Outdoor news
Forest breakfast chat
Flathead National Forest botanist Chantelle Delay will meet with the public to discuss invasive plants during the Flathead Forest’s regular breakfast meeting at the Perkins Restaurant in Evergreen on Friday, Sept., 20, at 7 a.m. For more information or to RSVP, contact Wade Muehlhof at ewmuehlhof@fs.fed.us or 758-5252.
Duck, geese seasons set
The Montana Fish and Wildlife commission recently set waterfowl hunting regulations, including split duck and goose seasons in the Pacific Flyway and a split goose season in the Central Flyway. In the Pacific Flyway, generally the western portion of Montana, season dates are Sept. 28-Jan. 5, 2014 and Jan. 10-14, 2014 for ducks, coots and geese. The season will be closed Jan. 6-9, 2014. In the Central Flyway, generally the eastern portion of Montana, season dates are Sept. 28-Jan. 2, 2014 for ducks and coots; and Sept. 28-Jan. 5, 2014 and Jan. 10-14, 2014 for geese. The season will be closed Jan. 6-9, 2014. The split seasons will allow one more weekend of hunting in exchange for four weekdays being closed. The season length must be within the federal framework. The special two-day Youth Waterfowl Season for those ages 12-15 and accompanied by a non-hunting adult at least 18 years old, will be Sept. 21-22. Bag limits will be similar to last season, with a couple of exceptions. Statewide, the canvasback daily bag limit will increase from one to two, and the scaup daily bag will drop to three. In the Pacific Flyway, the light goose daily bag increased from 10 to 20. Canada goose daily bag limits remain at four in the Pacific Flyway and five in the Central Flyway. Possession limits for ducks and geese will increase from two times the daily limit to three times the daily limit. Duck populations of most species remain good, with ducks 33 percent above the long-term average. Canada goose numbers remain strong. More details on the breeding waterfowl surveys can be found at http://www.flyways.us. Waterfowl regulations will soon be available on the FWP website at fwp.mt.gov. Printed regulations should be available the by the third week of September. Hunters need to check the regulations for the other species restrictions for ducks, as well as other details..
Flathead Forest trips
The Flathead National Forest will continue its public field trips as it works on the collaborative process of revising its forest plan. On Sept. 12 the topic is terrestrial and aquatic habitats, threatened and endangered species, species of conservation concern, and invasive species. The trips will begin and end at the Flathead County Fairgrounds with one additional pick-up/drop-off spot on the way to the area that is visited. The second pick-up/drop-off point for the Sept.12 trip is at the Swan Lake Campground just off of Highway 83 at 9:30 a.m. The trip from the Fairgrounds runs from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. On Sept. 26 a trip is planned on the Glacier View District to learn about inventoried roadless areas, recommended wilderness, and wild and scenic rivers.
Call 758-5252 or email Wade Muehlhof at ewmuehlhof@fs.fed.us to reserve a spot at least one day prior to the trip.