Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) will hold a northwest Montana public meeting on the 2016-2017 hunting regulation proposals at Flathead Valley Community College on Saturday, January 9, 2016. Other informational meetings are scheduled in other towns around the Region as we are invited, but this is the main hearing for the Commissioner to listen and collect public comment from hunters across Region One.

The schedule calls for an open house to be held from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. where FWP biologists and managers will explain information on wildlife populations and proposed regulations. The actual hearing will begin at 10 a.m. Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Gary Wolfe is scheduled to be on hand to listen to comments. Each member of the public who wishes to speak will have a time allotment for each group of tentative regulations.

For northwest Montana (Region One), proposed regulation changes include:

–White-tailed Deer (WTD)
All R1 Hunting Districts (HD) except 140/141/150/151/170: WTD either-sex on general license the first week region-wide and last week on private land only, excluding Plum Creek, Stoltze, and Stimson. The middle three weeks would remain antlered-buck-only for WT deer.
All R1 HDs except 140/141/150/151/170: Allow handicapped hunters to harvest antlerless WTD with Permission to Hunt From a Vehicle (PTHFV) season-long.
HD 100/103/104: Establish WTD B-licenses in each HD (quota 100 in each).
HD 123: Establish WTD B-licenses (quota 50).
HD 130: Establish WTD B-licenses (quota 50).
HD 170: Include the HD 170 portion of the Kuhns WMA within the general HD 170 B license deer hunting regulations.
HD 170: Include the HD 170 portion of the Kuhns WMA within the general HD 170 either-sex WTD with a Deer A license.
–Elk

HD 101/109: Establish early shoulder season to address game damage primarily in the Tobacco Plains area with 50 199-00 B-licenses for antlerless elk valid on private land only, excluding Plum Creek, Stimson, and Stoltze Timber lands 8/15-10/16/ 2016 & 8/21-10/22/2017.
Statewide issues: Some minor changes proposed for mountain goat, moose, sheep, antelope, upland game bird (turkey), black bear, and mountain lion. See link on FWP website below for details. Also, refer to more regulations on the FWP website for elk and deer proposed in other parts of the state.

Details on all the proposed hunting regulations are available on FWP’s website at the hunting homepage under “opportunity for public comment”: http://fwp.mt.gov/hunting; click 2016-17 Hunting Season Changes – Proposed where one can provide comment and find additional information on each proposal.

Comments can also be mailed to: Wildlife Bureau, Attn: Public Comment, P.O. Box 200701, Helena, MT 59620-0701. The F&W Commission will adopt final regulations at its Feb. 11, 2016, meeting in Helena.