Dear Friends,
We have a battle to win for the bowhunters of Eastern Montana. It will effect every bow hunter adversely. Please send this on to everyone who will help us keep our unlimited archery permits! Ask them to flood the FWP with emails, letters and/or phone calls. The general number for FWP is 406-444-2950 - hit '0" for the person prompt. Even if you aren't a bow hunter yourself, please comment to help the rest of us. It applies to Elk & Antelope.
There is no practical reason to limit bow hunters.Bow hunters do not harvest enough animals to adversely affect thegame. There is a lot of public land and block management land to hunt as well as the elk & antelope herds are plentiful.No matter howyou feel about private land rights,
don't let themtake your right to bow hunt if you so choose. Right now we need to flood the FWP with phone calls,lettersand emails that tell them to leave the licensing for archery areas as it is.
P
lease send your comments to: FWP – Wildlife Division, Attn: Public Comment, POB 200701, Helena MT 59620-0701 or email [email protected]. The deadline for public comment to be received is 5:00 PM on Friday, February 1, 2008. The Commission will take final action on these Tentative adoptions at its February 20, 2008 meeting in Helena.
Elk
Statewide
Adjust elk archery to limited elk archery permits where elk rifle permits are currently limited. HDs include: 410, 417, 620, 621, 622, 700, 701 (Missouri River Breaks EMU) and 401, 403, 411, 412, 420, 425, 426, 441, 447, 450, 455, 500, 502, 510, 511, portion of 520, 530, 570, 575, portion of 580, 590, 702, 704 and 705. Additionally, these areas are proposed to have area-specific unlimited antlerless elk archery permits available through the drawing. In the Missouri River Breaks districts, archery is currently available via unlimited permit. In the other areas, archery is currently available on only a general license.
Under this proposal, other season elements would remain unchanged unless specifically addressed in other proposals. Archery permit applicants would apply first, second or third choice and may hunt elk in other areas/times but may not use the archery permit in the described district during the general rifle season. Rifle permit holders may use a bow during the archery season in the described district. Proposed permit numbers would be fixed and represent 75% of average of 2005, 2006 and 2007 total permit holders (Missouri River Breaks) and 90% of average of 2004, 2005 and 2006 number of estimated total archers (2007 data unavailable).
Archery permits that represent75% of average of total permits #s from 2005-2007 are:
HD 410/417: 1800
HD 620/621/622: 1250
HD 700/701: 820