A citizen-hosted blog focused on the outdoors.
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Do you love fishing the streams around Yellowstone, but hate the summertime crowds? If so, you won't want to miss this month's program from Flathead Valley Trout Unlimited. Well known fly fisher, fly tier, fishing guide and owner of North Fork Anglers in Cody, Wyoming Tim Wade will share some insider information on the 1,500 miles of lesser-known, but wildly productive fishing spots near the Park. If catching big fish and lots of 'em is your thing, you won't want to miss this one.
Our program will be presented at 7pm on Feb. 21, 2012 at the FWP meeting room, 490 N. Meridian in Kalispell, MT. Coffee and cookies will be served. We hope to see you all there.
Our program will be presented at 7pm on Feb. 21, 2012 at the FWP meeting room, 490 N. Meridian in Kalispell, MT. Coffee and cookies will be served. We hope to see you all there.
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| A bighorn ewe is transported by helicopter from Wild Horse Island to a staging area at Big Arm State Park last Thursday. - Photo courtesy Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. |
A total of 49 sheep captured on Wild Horse Island last week have been safely released in the Tendoy Mountains south of Dillon. The sheep from Wild Horse will bolster an existing herd of 40-50 sheep in the Tendoys.
The sheep capture began last Thursday, when 21 sheep were captured on Wild Horse Island, processed, and then hauled to the Tendoys. On Friday, 8 more sheep were captured and transported. The final 20 sheep were captured on the island on Saturday, and released in the Tendoys about 10 p.m. that night to complete the project. The 49 sheep transported included:
-- 40 ewes
-- 4 lambs (2 females, 2 males)
-- 5 rams (3 yearlings, a 2-year old, and a 3-year old)
According to FWP Biologist Bruce Sterling, workers caught a total of 50 sheep in the three days. Unfortunately, on Saturday, one 2-year old ram died on the island from a fractured neck while being netted.
Funding for this project, and other sheep augmentation and conservation projects, come from the annual auction of a single Montana bighorn ram hunting permit. This year the permit went for $300,000 at the Wild Sheep Foundation auction in Reno, Nevada.
The sheep capture began last Thursday, when 21 sheep were captured on Wild Horse Island, processed, and then hauled to the Tendoys. On Friday, 8 more sheep were captured and transported. The final 20 sheep were captured on the island on Saturday, and released in the Tendoys about 10 p.m. that night to complete the project. The 49 sheep transported included:
-- 40 ewes
-- 4 lambs (2 females, 2 males)
-- 5 rams (3 yearlings, a 2-year old, and a 3-year old)
According to FWP Biologist Bruce Sterling, workers caught a total of 50 sheep in the three days. Unfortunately, on Saturday, one 2-year old ram died on the island from a fractured neck while being netted.
Funding for this project, and other sheep augmentation and conservation projects, come from the annual auction of a single Montana bighorn ram hunting permit. This year the permit went for $300,000 at the Wild Sheep Foundation auction in Reno, Nevada.
Comments (0) TotalMontana Fish, Wildlife and Parks wants to alert all hunters to important updates to the 2012 preseason calendar, especially new deadline and drawing dates. The biggest change this year is the deadline for residents and nonresidents to apply for deer and elk permits – now March 15. This date was moved up to allow hunters more time to prepare for hunts. Drawings for those permits will now occur in mid-April as opposed to July.
IMPORTANT PRESEASON DATES FOR HUNTERS
February 16 -- FWP Commission addresses hunting districts with pending quotas
March 15 -- Deadline to apply for deer and elk permits (NEW)
March 15 -- 2012 Season regulations available (ONLINE)
Early April -- 2012 Deer/elk/antelope regulations available (PRINTED)
Mid April -- Drawing for deer and elk permits
May 1 -- Deadline to apply for moose, goat, sheep, and bison licenses
June 1 -- Deadline to apply for antlerless deer B, elk B, and antelope licenses
July 16 -- Drawing for antlerless deer B and antlerless elk B licenses
At the February 16 FWP Commission meeting, quotas will be finalized for hunting districts with pending quotas. It is important that hunters interested in applying for special deer and elk permits in districts with pending quotas wait until after February 16 to make their choices and submit applications.
