General hunting season concludes in Montana with improved success
Table from MT Fish, Wildlife & Parks
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
1 of 3 free articles.
News from Fish, Wildlife & Parks
KALISPELL — The general hunting season concluded Nov. 28 in Montana.
Despite unseasonably warmer conditions, the overall big game harvest remained higher than recent years in northwest Montana, according to preliminary check station results. The four stations in northwest Montana recorded 9,624 hunters, 940 white-tailed deer, including 711 bucks, as well as 90 mule deer and 44 elk. The percentage of hunters with game at the four check stations was 11.2 percent, compared to 8.5 percent in 2019.
“Our check stations saw a lot of 2-to-3-year-old bucks this year and that was to be expected following back-to-back mild winters,” Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Regional Wildlife Manager Neil Anderson said. “We also saw an increase in the number of mule deer bucks harvested overall.”
Hunters who harvested deer, elk or moose this season have until 5 p.m., Dec. 3 to bring the animal’s head to the FWP office in Kalispell for chronic wasting disease sampling. Testing for CWD is voluntary throughout the state. FWP is assisting hunters with sample collection and submission at the Region 1 office in Kalispell, Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. FWP will cover the cost of testing hunter-harvested animals for CWD.
Contact a Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks regional office for more information. In northwest Montana, call 406-752-5501.
