BILLINGS — The forms and information that Montana hunters need to apply for 2013 special bull elk and buck deer permits before the March 15 deadline now are available at license dealers and online.

The information includes a streamlined eight-page application packet. Montana’s general hunting regulations will be available on the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks website by March 15 and in paper form at license dealers by April 1.

In some Montana hunting districts, hunters are required to have one of a limited number of special permits to harvest a bull elk or buck deer. Hunters also must purchase a general deer or elk hunting license. The packets made available online and at license dealers this week, as well as the March 15 deadline, apply only to special buck deer and bull elk permits. Applications for moose, bighorn sheep, mountain goat and bison hunting licenses are due by May 1. Antelope, deer doe B and elk cow B tag applications are due by June 1.

Hunters who apply for special bull elk permits must buy a general elk hunting license before filling out their application. Successful buck deer and bull elk applicants will receive their permits in April.

FWP’s website address is http://fwp.mt.gov, then follow the links to “hunting” and “licenses and permits.” To request an application packet by mail, hunters may call 406-444-2950 or write to:

Licensing Section

Montana FWP

P.O. Box 200701

Helena, MT 59620-0701

The March 15 deadline for special bull elk and buck deer permits was approved by the FWP Commission last year in response to requests by sportsmen for more time to contact landowners, schedule vacations, get in shape, scout and plan fall hunts.

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BILLINGS — More brown trout than usual, less water than in some past years and other factors apparently are leading to a fatal outbreak of fungus on some fish in the Bighorn River below Yellowtail Dam.

Fishermen on the blue-ribbon trout stream in recent weeks have reported seeing hundreds of dead or infected brown trout.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologists said this week that the fungus is part of a natural cycle. But this year reports seem to indicate that it is worse than usual.

The fungus appears as a white or cloudy growth on the skin and scales of infected fish. It generally takes a few days to a week to spread over the fish and kill it.

FWP regional fisheries biologist Mike Ruggles said the fungus spores are ubiquitous in most water in Montana. Healthy fish are able to block the fungus spores from attacking their skin with the slime that covers their exterior. Fish that are stressed or at less-than-peak condition often cannot ward off the spores, which burrow through their slime and into their skin.

This year, a number of conditions combined to stress brown trout in the Bighorn River, leaving them susceptible to the fungus, Ruggles said.

First, high water during the past few years created excellent reproduction conditions for the fall-spawning brown trout. FWP surveys last September showed more than 6,500 brown trout per mile in the 13 miles of the Bighorn River immediately below the Yellowtail Afterbay Dam, Ruggles said. That is the largest number of brown trout measured since 1999 and in the top half dozen years since FWP has kept records. That means that fish have to work harder to compete for a limited amount of food in the water.

Second, relatively low flows in the river this fall and winter concentrated the fish in spawning areas, FWP regional fisheries manager Ken Frazer said. Fish do not eat during spawning, which taxes their health anyway. Fish – particularly the big males – that spend more energy competing for spawing places and fighting with other fish are stressed and can lose part of their body weight. That decreases their ability to ward off fungus spores in the water, he said.

Third, the fungus spreads more quickly when fish are packed in close proximity to each other, Frazer said.

Finally, fish were subjected to nitrogen supersaturation in the water this past summer, Ruggles said. Gates in the Afterbay Dam designed to prevent the phenomenon were under construction. The resulting gas-bubble disease causes blisters and lesions on the fish, which stresses them and exposes them to fungus.

The fungus apparently is attacking larger, older brown trout. Ruggles said. Rainbow trout, which do not spawn until spring, are not affected by the current outbreak.

The fungus should run its course in the next few weeks, leaving slightly fewer – but much healthier – fish in the river, he said.

The fungus poses no danger to people.

Fishermen also can help by limiting the amount of time they handle fish before releasing them, Ruggles said.

While the fungus is present in most Montana waters, anglers and boaters still need to be careful not to inadvertently carry microscopic spores between streams and lakes. FWP recommends that all anglers inspect, clean and dry their boats and equipment every time they leave a lake or stream to prevent the spread of invasive species and diseases.

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BILLINGS — Seven hunter education classes and a field day for adult online students are set for February and March in Yellowstone County.

Anyone born after Jan. 1, 1985, must take a hunter education class to qualify for a Montana hunting license. Those people also must complete the class before they can apply for special elk permits. The deadline for those applications is March 15, so students planning to apply for special elk permits should enroll in a class that concludes before March 15.

