BOZEMAN — The general hunting season is approaching and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) has been busy compiling information about big game animals in Montana.
In the Bozeman area, the numbers look coming back from the hard winter of 2023-2024.
“Fortunately, 23-24 was a pretty light winter, so we've seen some nice rebounds. Mule deer populations are stable in some areas, decreasing in others, had a really good count in the Madison for mule deer so that's great,” said FWP Region 3 Wildlife Biologist Julie Cunningham. “Elk numbers are coming back from that big winter hunters may see some effects of that. So, in general, the forecast is good or mixed depending on local areas and conditions."
Conditions are a major player when it comes to migration.
“One of the most common questions we get is when are the elk going to migrate? When are we going to see them come down low? And that's an impossible question to answer because it really just depends on weather,” FWP spokesman Morgan Jacobsen said. “Weather is what primarily drives wildlife migrations including elk and other game species that we hunt."
Many factors go into a successful hunt including FWP wildlife data and most importantly, access to those animals.
"Access to private land is a very generous privilege that we're blessed to have in many places including here in southwestern Montana. Our block management program helps facilitate free public access to private lands. All we ask of hunters is to respect that access,” Jacobsen noted.
“Hunters should remember that check stations. It's mandatory to stop at them, even if you haven't harvested something,” Cunningham said. “And the hunter harvest phone calls that we do -- do your best to remember what you did and where you did it because that helps us we put it all together with the population counts we do over winter.
The big game general season opens on Saturday, October 26 and runs through Sunday, December 1, 2024.
