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Antler Hunters Should Note Noon Opening on Wildlife Management Areas

Antler Hunters Should Note Noon Opening on Wildlife Management Areas

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks

MALTA, Mont. --(Ammoland.com)- Antler hunters planning to head to west-central Montana Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) on opening day this spring should note a new opening time of noon.

There are three wildlife management areas in west-central Montana that are antler-hunting destinations with regularly scheduled openings on May 15: Blackfoot-Clearwater near Seeley Lake, Threemile in the Bitterroot Valley and Spotted Dog near Garrison.

Some of these WMAs have traditionally opened at midnight on May 15, but the FWP Commission recently enacted regulations that require all Montana WMAs with winter closures to reopen at noon to help with consistency and public safety.

Dave Dziak, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Region 2 WMA manager, noted that even after these areas open, some roads are likely to remain closed until muddy road conditions improve.

Some Montana WMAs are open year-round, but many are closed during the winter months to protect wildlife from disturbance on their winter range. In addition to these three antler-hunting destinations, several other wildlife management areas in west-central Montana and many others across the state do not open until noon on May 15.

Please check with your local FWP office or FWP’s website at fwp.mt.gov and look under “Habitat” and then “Wildlife Management Areas” for specific opening dates.

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2011 Shed Antler Gathering Course

You must complete a free online course before gathering shed antlers in Utah. Photo by Brent Stettler

Utah Division of Natural Resources

Utah --(Ammoland.com)- Late winter and early spring is the worst time of the year for elk, moose and especially deer in Utah.

Deep snow makes it harder for deer to move and find food in the winter. And cold temperatures sap the deers’ strength. By the time winter ends, deer are usually the weakest they’ll be all year.

Winter is also the time of year when male deer, elk and moose shed their antlers. The animals will be without antlers until this spring, when they’ll start to grow a new set.

Gathering shed antlers
Gathering antlers that drop off the heads of deer, elk and moose is an activity that’s grown in popularity across the country, including here in Utah.

The challenge with shed-antler gathering is that it happens during the worst time of the year for the animals and the habitat they rely on in the winter.

“By the time winter ends, the animals are stressed,” says Mike Fowlks, Law Enforcement Section chief for the Division of Wildlife Resources.

“The habitat they rely on in the winter is also wet,” he says. “It’s easily damaged. Once the habitat is damaged, it can take years for it to recover.”

Fortunately, Fowlks says you can have fun gathering shed antlers without stressing the animals and damaging their habitat.

“A free course that’s available at our website will show you how,” he says.

Fowlks says you must complete the DWR’s Antler Gathering Ethics course if you want to gather shed antlers in Utah between Feb. 1 and April 15, 2011.

Free course
The free course is available at wildlife.utah.gov/shedantler. After you finish the course, make sure you print a certificate that shows you’ve completed the course.

“And make sure you carry your certificate with you,” Fowlks says. “By law, you must have your certificate with you while you’re gathering shed antlers.”

If you have young children, and you’ve completed the course, your children don’t need to complete it. As long as you’ve completed the course, your certificate will cover your kids too.

Fowlks says if you complete the course, you can gather antlers across Utah.

“Please remember, though, that many of the state’s wildlife management areas are closed in the spring and the winter to protect wildlife,” he says.

You must complete the course if you want to gather shed antlers between Feb. 1 and April 15. If you wait until April 15 or later to gather antlers, you don’t need to complete the course.

For more information, call the nearest Division of Wildlife Resources office or the DWR’s Salt Lake City office at 801-538-4700.

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