The 2012 Pheasant opener is scheduled slated for this Saturday in Montana, with the exception of the the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Northeast Montana.
With the chances for a fire igniting high, the Fort Peck Tribes have closed the reservation in northeastern Montana to pheasant hunters this fall.
The season was to open Oct. 6, mirroring the state of Montana’s hunt, but the tribal council voted to cancel the season on Sept. 18.
Tribal Fish and Game Director Robert Magnum said that in two weeks this summer, more than 16,000 acres of the reservation burned in what are suspected to be human-caused fires. One fire blazed through a buffalo pasture, burning seven animals that had to be euthanized. Reserve pasture of 4,400 acres will be used to feed the bison.
Refunds are being issued to hunters who purchased tribal pheasant licenses.
There has been no cancellation of other hunting seasons on the reservation so far.
Below is a video that the MORS team took at the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in 2009.