The deadline to apply for moose, sheep, goat, and bison licenses remains May 1, while June 1 remains the deadline to apply for antlerless deer B and elk B licenses as well as antelope licenses.
FWP urges hunters to apply for licenses online. For more information, log onto fwp.mt.gov and click on “hunting.”
IMPORTANT PRESEASON DATES FOR HUNTERS
February 16 -- FWP Commission addresses hunting districts with pending quotas
March 15 -- Deadline to apply for deer and elk permits (NEW)
March 15 -- 2012 Season regulations available (ONLINE)
Early April -- 2012 Deer/elk/antelope regulations available (PRINTED)
Mid April -- Drawing for deer and elk permits
May 1 -- Deadline to apply for moose, goat, sheep, and bison licenses
June 1 -- Deadline to apply for antlerless deer B, elk B, and antelope licenses
July 16 -- Drawing for antlerless deer B and antlerless elk B licenses
At the February 16 FWP Commission meeting, quotas will be finalized for hunting districts with pending quotas. It is important that hunters interested in applying for special deer and elk permits in districts with pending quotas wait until after February 16 to make their choices and submit applications.
The deadline to apply for moose, sheep, goat, and bison licenses remains May 1, while June 1 remains the deadline to apply for antlerless deer B and elk B licenses as well as antelope licenses.
FWP urges hunters to apply for licenses online. For more information, log onto fwp.mt.gov and click on “hunting.”
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Don't forget to sign up for the Flathead Valley Trout Unlimited FREE fly tying classes. Classes will be held Mondays at 7pm at the Kalispell Middle School library. Class dates are Feb. 27, Mar. 5 ,12, 19, and April 2. We welcome all skill levels from beginner to intermediate tiers. This is your chance to hone your tying skills before fishing season or to learn a new and valuable pastime from some of the best fly tiers in the Flathead Valley. You can reserve your spot or get more information by calling Jim Johnson at 406-837-3210.
Also, don't forget to join FVTU at the all new Montana Sportsman's Expo at the Flathead County Fairground Mar. 30 to April 1. We will be demonstrating fly tying skills and casting and talking about local fishing and fisheries issues. We hope to see you there.
Also, don't forget to join FVTU at the all new Montana Sportsman's Expo at the Flathead County Fairground Mar. 30 to April 1. We will be demonstrating fly tying skills and casting and talking about local fishing and fisheries issues. We hope to see you there.
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| Bat with suspected white-nose syndrome in Pennsylvania. - photo courtesy Pennsylvania Game Commission |
There was a news story circulating around the Internet recently that caught my attention and it presents a startling piece of information.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists estimate that at least 5.7 million to 6.7 million bats have now died from white-nose syndrome, the agency announced on Jan. 17.
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is decimating bat populations across eastern North America, with mortality rates reaching up to 100 percent at many sites. First documented in New York in 2006, the disease has spread quickly into 16 states and four Canadian provinces.
Biologists expect the disease to continue to spread, and based off the current trend the disease appears to be spreading west, with recent discoveries in Oklahoma. Fortunately WNS has not been found in Montana yet, an agency spokesperson told me on Tuesday.
Here’s more from the agency’s release:
For more information, visit http://www.fws.gov/WhiteNoseSyndrome/
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists estimate that at least 5.7 million to 6.7 million bats have now died from white-nose syndrome, the agency announced on Jan. 17.
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is decimating bat populations across eastern North America, with mortality rates reaching up to 100 percent at many sites. First documented in New York in 2006, the disease has spread quickly into 16 states and four Canadian provinces.
Biologists expect the disease to continue to spread, and based off the current trend the disease appears to be spreading west, with recent discoveries in Oklahoma. Fortunately WNS has not been found in Montana yet, an agency spokesperson told me on Tuesday.