Students may pre-register online by visiting the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks website at http://fwp.mt.gov and following the links to “education” and “hunter education.”

Here is the schedule of 2013 winter classes in Yellowstone County:

Laurel High School

Feb. 19, 2013 – 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. – registration

Feb. 25 – March 1 – 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. – class

March 2 – field day – Yellowstone Bowman’s Archery Club Range

Lewis and Clark – chorus or auditorium

March 11, 2013 – 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. – registration

March 18-22 – 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. – class

March 23 – field day, Lake Elmo State Park

Will James – cafeteria and adjoining classrooms

Feb. 25, 2013 – 7 p.m. – 8 p.m. – registration

March 4-9 – 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. – class

March 10 – field day, Lake Elmo State Park

Lockwood

March 4, 2013 – 6:30 – 8 p.m. – registration – Commons

March 11-15 – 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. – class

March 16 – field day, Lake Elmo State Park

Shepherd – middle school gym

Feb. 25, 2013 – 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. – registration

March 4-9 – 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. – class

March 10 – field day, Lake Elmo State Park

Riverside – cafeteria, chorus or auditorium

March 11, 2013 – 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. – registration

March 18-22 – 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. – class

March 23 – field day, Lake Elmo State Park

Castle Rock – cafeteria and adjoining classrooms

March 4, 2013 – 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. – registration

March 11-15 – 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. – class

March 16 – field day, Lake Elmo State Park

Students younger than 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian to register. There is no maximum age and adult hunters, including parents, are encouraged to take the class and earn hunter education certification.

The classes teach Montanans to be safe, responsible and ethical hunters. The free classes are taught by certified volunteers and include a registration/orientation night, a full week of classes and a hands-on field day.Students must attend the registration night for orientation and to pick up class materials. Students must attend all sessions, pass the class and successfully complete field day activities to be certified.

Students older than 18 years old may take the class online and complete a special hands-on field day. To complete the class, go to http://fwp.mt.gov and follow the “education” and “hunter education” links. The field day for online students is set for 10 a.m. Saturday, March 2, at the Yellowstone Bowman’s Archery Club range west of Laurel. Students who complete the online class will be directed to registration information for the field exercise.

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BILLINGS — Every winter a few well-meaning Montanans put food in their yards supposedly to help wildlife through the cold and snow or because they like to watch the animals. In many instances, they may be violating state law.

Under Montana law, a person may not provide supplemental feed that attracts ungulates, bears or mountain lions. Nor may Montanans provide wildlife with feed that unnaturally concentrates game animals and could contribute to disease transmission or a threat to public safety.

Ungulates are animals that have a two-part hoof. In Montana wild ungulates include antelope, deer, elk, moose, bison, bighorn sheep and mountain goats.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks game warden Kevin Holland said unnatural concentrations of wildlife, attracted to supplemental feed, inadvertently can contribute to the spread of disease or attract mountain lions and other predators to neighborhoods.

Though recreational feeding of birds is allowed under Montana law, game wardens may ask people to stop feeding birds if their birdfeeders attract ungulates or bears, Holland said. If a problem persists, the owner of a birdfeeder may be charged with a violation.

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BILLINGS — Opening weekend hunter numbers at three of south central Montana’s four check stations were substantially below normal this past weekend. Only the Big Timber check station recorded more hunters than last year during the first weekend of the general big game season.

Hunter success was better than last year, however, with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologists at Columbus, Lavina and Laurel counting a higher percentage of hunters with game than in 2011.

At Laurel, 156 hunters stopped at the FWP check station – the lowest number for opening weekend in the past 10 years. The percentage of hunter with game was up, however, to 31.4 percent from 21.6 percent in 2011.

FWP wildlife research specialist Jay Watson said hunter numbers were higher on Saturday than Sunday, but the harvest totals were similar for both days. Warm weather on Saturday changed to windy, then cool and cloudy conditions by Sunday.

White-tailed deer checked at Laurel were split evenly between bucks and does while 86 percent of the mule deer were bucks.

At the Big Timber check station, FWP wildlife biologist Justin Paugh reported 17 harvested elk – the most ever seen during opening weekend. And, while twice as many antelope were checked as the same weekend last year – 26 – hunters reported seeing fewer animals than they ever remember.

