CSKT Game-Damage Hunts bring people together to manage land
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A commonly asked question is: why can’t non-member private landowners hunt deer and/or elk on their private property on the Flathead Indian Reservation? The answer can be found in the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes’ non-member regulations (part V, section 1A, hunting & trapping http://csktnrd.org/). “The entire reservation is closed to hunting or taking or attempting to hunt or take furbearers and any other species of animal other than fish, gray (Hungarian) partridge, pheasants, ducks, geese, mergansers and coots. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks hunting regulations concur with this tribal regulation and all applicable tribal hunting regulations apply.”
There is a program however where non-members can work with tribal members to manage elk and deer on private property and reduce the damage caused by wildlife. The Game-Damage Hunt program was created by the Tribal Wildlife Management Program to provide tribal member hunters with contacts to private landowners who are willing to allow them access to hunt elk and/or deer on their property. The intentions of this project are to reduce the damage caused to private property due to highly concentrated wildlife and to build positive relationships allowing for future tribal hunting opportunities.
Interested CSKT member hunters and interested private landowners may contact the Tribal Wildlife Management Program. They will need to provide their name, address and telephone number to participate in wildlife damage hunts. Tribal member hunters will also be asked to provide their Tribal Identification number.
For suggestions on effective fencing methods, visit “A Landowner’s Guide to Wildlife Friendly Fences” at http://csktnrd.org/wildlife. Game-damage registration forms can also be found on this website.
For questions, contact Shannon Clairmont, tribal wildlife biologist at 406-883-2888, ext. 7242 or Dale Becker, tribal wildlife management program manager at 406-883-2888 ext. 7278.
