the state of Montana, andprobably half of them are used duringthe hunting season,” Walt Timmerman,parks recreation bureau chief for Mon-tana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. “Respon-sible riders know that riding on publiclands is a privilege. To reduce the ef-fects of OHVs during the hunting sea-son, each rider should know the rulesand regulations for the area in whichthey are hunting.”

Hunters can only use designatedroutes and should only retrieve harvest-ed big game from the nearest designatedroad or trail, avoid wet areas, and call 1-800-TIP-MONT when a violation has oc-curred.

For more information go to the Mon-tana State Parks website atfwp.mt.gov/parks on the recreationpage.

Reminders when transporting upland game birds

Ride smart when hunting with OHVs this season


hunting guide 2011

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