Overall, 38 percent of hunters who stopped at Big Timber had harvested game – a number identical to last year.

The number of white-tailed deer checked was up slightly from a year ago while mule deer numbers were down slightly. In the Big Timber district, Paugh said, deer seemed to be concentrated around irrigated agricultural land, taking advantage of what little green vegetation was available.

At Columbus, FWP wildlife biologist Shawn Stewart said hunter numbers were the lowest since 2006, when the season opened on a Sunday and statistics were gathered for only one day.  Despite favorable weather, only 84 people checked in at Columbus on Saturday. That was the fewest first-day hunters since FWP started keeping records in 1977.

The percentage of hunters with game was well ahead of last year – 45 percent compared to 40 percent in 2011—Stewart said.

Checked white-tailed deer were up – 38 compared to 28 in 2011 – while the mule deer harvest was down from 36 last year to 24 this past weekend. The mule deer harvest number was expected since most of the Beartooth Face is closed to mule deer does this year.

The elk harvest was identical to 2011’s record-high of nine, Stewart said.

At Lavina, FWP wildlife biologist Ashley Beyer reported that 396 hunter stopped during the weekend – which is well below last year’s 458 people and below the average counted since Montana started a Saturday opening two years ago. The percentage of hunters taking home game remained about the same as last year, however, with one in five people harvesting an animal.

While the 18 white-tailed deer harvested was more last year’s record-low 10 animals, it still ranks as among the smallest on record.

The number of elk checked at Lavina – 20 – was a little more than half of last year’s 36 animals, but still 93 percent above the long-term average for the opening weekend of the season.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks operates check stations throughout the antelope and general big game seasons to gather biological information about the state’s herds and hunting conditions. Game wardens also check some hunters at the stations for compliance with state laws.

All hunters are required to stop at any check station they pass either on the way to or the way home from the field, whether or not they have harvested game.

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BILLINGS — The numbers of both hunters and antelope brought to check stations in south central Montana were lower than in past years for the opening weekend of the season.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologists staffed biological check stations at Big Timber, Broadview and Billings this past Saturday and Sunday. While they checked a few elk and deer harvested by archers, the stations were intended to gather information about pronghorn antelope taken during the first weekend of the general rifle season.

At Broadview, FWP wildlife biologist Ashley Beyer talked with 199 hunters who had harvested 54 antelope. That was down from 204 hunters with 89 antelope in 2011.

At Big Timber, FWP wildlife biologist Justin Paugh checked 324 hunters who had harvested 165 antelope. Last year 343 hunters with 221 antelope stopped at the same station during opening weekend.

At Billings, FWP wildlife research specialist Jay Watson checked 114 hunters with 45 antelope. During opening weekend in 2011, Watson checked 163 hunters with 46 antelope.

Since 2012, FWP has operated its check stations both Saturday and Sunday on opening weekend. Before that, the season opened on a Sunday and the check stations were in operation for only one day. Therefore, this year’s statistics are not directly comparable to long-term averages.

Hunters at all three check stations reported muddy roads Saturday after the first significant precipitation of the summer. But sunshine and wind dried the roads and created near ideal hunting conditions for Sunday.

Beyer attributed the low number of hunters and harvested animals to fewer antelope and fewer permits in the hunting districts surrounding Broadview. The opening-weekend checked harvest was the smallest since at least 1991. “It was apparent that the die-off associated with the blue tongue outbreak of 2007 and low fawn-doe ratios for the past five years will affect antelope numbers for several years to come,” she said.

Of the antelope counted at Broadview, 78 percent were bucks at least 1.5 years old – up from a long-term average of 61 percent. The remaining 22 percent were fawns and does.

At Billings, only 51 percent of the hunters who stopped at the check station were after antelope. The rest had been hunting birds or deer and elk with a bow.

Of the antelope checked at Billings, 56 percent were at least four years old and all but seven were bucks. No fawns and only 5 yearling antelope were checked.

Bird hunters who stopped at Billings reported seeing more game in the field than last year in most areas, Watson said.

At Big Timber, hunters reported seeing below-average numbers of antelope and many reported difficulty finding access to hunting areas. That emphasizes the importance of contacting landowners before applying for licenses, Paugh said.

Two-thirds of the antelope checked at Big Timber were bucks at least 1.5 years old while the remaining third were does and fawns, Paugh said.

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