A lawsuit filed in April by a group of Montana property owners accuses wildlife officials of breaking a state law that requires elk populations to be maintained at sustainable levels, squandering “our prized natural resource [and] turning the regal elk into a common nuisance, like locusts or grasshoppers.” The lawsuit asks a judge to void current elk regulations and to give the defendants—the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission and the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP)—90 ...

Wildlife managers across the country are wondering what’s next after a deadly strain of bird flu was discovered in wild turkey flocks for the first time ever. “Highly pathogenic avian influenza” (HPAI), caused by a virus known as H5N1, has been sweeping the continent since it first hit Canadian shores back in December 2021. From there, the virus made its way into a large commercial turkey operation in southern Indiana. Since arriving stateside, HPAI case numbers have continued to balloon, ...

The first crop of pheasant chicks are hatching at Montana State Prison’s new rearing program, as wildlife managers offer assurances that safety measures are in place given the recent outbreak of avian flu. Last year the Montana Legislature passed House Bill 637, which among its many provisions appropriated $1 million toward a new state pheasant rearing and release program. With a mix of federal and state wildlife dollars, the program is housed at the state prison and operated by ...

While a Montana spring weather warning forced us to delay this event, 25 hearty public land owners from BHA, Bighorn River Alliance and staff from both the National Park Service and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks weren't going to let a little rain on the forecast get them down again! On May 6, to belatedly celebrate Earth Day, a bunch of folks showed up at Three Mile Access near St. Xavier, ready to make the fishing and hunting the Bighorn River a little safer! Crews split up and ...

This is one of those times where we can look back and realize in very specific terms that we CAN make a difference for the resources we care so much about when we engage in the processes that manage them. In a recent conversation on Episode 48 of the American Saltwater Guides Association’s “Guide Post” podcast New England Chapter Board Chair Mike Woods mentioned that if the outcome of ASMFC’s Spring Meeting, and specifically the outcome of the final action on Amendment 7, ended up being ...