Preserving Sustainable Opportunity

Thanks for visiting our blog. We wanted to start this out with a bulleted list of what the proposal actually encompasses. You can download the proposal at the bottom of this page. If you can’t get that to work, use the email down there to write us with questions or concerns.

Here is what the proposal would do:

1.) Archery season would be moved up a week (Aug 25-Oct 5).

2.) General mule deer season would be moved up to October 8th, with the season going no later than the first week of November (Oct. 8-Nov 5).

3.) Elk hunting would pair with whitetail hunting during November (Oct 25-Nov 30), but would also have a special private land only antlerless season in October (Oct 15-Oct 24). Late season cow hunting would be at the discretion of the department and would vary based on the unit.

4.) General deer hunting would be split into an Early season and a Late season. The Early season would coincide with mule deer season dates, and the Late season would coincide with whitetail season dates. The seasons would overlap from Oct 25th to Nov 5th, during which time hunters would be able to hunt either species of deer.

5.) Areas that are under limited entry permits would maintain the current hunting dates, with the exception of archery, which would follow the new dates. This allows for rut hunting of mule deer bucks without creating the same hunter-pressure issues that we see today.

6.) The proposal seeks to maintain the largest amount of over-the-counter hunting districts as possible and remove the need to institute a limited entry system on a grand scale for mule deer as some have suggested. Montanans are clear that they want to be able to hunt deer every year, and that antler size isn’t the driving factor as it relates to deer hunting.

7.) Provide the Fish & Wildlife Commission as well as the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks more authority to manage our seasons for better outcomes for hunters and landowners. The proposal seeks to increase the authority of the commission to set seasons, as well as maintain the largest amount of over-the-counter opportunity as possible for resident hunters.

WHAT’S THE NEED?

Montana’s wildlife and hunting opportunity are significant contributors to the quality of life here in the Last, Best Place. Hunting, fishing, and summer recreation are key economic drivers for rural areas and the people who live there. The opportunity to hunt a multitude of species over a long period of time has worked well in the past, creating a reverence for our long seasons that are not mirrored anywhere else in the west. However, the data shows us that along with a 10 year low in mule deer numbers, the amount of time it takes to harvest an animal is growing, while problematic concentrations of elk continue despite the best efforts of our wildlife managers, hunters and landowners.

Further exacerbating the issue are increasing shifts in both resident and non-resident hunter selection of regions to pursue animals, habitat fragmentation and stagnation, disease and a growing human population that is impacting wildlife year-round. To us, that means we should be rethinking how we hunt in Montana to adapt to these changing conditions and increase our chances of filling freezers while reducing hunting pressure and bringing back those “good old days” when it was easier to find a deer or elk on public land. We need to start thinking about how hunting will look 25 years from now, when our children and grandchildren inherit what we leave behind for them.

So it was in February of 2024, 9 individuals sat down in Billings to discuss our concerns around the future of hunting in Montana. We are outfitters, landowners and DIY public land hunters who are tired of the status quo. We are eager for changes that we believe will increase our ability to improve wildlife distribution and spread out hunting pressure. We feel that Montana can equally manage for Chronic Wasting Disease as well as other diseases while also helping stabilize and reduce the amount of pressure on our deer herd numbers. Finally, we believe that this proposal will provide a better experience for the public in terms of hunting success and access to animals on public land.

Furthermore, mule deer populations that can sustain the kind of intense hunting pressure that wide-open seasons bring are at the bottom of their population cycle. Efforts have been made to help restore mule deer such as eliminating doe harvest on public land, adding more limited entry permit areas, and reducing the number of permits available, but those are solutions designed to stop the decline, rather than address the systematic structure that leads to many of the issues facing Montana’s wildlife and citizens today.

You can view & download the proposal here:

For more information, email mt-cso@outlook.com