Wildlife commission advances tentative elk hunting regulations; limited permit proposal dropped

Following the withdrawal of a controversial proposal dealing with limited-entry elk permits, the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission on Tuesday advanced tentative regulations for the 2022 and 2023 hunting seasons.

The commission voted unanimously to send the proposed regulations out for a 30-day public comment period before taking them up again for a final vote in February. The proposals call for more than 200 changes to current regulations aimed in part at simplification, including combining or shifting some district boundaries, revising some permits and licenses and adjusting quotas.

The tentative proposals adopted include some statewide changes, including restricting a hunter awarded a limited bull permit to hunting in that district, eliminating all limited permits for cow elk in favor of extra licenses, and an over-the-counter cow elk license that could be used on private land in any district more than two times population objectives.

Read more from the Helena Independent Record here...

Photo courtesy of Thom Bridge, IR