Proposed Hunting Regulation Changes Meeting at Whitehall Community Center

The Fish and Wildlife Commission approved the 2022/2023 hunting regulations proposals for public comment on Tuesday, December 14. All proposals are now open for public comment, and your input is critical. On Wednesday, December 22 at 6 PM, public comment will be taken at the Whitehall Community Center at 11 North Division Street. Please take the time to review the proposals and leave a comment.

Season Setting Meetings: During December and early January, FWP will hold season-setting meetings around the state to discuss the draft hunting regulations with interested public members. Biologists will present information on the draft hunting regulations approved by the commission at the meetings. Following the presentations, there will be time for questions and answers.

Public Comment: Public comment on the 2022/2023 hunting regulation proposals will be accepted through Jan. 14. Comments can be submitted online via the links below or by email to fwpwld@mt.gov.

There are a lot of proposals this year, for each region as well as state-wide,” said Vanna Boccadori, FWP Butte ARea Wildlife Biologist in an email to interested commenter. “Many of these proposals are in response to directives from the Director’s Office to simplify regulations by combining districts, reducing the types of permits and licenses, eliminating where possible split seasons and portions of districts, shoulder seasons, etc.”

For the Butte area Boccadori has submitted the following proposals:

• Combine HDs 319 and 341 for deer, elk and lion. Adopt unlimited permits for Mule Deer bucks. Keep elk regulation the same. Increase lion quota from 4 to 5 cats with female subquota remaining at 2.

• Combine HDs 321 and 334 for deer and elk. Adopt either-sex on the general license for Mule Deer and eliminate B licenses. Adopt either-sex on the general license for Elk and maintain 200 B licenses.

• For HD 340, eliminate Elk permits and split season. Replace with 5-week Brow-tined bull on the general license and 400 Elk B licenses. Change either-sex Mule Deer season to Antlered buck on the general license and 50 Deer B licenses. Change the Antelope Hunting District number from 341 to 340.

• Combine HDs 350 and 370 for deer, elk, lion and antelope. Create “East” and “West” portions that correspond to current HDs 370 and 350, respectively, and retain the current elk regulation in each one. All other species regulations will remain the same in the combined HDs.

Several public meetings have already taken place; the last public meeting is R3 CAC, Jan. 12, 6-8 p.m. via Zoom.

The commission will decide on the 2022/2023 hunting regulations at its meeting in February.

Earlier this fall, Fish, Wildlife & Parks biologists offered science-based regulations proposals that combine some hunting districts, reduce some license and permit types, and eliminate hunting district portions. FWP staff held informational meetings around the state, and the public was invited to submit comments on those initial proposals. FWP adjusted the proposals based on public comment and presented them to the commission.