State considering more B tags for whitetails in 2014-15

Hunters could see a few more opportunities to bag a deer in the next two years in Northwest Montana.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is considering offering a limited number of antlerless B tags in some hunting districts during the 2014-2015 season.

The quotas would vary by hunting district, ranging from 25 in HD109 to 300 in HD121, which is near the Noxon Reservoir. Many tags would only be valid on private land, excluding F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber Co. and Plum Creek lands.

Currently, most hunting districts only allow hunting for white-tailed bucks.

FWP will hold a public hearing on the proposals at the Red Lion Hotel in Kalispell on Saturday, Jan. 4. Other informational meetings are scheduled around Northwest Montana, but this will be the main hearing for collecting public comment from hunters across Region 1.

The meeting will include an open house from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., where FWP biologists and managers will be on hand to explain information on wildlife populations and proposed regulations. The actual hearing will begin at 10 a.m. Each member of the public who wishes to speak will have a time allotment for each set of tentative regulations.

Proposed regulations for Northwest Montana (Region 1) include:

• White-tailed deer — offer a limited number of antlerless B-licenses through a drawing. They would be valid only on private land in hunting districts 101, 102, 109, 110 and 120, excluding Plum Creek and Stoltze land. They would be valid district wide on all lands in hunting districts 121, 122 and 124.

• Bighorn sheep — no change except eliminate ewe licenses in HD123.

• Mountain lion — initiate a male subquota in most hunting districts.

• Turkey — allow two turkeys to be taken in the fall, one either sex and one hen.

For more information, visit online at www.fwp.mt.gov, click on “2013-2014 Hunting Proposals.”

Comments also can be submitted at local meetings or mailed  to FWP Wildlife Bureau, Attn: Public Comment, P.O. Box 200701, Helena MT 59620-0701.

The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission will adopt final regulations during its Feb. 13 meeting in Helena.