Big game season finishes strong in northwest Montana
by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks
November 27, 2007
Results at the six northwest Montana check stations indicated that the 2007 big game season ended on a strong note for deer hunters. “The weather finally cooperated over the Thanksgiving weekend and provided better conditions for hunters,” said FWP Wildlife Manager Jim Williams.
At the six check stations for the season, 24,389 hunters checked 1,961 white-tailed deer (1,064 of these were bucks), 287 mule deer, and 153 elk for a 9.8 percent rate of hunters with game. The harvest for whitetails was slightly higher than last year and the highest since 1996. Mule deer numbers were nearly identical to last year.
Hunter numbers were up 11 percent over last year.
Region-wide, the elk take was down about 29 percent. But according to FWP Biologist Jerry Brown, elk harvest in the Libby area was strong. “The number of elk checked at the Libby area check station was up from last year,” Brown says. “The number of brow-tined bulls was twice the long term average.” Across Region One, 44% of the bull elk checked this year were 6 points or better. Bruce Sterling, biologist at the Thompson Falls check station, said the number of antlerless elk checked at Thompson Falls was down 43 percent from last year, mostly due to mild weather and poor elk hunting conditions.
FWP Wildlife Manager Jim Williams notes that the harvest of whitetail bucks checked has been very constant, hovering around the 1,000 mark for the past eight or so years. Considering all of the elements in nature that deer have to contend with in northwest Montana (deep winter snow, summer drought, predators, hunting etc…) this is indicative of a very stable white-tailed deer population and predictable hunting opportunity at the regional level.
The actual game harvest by hunting district will be available in June. The actual harvest is determined by a detailed phone survey of licensed hunters. The check station numbers given above represent only a sample of the total harvest in each hunting district, but trends are usually similar.
R-1 CHECK STATION TRENDS Week 5 - Through November 25, 2007
| Year | Hunter # | Total WTD | WT Bucks | Mule Deer | Elk | | 1996 | 24,397 | 2,569 | 1,008 | 201 | 103 | | 1997 | 22,766 | 862 | 612 | 218 | 105 | | 1998 | 21,457 | 921 | 912 | 238 | 46 | | 1999 | 21,617 | 1,001 | 990 | 211 | 58 | | 2000 | 21,243 | 974 | 951 | 227 | 69 | | 2001 | 22,893 | 1,767 | 1,008 | 240 | 77 | | 2002 | 23,682 | 1,455 | 978 | 242 | 114 | | 2003 | 22,306 | 1,868 | 1,254 | 311 | 161 | | 2004 | 24,332 | 1,905 | 1,086 | 366 | 171 | | 2005 | 24,843 | 1,932 | 1,107 | 372 | 224 | | 2006 | 21,960 | 1,938 | 1,068 | 288 | 214 | | 2007 | 24,389 | 1,961 | 1,064 | 287 | 153 |
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