Here’s more from the agency’s release:
Bats with WNS exhibit unusual behavior during cold winter months, including flying outside during the day and clustering near the entrances of caves and mines where they hibernate. Bats have been found sick and dying in unprecedented numbers near these hibernacula.
“This startling new information illustrates the severity of the threat that white-nose syndrome poses for bats, as well as the scope of the problem facing our nation. Bats provide tremendous value to the U.S. economy as natural pest control for American farms and forests every year, while playing an essential role in helping to control insects that can spread disease to people,” said Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe.
Where is it now? White-nose syndrome has continued to spread rapidly. At the end of the 2010-2011 hibernating season, bats with WNS were confirmed in 16 states and four Canadian provinces: Connecticut, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, New Brunswick, Canada, Nova Scotia, Canada, Ontario, Canada, Quebec, Canada
The fungus that causes WNS, Geomyces destructans, has been confirmed in three additional states: Delaware, Missouri, Oklahoma
For more information, visit http://www.fws.gov/WhiteNoseSyndrome/
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| Photo courtesy U.S. Geological Survey |
The U.S. Geological Survey and University of Montana recently announced the findings from a "groundbreaking" study regarding climate change effects on nature. Here's the release below:
Climate change in the form of reduced snowfall in mountains is causing powerful and cascading shifts in mountainous plant and bird communities through the increased ability of elk to stay at high elevations over winter and consume plants, according to a groundbreaking study in the journal Nature Climate Change.
The U.S. Geological Survey and University of Montana study not only showed that the abundance of deciduous trees and their associated songbirds in mountainous Arizona have declined over the last 22 years as snowpack has declined, but it also experimentally demonstrated that declining snowfall indirectly affects plants and birds by enabling more winter browsing by elk.
Increased winter browsing by elk results in trickle-down ecological effects such as lowering the quality of habitat for songbirds.
The authors, USGS Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit scientist Thomas Martin and University of Montana scientist John Maron, mimicked the effects of more snow on limiting the ability of elk to browse on plants by excluding the animals from large, fenced areas. They compared bird and plant communities in these exclusion areas with nearby similar areas where elk had access, and found that, over the six years of the study, multi-decadal declines in plant and songbird populations were reversed in the areas where elk were prohibited from browsing.
"This study illustrates that profound impacts of climate change on ecosystems arise over a time span of but two decades through unexplored feedbacks," explained USGS director Marcia McNutt. "The significance lies in the fact that humans and our economy are at the end of the same chain of cascading consequences."
The study demonstrates a classic ecological cascade, added Martin. For example, he said, from an elk’s perspective, less snow means an increased ability to freely browse on woody plants in winter in areas where they would not be inclined to forage in previous times due to high snowpack. Increased overwinter browsing led to a decline in deciduous trees, which reduced the number of birds that chose the habitat and increased predation on nests of those birds that did choose the habitat.
"This study demonstrates that the indirect effects of climate on plant communities may be just as important as the effects of climate-change-induced mismatches between migrating birds and food abundance because plants, including trees, provide the habitat birds need to survive," Martin said.
The study, climate impacts on bird and plant communities from altered animal-plant interactions, was published online on Dec. 8 in the journal Nature Climate Change.
Climate change in the form of reduced snowfall in mountains is causing powerful and cascading shifts in mountainous plant and bird communities through the increased ability of elk to stay at high elevations over winter and consume plants, according to a groundbreaking study in the journal Nature Climate Change.
The U.S. Geological Survey and University of Montana study not only showed that the abundance of deciduous trees and their associated songbirds in mountainous Arizona have declined over the last 22 years as snowpack has declined, but it also experimentally demonstrated that declining snowfall indirectly affects plants and birds by enabling more winter browsing by elk.
Increased winter browsing by elk results in trickle-down ecological effects such as lowering the quality of habitat for songbirds.
