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DPHHS urges Montanans to take extra care to avoid mosquito bites this summer State and local health officials are reporting increased West Nile virus (WNV) activity in several counties across the state this week, including the first three human cases for 2023, which have been identified in Dawson, Rosebud, and Yellowstone counties. These three cases range in ages from the late 30s to early 70s, including two males and one female. All cases were hospitalized for their illnesses. Additionally, this week, two horses were diagnosed with WNV...
Due to a law passed by the 2023 MT State Legislature, everyone ages 12 and older will need a Montana Conservation License to access most state lands. This includes all types of recreation—launching watercraft, hiking, biking, wildlife viewing, etc. The following frequently asked questions from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks help explain the new rules: Conservation License Frequently Asked Questions 1. What is a Conservation License? A Conservation License is required to access most state lands. Before this year, only hunters, anglers and t...
By PR Extension Office “If it isn’t one insect this year, it is two or three! While mowing my lawn last week, I had clouds of tiny, light-colored moths billowing up from the ground,” reported MSU Powder River Extension Agent Mary Rumph. Further investigation revealed the presence of sod webworms. They seem to do well during the hot, dry weather. Profile Sod webworm moths are one-half to one inch long, depending on the species. Their wings are dull-white or gray with a delicate fringe along the edges of the hindwings. Some species can also ha...
Courtesy MT FWP HELENA - Block Management Area (BMA) Program information for 2023 will be available to hunters beginning Aug. 10. Hunters can request their BMA Access Guide online and can print individual BMA property maps and rules at fwp.mt.gov/hunt /access/blockmanagement. The Block Management webpage allows hunters to download the Access Guide, up-to-date BMA maps and rules for every individual BMA enrolled in the program. These individual BMA property maps and rules are important for hunters to know and understand for each property they p...
By MT FWP HELENA –Anyone training bird dogs using game birds not raised in captivity needs to hold a bird dog training license, whether on private or public land. If you are training dogs with captive-reared birds, a license is not required. These licenses can be purchased online through the FWP Online License Service, any FWP regional office or any license provider. The license is $5 for residents ages 18 and over and $10 for nonresidents 18 and over. For residents and nonresidents ages 12 to 17, the license is free. Bird dog training sea...
HELENA – While mule deer populations remain steady in portions of the state, spring green-up surveys conducted by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks wildlife biologists showed populations in some parts of the state remain lower than desired, and as a result, licenses available to hunters in those areas have been cut back. Over the past few years, persistent drought, particularly in southeast Montana, has affected both survival and recruitment rates for mule deer. This drought has also, at times, been coupled with hard winters, making it e...
Courtesy PR Extension Office My cottonwood trees are full of aphids and the accompanying honeydew. Lately, the leaves have turned gray and are dropping. What is happening? According to Abi Saeed, MSU Extension Horticulture Associate Specialist, the sticky and gray leaves are covered with honeydew, and the resulting opportunistic fungus called sooty mold. Although sooty mold doesn't actively infect the plants themselves (and instead, is only found on plant surfaces), significant amounts of it can reduce photosynthesis and cause premature leaf d...
By Powder River Conservation District Ever been on a walk and wondered what types of trees you were seeing? Mrs. Fleming's fourth grade class at the Broadus Elementary can now help you determine what trees you're looking at! Liz Riter and Jessica Beagles of the Powder River Conservation District (PRCD) stopped by the fourth grade class the afternoon of May 22 to teach the kids how to use taxonomic keys to identify trees. They took the students to several trees in the neighborhood and showed...
By MT FWP MILES CITY – The 2023 paddlefish season on the Yellowstone and Lower Missouri rivers is now over, with a total estimated harvest of 776 paddlefish. After monitoring two paddlefish seasons (2022 and 2023) with open river passage at Intake Dam, the new normal appears to be a dispersed fishery between the state line to Tongue River confluence at Miles City and a full season length (May 15-June 30) without a need for an early in-season closure if anglers near the 1,000-fish harvest tar...
Helena, Mont. – On Tuesday, June 13th, the Montana Department of Livestock (MDOL) received confirmation of a case of terrestrial (non-bat) rabies in the state. The rabies-infected skunk was captured in Powder River County. One dog was exposed to the rabid skunk and is being managed for exposure. In response, MDOL has issued a 60 day county-wide quarantine for dogs, cats and ferrets in Powder River County that are not currently vaccinated for rabies (MCA Title 81, Chapters 2 and 20). The quarantine is in effect from Tuesday, June 13th to S...
A free Bowhunter Education course for Montana youths and adults will take place in Broadus June 24 and 25 at Instructor Jeff Noble's office at the courthouse. Potential students must register online in advance, and must be at least 11 years of age by the first day of class. Attendance on both days is required. Youths need to bring parent or guardian on first day to sign permission slips. Registration is open through June 16. After registering online, please contact Jeff Noble at 436-2365 or 853-3153 to indicate that you are planning to take...
MILES CITY – Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks will host a Trapper Education Field Day on Sunday, June 18 from 8 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. at the Miles City Region 7 headquarters. To purchase a Montana resident Class C trapping license, residents aged 12 and older must now complete a Montana Trapper Education course or have purchased a trapping license in at least three prior years in Montana or another state. Non-residents are exempt from the trapper education requirement, as they cannot purchase a Class C license to trap furbearers. Montana’s Trapper Edu...
