Montana's Fish and Wildlife Commission meets to pass hunting regulations
Montana Public Radio | By Ellis Juhlin
Montana’s Fish and Wildlife Commission meets this week to pass hunting regulations for big game species and to finalize rule changes in anticipation of a grizzly bear delisting.
The commission will vote on hunting seasons and regulations for many popular big game species including deer, elk, antelope, moose, mountain goat and bighorn sheep. The regulations will then be in place for the next two years.
This is the first meeting where commissioners are following all of a court approved settlement to improve transparency following their admission of violating public process earlier this fall.
Commissioners have proposed over a dozen changes to Fish, Wildlife and Parks regulations. Publicly disclosed commissioner emails show some amendments were written by industry groups. Several proposals align with management goals to reduce regional elk populations and address mule deer declines in Eastern Montana.
In addition to season-setting, the meeting will also include a final vote on hotly contested legislative guidelines for lethal grizzly bear management.
$9 million will go towards new wildlife crossings on the Flathead Reservation
Montana Public Radio | By Aaron Bolton
The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) and the state will receive about $9 million to bolster the number of wildlife crossings.
The funding is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s wildlife crossing pilot program.
The CSKT will use funding to build a wildlife overpass across Highway 93. The overpass will be within the Ninepipe National Wildlife Management Area near St. Ignatius.
The state will study possible locations for needed wildlife crossings along I-90 between Missoula and Garrison.
The goal is to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions, especially for protected species like grizzly bears. Crossings can also bolster connectivity for grizzlies as they typically avoid roads.
