JEL
Well-known member
From the Billings Gazette this morning.
Bighorn sheep hunters in backcountry areas would be required to report their success within 24 hours under a proposed amendment suggested by Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission vice chairman Pat Tabor.
The commission will meet virtually on Thursday, Dec. 19, beginning at 8:30 a.m. The meeting will be streamed live on Fish, Wildlife & Parks' website and YouTube.
Tabor has previously expressed concern some hunters are taking advantage of unlimited bighorn sheep hunting units. In these areas, hunting tags can be purchased over the counter instead of through drawings in which success rates are low.
His proposed amendment would also require FWP to close the season within 24 hours after the backcountry quotas are met and to require head and cape inspection within 48 hours. Right now, the seasons are closed within 48 hours and the inspection is required within 72 hours.
The proposed amendment stated the current regulation "leaves potential for the season to remain open for 96 hours or four days after the quota is met. This unnecessarily increases the potential for each unit to go over quota. This original timeline was established when technology was extremely limited. With technological advances it has become easier for hunters to check in and report their harvest. This new technology enables hunters to communicate from anywhere in the world including the deepest parts of the Beartooth mountain range, primarily through text. The additional time for inspection is to allow more time to exit the backcountry."
Last December Tabor attempted to remove the ability for bighorn sheep hunters in unlimited backcountry areas to purchase a bonus point. Bonus points are designed to make it easier for a hunter to win a tag through the state's drawing system.
At last year's meeting, Craig Neal, who has guided bighorn sheep hunting in unlimited districts for Broken Hart Adventures outfitting in Townsend since the 1990s, said some hunters are selling waypoints to where the big rams can be found as well as hunt plans. He also said some hunters after harvesting a ram are waiting to report the kill to allow another hunter to shoot a ram before the quota is registered as full.
According to information provided by FWP, from 2007-2019 an average of 225 licenses were sold annually in HDs 500, 501 and 502 — backcountry bighorn sheep units in the Beartooth Mountains — yet only 156 hunters went into the districts.
In 2024 the quota in HD 500 was filled with two rams. Since 2008, the quota has been exceeded twice, met 10 times and unfilled five times.
In HD 501 the quota of two rams was exceeded with three killed in 2024. Since 2008 the quota has been exceeded three times, met seven times and unfilled six times.
In HD 501, the quota of two rams was exceeded in 2024 with four killed. Since 2008 the quota has been exceeded five times, met twice and unfilled nine times.
“While quota overruns do occur, they are relatively rare and seldom significant,” Region 5 wildlife biologist Shawn Stewart wrote in his analysis last year. "These quota overruns average out over time and the quotas are conservative to allow for the possibility of overrun.”
The amendment was not requested by FWP, which wrote it does not expect any "population level impacts" from the change, if approved.
Those who want to make a comment on Zoom must register on FWP’s website by noon on Dec. 18.
Written comment on most agenda items were accepted through Nov. 27.
Other topics the commission will address include regulations requiring anglers who catch smallmouth bass on Placid Lake to catch, kill and report the nonnative fish; amendments to allow black bear hunters in backcountry units in the upper Flathead drainage more time, along with other quota changes for antelope, bighorn sheep, deer and elk in specific hunting districts.
For the full agenda, background on the scheduled topics and public comments, go to the Fish and Wildlife Commission page on the FWP website.
Bighorn sheep hunters in backcountry areas would be required to report their success within 24 hours under a proposed amendment suggested by Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission vice chairman Pat Tabor.
The commission will meet virtually on Thursday, Dec. 19, beginning at 8:30 a.m. The meeting will be streamed live on Fish, Wildlife & Parks' website and YouTube.
Tabor has previously expressed concern some hunters are taking advantage of unlimited bighorn sheep hunting units. In these areas, hunting tags can be purchased over the counter instead of through drawings in which success rates are low.
His proposed amendment would also require FWP to close the season within 24 hours after the backcountry quotas are met and to require head and cape inspection within 48 hours. Right now, the seasons are closed within 48 hours and the inspection is required within 72 hours.
The proposed amendment stated the current regulation "leaves potential for the season to remain open for 96 hours or four days after the quota is met. This unnecessarily increases the potential for each unit to go over quota. This original timeline was established when technology was extremely limited. With technological advances it has become easier for hunters to check in and report their harvest. This new technology enables hunters to communicate from anywhere in the world including the deepest parts of the Beartooth mountain range, primarily through text. The additional time for inspection is to allow more time to exit the backcountry."
Last December Tabor attempted to remove the ability for bighorn sheep hunters in unlimited backcountry areas to purchase a bonus point. Bonus points are designed to make it easier for a hunter to win a tag through the state's drawing system.
At last year's meeting, Craig Neal, who has guided bighorn sheep hunting in unlimited districts for Broken Hart Adventures outfitting in Townsend since the 1990s, said some hunters are selling waypoints to where the big rams can be found as well as hunt plans. He also said some hunters after harvesting a ram are waiting to report the kill to allow another hunter to shoot a ram before the quota is registered as full.
According to information provided by FWP, from 2007-2019 an average of 225 licenses were sold annually in HDs 500, 501 and 502 — backcountry bighorn sheep units in the Beartooth Mountains — yet only 156 hunters went into the districts.
In 2024 the quota in HD 500 was filled with two rams. Since 2008, the quota has been exceeded twice, met 10 times and unfilled five times.
In HD 501 the quota of two rams was exceeded with three killed in 2024. Since 2008 the quota has been exceeded three times, met seven times and unfilled six times.
In HD 501, the quota of two rams was exceeded in 2024 with four killed. Since 2008 the quota has been exceeded five times, met twice and unfilled nine times.
“While quota overruns do occur, they are relatively rare and seldom significant,” Region 5 wildlife biologist Shawn Stewart wrote in his analysis last year. "These quota overruns average out over time and the quotas are conservative to allow for the possibility of overrun.”
The amendment was not requested by FWP, which wrote it does not expect any "population level impacts" from the change, if approved.
Those who want to make a comment on Zoom must register on FWP’s website by noon on Dec. 18.
Written comment on most agenda items were accepted through Nov. 27.
Other topics the commission will address include regulations requiring anglers who catch smallmouth bass on Placid Lake to catch, kill and report the nonnative fish; amendments to allow black bear hunters in backcountry units in the upper Flathead drainage more time, along with other quota changes for antelope, bighorn sheep, deer and elk in specific hunting districts.
For the full agenda, background on the scheduled topics and public comments, go to the Fish and Wildlife Commission page on the FWP website.
