Elk Harvest During 2009 Season Up From Last Year, Below Five Year Average in Southwest Montana – MFWP
Friday, December 04, 2009
Headlines – Region 3
Harvest of elk and white-tailed deer during the 2009 general big game season in southwest Montana was up from 2008, but below the five-year average. Harvest of mule deer was lower than in 2008, as well as below the five-year average.
Overall eight percent of hunters checked game through the six check stations with 616 elk, 254 mule deer, and 110 white-tailed deer. About 12,319 hunters stopped at a check station.
In 2008, hunters checked 482 elk, 299 mule deer, and 87 white-tailed deer. About seven percent of 11,789 hunters who passed through a check station had game.
2009 season totals for hunter numbers and harvest of elk, mule deer, and white-tailed deer were down from the five-year average of 15,068 hunters, 732 elk, 435 mule deer, and 140 white-tailed deer. The percentage of hunters with was less than a percentage point below the five-year average of 8.7 percent.
