Outdoors: Epic winter took a toll on local game

For the foreseeable future anyway, winter is finally in Havre and Hi-Line's rearview mirror. But the effects of the record-breaking winter of 2017-18 are still being felt, and all of them are not known yet.

That holds especially true for the local wildlife population, especially deer and antelope.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Wildlife Biologist Scott Hemmer of the FWP's Havre office said that this past winter was a rough one for local deer and antelope populations, but the hard winter came on the heels of several mild winters and springs, so things could have certainly been worse.

"We did some deer surveys in April and May, and we're estimating the mule deer numbers could be down as much as 25 or 30 percent," Hemmer said. "We did see some pretty significant mortality from the winter in certain areas.

"But in terms of the deer population, especially mule deer, their numbers had been shooting up so rapidly the last few years, that the loss from this past winter actually brings it back down to normal. So looking ahead, hunters should see pretty good hunting, at least in terms of mule deer. A lot of that also depends on our fawn survival rate this year, and we don't know those numbers as of yet."

Hemmer says mule deer numbers in the Havre area, and around Region 6, had been on the rise due to several consecutive mild winters, many of which were followed by really good spring conditions. And those years, where mule deer numbers rose rapidly, will help balance out the effects this last harsh winter had on them.

However, he said, as is the case with almost every winter, the antelope numbers could be a much different story.

"I worry about the antelope the most," Hemmer said. "Every winter can be rough on their numbers, but in a lot of years, they're still able to migrate out to more mild areas, and places they can get through the winter. But in the case of this last winter, they likely weren't able to get out of the area as easily. We don't have any survey numbers on antelope in the area yet, but I have observed quite a few areas where the antelope were hit a lot harder by this winter."

Antelope surveys will be done in mid-July around Region 6, and more will be known on just how hard local herds were hit, and a better outlook for the 2018 hunting season will come into focus then.

However, as expected, deer and antelope weren't the only wildlife to be touched by the severity of what was deemed, the second-worst winter in Havre's history.

"We have seen some winter kill with some of our local fisheries," Hemmer said. "Mostly in the smaller ponds. And, so far, our upland game birds counts are down this year. They were kind of affected first by the drought we had last summer, and then the hard winter. We'll know more about that once we see what our chick survival rates are, but so far we're seeing numbers in our adult birds being down right now, so hunting might be a little harder this fall, as far as game birds go."

And it's not a surprise that local wildlife was indeed affected by what could only be described as a brutal winter. And, in turn, that those effects could be felt during the 2018 hunting season.

"You get a winter like that, and it's tough on the animals," Hemmer said. "Especially the deer and the antelope. So far, we've observed that our elk wintered pretty well. But they're big, strong animals, and at least on this side of the state, they seem to handle a winter like we just had pretty well. But around our region it was pretty tough winter on our game animals. I've had a lot of calls from hunters, and I've told them, so far, from what we've seen, mule deer should still be decent hunting next year in most areas, but antelope and birds, it could be a lot harder hunting based off what we've seen so far.

"But overall, this winter was a tough one," he continued. "And it has definitely had an impact on the game in our area."