Front Elk Hunters Beat Long-Term Average

Email to a Friend  Print this Article

Elk and white-tailed deer hunters had a better than average year along the Rocky Mountain Front, but mule deer harvest numbers were down, according to statistics from Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

"Elk harvest was about 18 percent above the 10-year average," says Brent Lonner, FWP wildlife biologist, Lonner runs FWP’s Augusta check station where the numbers were collected.

Hunters brought in 281 elk this year compared with the 10-year average of 231.

Whitetail hunters also brought in more animals: 307 versus the long-term average of 285.

Mule deer numbers, however, were down.

This year hunters checked in 304 mule deer; the 10-year average was 360. The main reason for the drop was fewer mule deer bucks: 258 this year against the long-term average of 313.

Overall, Lonner says, the percent of hunters with game was up this year.

"We checked a total of 3,715 hunters with 939 big game animals for a rate of 25 percent," he says.

Hunter participation was also up, about 14 percent above the 10-year average.

While the numbers at the Augusta check station - FWP Region 4’s sole biological check station - apply only to a handful of hunting districts on the Rocky Mountain Front, they often mirror conditions elsewhere in north central Montana.
 

Reader Comments

Would you like to comment?

Sign up for a free account, or sign in (if you're already a member).