Mild temperatures in Southwestern Montana challenged hunters and kept harvest numbers below the long-term average in most areas.
Four check stations operated over the second weekend of the hunting season. Gallatin and Divide reported lower-than-average hunter numbers and harvest success. Cameron check station reported average hunter and harvest statistics, while Blacktail saw the highest success rate for deer and elk at 17 percent.
FWP recently confirmed a grizzly bear sighting in the Seymour Creek area near Anaconda. Hunters reported the sightings through photos of tracks within two miles of each other. Because of the proximity of the observations, it is believed to be one bear. FWP encourages hunters and recreators to report sightings of bears, tracks, or other evidence to regional offices as soon as possible. Photos and scat samples, collected in paper bags, are especially helpful.
(via MT FWP)
