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.

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.

Shed Antler Collecting Season Still Closed

Wyoming Game & Fish Department

GREEN RIVER, WY --(AmmoLand.com)- After some Wyoming shed antler gatherers were recently arrested in Pinedale, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department is reminding people that the season to collect shed antlers or horns is closed.

Following a series of public meetings held in November 2009, the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission enacted a regulation to establish a season for the collection of shed antlers and horns on public lands west of the Continental Divide.

Under the regulation, shed antler gathering is prohibited on most public lands west of the Continental Divide between Jan. 1 and Apr. 30. Public lands in the Great Divide Basin are excluded from the regulation. Public lands include federal lands and lands owned or administered by the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission. The regulation will not affect most winter ranges in Teton County which are already off limits to antler gathering from December through April.

The purpose of the regulation is to minimize harassment or disturbance to big game animals on their winter and spring ranges when animals are most vulnerable to stress, and potentially displace them to less productive habitats. Colorado and Utah already have similar regulations.

Game warden Neil Hymas says that most shed antler gatherers have adhered to the new regulation, and he is pleased to say that the amount of wildlife harassment this winter has been much lower than in previous winters.

“We have investigated a few reports of people ignoring the new regulation and sneaking onto public lands to pick up shed antlers,” Hymas said.

“These violators are cheating legal sportsmen out of an opportunity to pick up shed antlers when the season does open on May 1. Violators that are apprehended will be subject to strict penalties. Most people realize how stressful winter and human disturbance is on our local game herds. We are looking forward to working with legal antler hunters to discourage violations of the new regulation.”

The regulation was developed after legislation (W.S. 23-1-302) passed in 2009 giving the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission authority to regulate and control the collection of shed antlers and horns of big game animals, west of the Continental Divide.

Anyone with information on illegal shed antler or horn collection, or any wildlife violation, can call and report the violation to the Stop Poaching Hotline at 1-877-WGFD-TIP. Violations may also be reported on-line at /wildlife/enforcement/stoppoaching/submitTip.aspx (contact: Lucy Diggins (307) 875-3223)

Sportsman Channel

New Berlin, Wis. —-(AmmoLand.com)- Ever bagged your perfect whitetail only to struggle with how to remove the antlers in the field – or even at home? The boiling, the mess, the smell! Sportsman Channel is here to help with Mountain Mike’s Reproductions “Skull Master” mounting kit.

This is the perfect kit to help you mount your trophy in a fast, easy manner. Sportsman Channel is giving away one, universal reproduction European skull kit every week for the next eight weeks.

All of Mountain Mike’s kits utilize the latest digitizing techniques and injection-mold-making processes to create a truly universal reproduction European skull and plate. The “Skull Master” kit is perfect for harvested and naturally shed whitetail and mule deer antlers of any diameter. The kit includes medium and large interchangeable antler mounting top sections, antler mounting screws and an instructional DVD.

Enter to win this incredible package starting now for the next eight weeks exclusively online at www.thesportsmanchannel.com

About Sportsman Channel:
Launched in 2003, Sportsman Channel is the only television and digital company fully devoted to the more than 82 million sportsmen in the United States, delivering the most educational and entertaining hunting, shooting and fishing programming. Acquired by InterMedia Outdoors Holdings in 2006, Sportsman Channel is now a part of the nation’s largest multimedia company targeted exclusively to serving the information and entertainment needs of outdoors enthusiasts. For more information, visit www.thesportsmanchannel.com.

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

OLYMPIA, WA - -(AmmoLand.com)- The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has raised $15,032 for winter elk feeding at its first auction of shed elk antlers at the Oak Creek Wildlife Area in Yakima County.

About 1,275 pounds of antlers were sold at the May 2 auction, attended by about 150 people. Most of the shed antlers were picked up by WDFW staff and volunteers from the Oak Creek winter feeding stations over the last several years; some came from other areas of the state. The highest single sale of $550 was made on a set of eight-point elk antlers from the Hanford area.

The auction was conducted with the help of WDFW staff, Wildlife Education Corps volunteers and a professional auctioneer from Tieton.

John McGowan, WDFW Oak Creek manager, said the funds raised will cover about 18 percent of the hay cost for an average, 80-day, winter elk feeding season.

About 3,500 to 4,000 elk are fed each winter at several sites on the 47,200-acre wildlife area. Oak Creek was originally purchased in 1943 to provide a home for the growing Yakima elk herd seeking food in nearby agricultural areas. Winter feeding began about 1968 to keep elk on the public land and avoid damage complaints and payments.

More than 100,000 visitors to Oak Creek view the elk at the headquarters feeding site each winter.

WDFW may conduct more antler auctions at 3-to-5-year intervals as more shed antlers are collected from winter feeding sites.

About:
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is dedicated to preserving, protecting and perpetuating the state’s fish and wildlife resources. The department operates under a dual mandate from the Washington Legislature to:

* Protect and enhance fish and wildlife and their habitats.
* Provide sustainable, fish- and wildlife-related recreational and commercial opportunities.

Department policy is guided by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission composed of nine citizen members appointed by the Governor. Department operations are led by a Director and an Executive Management Team. The Director is appointed by the Fish and Wildlife Commission.

The department is headquartered in Olympia and operates six regional offices throughout the state.