The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission approved the Bridger Special Chronic Wasting Disease Hunt at its regular monthly meeting Thursday.
The hunt will begin on Dec. 15 and go through Feb. 15. Licenses will go on sale Dec. 11. The goal of the hunt is to determine prevalence and distribution of chronic wasting disease within the hunt area.
Fish of Montana don’t go anywhere exotic in winter and don’t hibernate. Their behavior, however, may change with the seasonal changes in their habitat and food supply.
We tend to focus on, perhaps better understand, those animals we see. Think dogs and cats, deer, cattle and birds. Fish, however, are out of sight, out of mind, which is too bad because fish are cool.
A mule deer buck shot by a hunter Nov. 12 north of Chester on the Hi-Line near the Canadian border has tested positive for chronic wasting disease. The deer was taken in hunting district 401 in Liberty County.
The test results mark the fifth incident of CWD discovered in Montana wild deer this fall. The other four deer came from south of Billings.
Recent grizzly bear attacks involving hunters reinforces the importance of being bear aware in Montana, even with a thick layer of snow on the ground in most parts of the state.
Hunters should take every possible precaution when hunting in bear country.
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