OUTDOORS: Hunting season was an overall success in the Havre area

The final numbers on the 2018 general hunting season are in for the Havre area check station, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

The check station was open for eight weeks, from Oct. 6, which is the open of general antelope, through Nov. 25, which is the end of the deer/elk general season.

Overall, both hunter numbers and most big-game harvest increased from last year, with mule deer numbers being the highest in over 10 years.

Biologists gather a lot of valuable information and biological data on game animals brought through check stations, in addition to sampling for Chronic Wasting Disease this year.

The harvest data described here includes only animals that were brought through the Havre check station and is only a partial representation of the region-wide harvest.

Hunter numbers, 1,945, were up 8 percent from 2017, and 17 percent above the recent average.

"Hunter numbers and harvest were below average during the upland bird and antelope seasons," Havre-area biologist Scott Hemmer, who manages the station, said, "but they rebounded during the general big game season. Weather conditions this year were not a major obstacle to hunter participation or success."

Hunter success for big game was good, especially for mule deer.

"The most noteworthy statistic this year was the high number of mule deer checked," Hemmer said

Mule deer brought through the check station totaled 713 for the year, which was up 8 percent from last year, and 46 percent above the long-term average. The total mule deer harvest numbers were the highest seen since 2007, and the second most in over 20 years.

For the year, 142 white-tails were brought by the station, which is 19 percent higher than 2017, but still 10 percent below the long-term average.

"Hunters reported seeing increasing white-tailed deer numbers this year and enjoyed the opportunity to harvest a white-tailed doe with both the 1,000 regionwide 699-00 licenses, in addition to the unlimited single-region B tags," Hemmer said.

Antelope, whose general season ended Nov. 11, were 26 percent below 2017 and 78 percent below the long-term average. Just 63 antelope were brought by the check station this year.

"There were some minor reductions in antelope quotas this year that may have contributed to the lower antelope numbers, but hunter numbers were also down in districts where no quota changes occurred," said Hemmer.

For the year, 48 elk were brought by the check station, which is one elk above last year's number and 20 percent above the long-term average.

Upland bird harvest this year was down.

For the eight weeks that the check station was open, the pheasant harvest of 424 birds is below last year by 17 percent and the long-term average by 49 percent. Sharp-tailed grouse harvest of 47 birds was about half of last year's total, and well below the long-term average. Hungarian partridge harvest of 19 birds was well below last year's numbers and the long-term average.

"The lower upland bird numbers is likely due to the impact of drought conditions in the summer of 2017 along with the hard winter of 2017-18," said Hemmer. "Bird hunters focusing on good habitats were still getting into some birds, but most bird hunters reported that this was a tough year for upland bird hunting."

And while the numbers varied throughout the area, overall, and the fall was mostly warmer and drier than average, Hemmer said the general season appeared to be a successful one.

"Overall, it appeared to be a good season for hunters this year," Hemmer said. "We sure appreciate and enjoy visiting with the hunters that come by the check station, and it's great to see the smile on their face after a successful hunt."