HELENA – Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is again accepting applications for its Habitat Conservation Lease Program. A habitat conservation lease is a voluntary, incentive-based agreement between FWP and private landowners in which the landowner commits to specific land management practices that protect priority wildlife habitat. In turn, FWP pays landowners a one-time per-acre fee for the lease. These agreements will have a term length of 30 and 40 years. As it has for decades, FWP is still pursuing conservation easements and land purchases w...
HELENA – Hunters have until June 1 to apply for antelope licenses as well as elk and deer B licenses. All applications must be done online or at an FWP office. Don’t wait until the last minute, get it done now. Simply click here. Elk and deer b licenses and archery-only antelope licenses will be drawn mid-June, but general antelope licenses won’t be drawn until later in the summer after biologists do counts and determine the number of licenses to issue. If you haven’t already downloaded the MyFWP mobile app, now is a great time to do so. Thi...
HELENA – By order of the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission, the hunting with hounds of all black bears will close in Black Bear Management Unit (BMU) 700 one-half hour after sunset today, Monday, May 22, following the harvest of the two bear quota. In addition, the commission ordered the closure of hunting without hounds to close in BMU 700 one-half hour after sunset on Tuesday, May 23. The quota of four bears was filled. For more information, visit FWP’s website at fwp.mt.gov/hunt/by-spe-cies to check the current quota status, or call t...
It was a fun filled afternoon on May 9th as the Powder River Conservation District (PRCD) staff introduced the fifth grade students to Wooly and Belle, Targhee and Suffolk cross ewes. These sheep were used to instruct the kids about the numerous uses of wool and sheep within the agricultural industry. The animals were sheared on site by Garrett Harrington and the wool given to the students to feel the differences between the two breeds and various cuts of wool. They learned how to pick and...
By Powder River Conservation District “A people without children would face a hopeless future; a country without trees is almost as helpless.” Theodore Roosevelt said this to convey the importance trees and other natural resources play in our lives. To instill a passion for nature and growing things within the next generation, the Powder River Conservation District (PRCD) gave seedling trees to the students and staff at Broadus Elementary School the morning of May 8th for them to take home and plant. Everyone was able to choose between a Qua...
The baby fox kits are out, and they are busy - running, fighting with each other, and observing the world....
By Mary Rumph, Powder River Extension Agent Ticks are out and about and ready to attach onto warm blooded species, so take precautions to protect yourself from this crawling insect that can be a disease vector. The most common ticks we have in Montana this time of year are the Rocky Mountain wood tick, Dermacentor andersoni, and the dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis. Ticks can be transported into the home from pets and humans. The two species look very similar. The two species of the black-legged ticks, (also known as deer ticks, Ixodes scapular...
HELENA –Hunters have until April 1 to apply for deer and elk licenses, but they shouldn’t wait for the last minute. Get it done now. Hunters who are applying for special licenses and permits need to have a valid email address. Hunters can apply for permits on the FWP website. If hunters want to apply in person, FWP offices are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Hunters and anglers can also take advantage of the MyFWP mobile app, if they haven’t already. The app holds and displays licenses, permits and E-Tags, which can be downl...
By FWP Region 7 March 9, 2023 Region 7 – The new license year opened March 1, which means that you are now able to buy your 2023 hunting and fishing licenses and begin applying for permits and special licenses. The deadline to apply for deer and elk permits is April 1. Applications for most species – deer, elk, antelope, deer B licenses, elk B licenses, antelope B licenses, moose, sheep, goat, bison, bear, turkey – can be made beginning March 1. Application deadlines • April 1: Deer and elk p...
MILES CITY – As of midnight on March 1, Trapping Districts 4, 5, 6 and 7 are closed to all trapping and/or hunting of bobcats. With the scheduled season end being reached, the Montana Fish & Wildlife Commission approved the closure. In southeast Montana’s Trapping District 7, 136 bobcats were harvested out of a winter quota of 600. Hunters are reminded that tagging of bobcat pelts is required within 10 days of closure of the season....
9-Day Objection Period for Previous Commenters and Draft Decision Notice Ashland, MT – January 18, 2023 – A draft Decision Notice is available for the Ashland Ranger District, Custer Gallatin National Forest’s South Otter Landscape Restoration and Resiliency Project, located approximately six miles south of Ashland, MT, and Highway 212. The project encompasses 292,000 acres of National Forest System lands making up primarily the southern portion of the Ashland Ranger District and substantially overlapping the Powder River and Rosebud Count...
Unused general elk or limited-draw elk B licenses valid in HDs 702, 704 and 705 By MT FWP MILES CITY – Southeast Montana's first late-season hunt, previously known as a shoulder season, will run from Nov. 28-Feb. 15. In FWP Region 7, the late season allows antlerless elk hunting with either an unused over-the-counter general elk license or a limited-draw elk B license on private lands in Hunting Districts 702, 704, 705. A late-season hunt is a firearms season that occurs outside the general sea...
Coyote Contest - Chase Talcott, Ryan Woods, and Elijah Small won the 3rd annual Pam Ware Memorial Coyote Hunt last weekend, with their haul of 7 coyotes. 11 teams competed in the tournament, with 32 coyotes checked in. (Photo courtesy Elijah Small)...