The authors, USGS Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit scientist Thomas Martin and University of Montana scientist John Maron, mimicked the effects of more snow on limiting the ability of elk to browse on plants by excluding the animals from large, fenced areas. They compared bird and plant communities in these exclusion areas with nearby similar areas where elk had access, and found that, over the six years of the study, multi-decadal declines in plant and songbird populations were reversed in the areas where elk were prohibited from browsing.
"This study illustrates that profound impacts of climate change on ecosystems arise over a time span of but two decades through unexplored feedbacks," explained USGS director Marcia McNutt. "The significance lies in the fact that humans and our economy are at the end of the same chain of cascading consequences."
The study demonstrates a classic ecological cascade, added Martin. For example, he said, from an elk’s perspective, less snow means an increased ability to freely browse on woody plants in winter in areas where they would not be inclined to forage in previous times due to high snowpack. Increased overwinter browsing led to a decline in deciduous trees, which reduced the number of birds that chose the habitat and increased predation on nests of those birds that did choose the habitat.
"This study demonstrates that the indirect effects of climate on plant communities may be just as important as the effects of climate-change-induced mismatches between migrating birds and food abundance because plants, including trees, provide the habitat birds need to survive," Martin said.
The study, climate impacts on bird and plant communities from altered animal-plant interactions, was published online on Dec. 8 in the journal Nature Climate Change.
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It's time once again for the Flathead Valley Trout Unlimited monthly meeting. Please join us on Tuesday, Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. as we follow long-time FVTU member and world traveler, "TIger Fish Tim" Joern as he chases large bonefish in Venezuela, gorgeous golden dorado in Argentina and toothy tiger fish in Tanzania. Come see some exciting and amazing fish pictures and hear some great, and mostly true, fish stories.
Our meetings are held on the third Tuesday of each month at Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks headquarters at 490 North Meridian Road in Kalispell, Montana. For more information about FVTU and our mission to conserve, protect and restore coldwater fish in Northwest Montana, please visit our website at http://www.flatheadtu.org
Our meetings are held on the third Tuesday of each month at Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks headquarters at 490 North Meridian Road in Kalispell, Montana. For more information about FVTU and our mission to conserve, protect and restore coldwater fish in Northwest Montana, please visit our website at http://www.flatheadtu.org
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Come One, Come All! It's time once again for the Gala Flathead Valley Trout Unlimited Christmas Social. We will be meeting on Dec. 20 at the FWP offices in Kalispell at 490 N. Meridian at 7pm. There will be appetizers, cookies, coffee and punch along with some great fellowship. You could win great door prizes or raffle prizes and see some impressive fly tying demonstrations. This is the social event of the Holiday Season and you don't want to miss it.
Also, don't forget that our annual FREE fly tying classes are coming up in February. Classes will be held for five weeks this year on Feb. 27, Mar. 5, 12, 19, and April 2. Classes are held at the Kalispell Middle School library at 7pm You can contact Master Tier Jim Johnson to sign up at 406-837-3210 or drop us a note at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). We have classes for beginning to intermediate tiers and everybody is guaranteed to learn a lot. Bring your own tying vice and equipment is you have it, otherwise we will provide equipment at the classes. This is your chance to hone your fly tying skills or to learn a new skill from some of the best fly tyers in the Flathead Valley. We hope to see you there.
Also, don't forget that our annual FREE fly tying classes are coming up in February. Classes will be held for five weeks this year on Feb. 27, Mar. 5, 12, 19, and April 2. Classes are held at the Kalispell Middle School library at 7pm You can contact Master Tier Jim Johnson to sign up at 406-837-3210 or drop us a note at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). We have classes for beginning to intermediate tiers and everybody is guaranteed to learn a lot. Bring your own tying vice and equipment is you have it, otherwise we will provide equipment at the classes. This is your chance to hone your fly tying skills or to learn a new skill from some of the best fly tyers in the Flathead Valley. We hope to see you there.
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waterman said: "It might mean that some just do not like successful people or accomplishments."
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