The Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission is now accepting comment on a proposed rule for entering applications to the annual drawing through which float dates on the Smith River are assigned. The rule, tentatively adopted by the Commission at its December 6 meeting in Helena, was proposed to try to achieve better equity in the permit allocation process.
(Headlines - December 20, 1996)

In the Central Flyway, the duck hunting season in both Zone 1 and Zone 2 will close December 31. The duck hunting season in the Pacific Flyway will close December 29. The goose hunting season in the Pacific Flyway will close on January 5, 1997, and in the Central Flyway the goose hunting season will remain open until January 12, 1997. As has been the case for the last few years, closing dates for the hunting seasons of most upland game birds were standardized to close in 1996 on December 15.
(Headlines - December 20, 1996)

The Sweet Grass Archers have proposed to hold their Annual Carp Shoot at Lake Elwell on June 14, 1997. Approximately 35 participants are expected to compete for cash and prizes for the most pounds of fish in the men's, women's and youth divisions and the heaviest fish overall. The proposed entry fee is $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for youth. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks will be soliciting comments from persons interested in, or potentially affected by, the derby through January 20, 1997.
(Headlines - December 20, 1996)

The hunting of male mountain lions in western Montana hunting district 250, which includes a portion of Ravalli County, will close at one-half hour after sunset on Saturday, December 21, 1996. The order halting the hunts came shortly after Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials received word that the pre-established harvest sub-quota for the district had been met.
(Headlines - December 20, 1996)

By order of the Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission, the season for taking fisher in Trapping District 1 of northwestern Montana will close at midnight on Thursday, December 19, 1996.The district includes portions of Flathead, Lake, Lincoln, Lewis and Clark, Missoula, Powell and Sanders counties.
(Headlines - December 20, 1996)

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Park's annual telephone and mail survey of Montana's moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goat hunters is underway. According to FWP Wildlife Research Coordinator Terry Lonner, everyone who received a permit to hunt moose, bighorn sheep, or mountain goats this fall will be contacted by mail or telephone before Christmas. The survey will address hunting success and other related questions. Most telephone calls will be made during the evening and on weekends.
(Headlines - December 06, 1996)

Montana's 1996 general big game season closed Sunday, December 1. Even though the general season has ended, hunters are encouraged to keep firearms safety a year-round priority. Tim Pool, hunter education coordinator for Fish, Wildlife & Parks in Helena, said curious children sometimes will handle guns to "check them out" or "show them off.
(Headlines - December 06, 1996)

Several scheduled late season elk hunts are currently underway in various portions of central and south-central Montana. Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials emphasize that the general big game season has not been "extended" in any areas of the state. These late special elk season are planned hunts that normally give hunters the opportunity to take animals that, for various reasons, were unavailable during the general hunting season.
(Headlines - December 06, 1996)

Contact: Tom Palmer--406-444-3051 FWP Director Pat Graham announced today the agency is considering a wide-ranging proposal to recover Montana's state fish, the westslope cutthroat trout, in the whirling-disease plagued upper Madison River drainage. (Click here for a map of the drainage.
(Headlines - December 05, 1996)

WHO? Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks--in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service, the federal Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Montana Power Company, Montana State University, private landowners, and conservation groups--is considering a proposal to recover Montana's state fish, the westslope cutthroat trout, in the whirling-disease plagued upper Madison River drainage.
(Headlines - December 05, 1996)

Headwater Tributaries Proposed for Westslope Cutthroat Trout Recovery Thirty headwater portions of upper Madison River tributaries have been identified as potential candidates for westslope cutthroat trout restoration. Most of the headwater tributaries appear to provide ideal cutthroat trout habitat.
(Headlines - December 05, 1996)

Q: Does this westslope cutthroat trout proposal mean that FWP fish managers have given up on rainbow trout in the Madison River? A: No. FWP is currently looking into other rainbow enhancement opportunities on the Madison River. For instance, in the "slide area" below Quake Lake, rainbow trout appear to be surviving well.
(Headlines - December 05, 1996)