Insanity has settled into the beautiful state of Montana where on any given Sunday you hear state game managers saying there is a need to kill and trap as many wolves as possible.............and then at the beginning of "work week Monday", you hear "we need more elk harvested".....................What in heavens name is in the water in Montana?.............Haas everyone just lost it???????????????????????????----Elk #'s are well above target goals across Montana and still we blast Wolves off the planet-------"Mother, I need a drink!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

George Wuerthner's acerbic
 commentary on Montana's 
Wolf hunt/trap policy in context 
to the fact that Elk populations
 are over objective 

"Elk are up and over objectives. It must be the result of wolves. They are responsible for everything with elk. We probably need to kill more wolves or pretty soon there will be too many elk everywhere." 

Elk numbers up in north-central Montana

CASEY RIFFE/Gazette.com

The elk population in north-central Montana is above objective, according to recently completed aerial surveys. Elk numbers in north-central Montana continue to rise, according to recent winter surveys by Fish, Wildlife and Parks wildlife biologists.

"The trend surveys completed so far show increasing numbers of elk in Region 4," said Graham Taylor, FWP regional wildlife manager.One reason so many animals were counted this year, Taylor said, was the counting conditions."In any year we are able to observe during the winter from 70 to 90 percent of the elk based on conditions such as ground cover, weather, flying time and airplane availability," Taylor said. "This year we were in the upper end of that scale."

For example, in the Highwood Mountains, elk hunting district 447, the local wildlife biologist observed 1,512 elk. FWP's objective for that district is 750.

Toward the southern end of the Rocky Mountain Front, in hunting districts 421 and 423, 976 elk were counted, while the objective is 500.

The trend was similar from the Sweetgrass Hills along the Canadian border to the Little Belt Mountains near Great Falls and the Snowies south of Lewistown.

For hunters that means elk are available where accessible.
To that end, FWP Region 4 has a liberal harvest package for hunters. Through most of the region, hunters are able to take two elk: one animal on a general elk A license and a second antlerless elk on a B license, which is valid on private and state land.
"We need more elk harvested," Taylor said.