Rumors about delaying bowseason
Montana
been hearing a few rumors and rumblings about delaying bowseason account the dry conditions,,have not heard anything official though, there are new fires starting every day and it is bone dry. not sure what will happen.
I remember when they did that a few years back, I think it was 99 or 2000 we lost about a week.
It was the 200 Season...the whole state was under Stage 3 Fire Conditions.
Pretty dry out there for sure.
In the west though our fires are not too bad.
Was at the FWP in Missoula yesterday, and there was no talk about a delay here.
Over east it may be a different kettle of fish.
Garo
I believe they (Forest Service) closed hunting on the Custer National Forest (Ashland area) due to the extreme fire conditions.
I drove down from Malta to Billings through the Breaks, yesterday, and it was 98 - 100 degrees and dry. I could see the new fire that broke out around the Winnett area (not the Delphia fire).
In 2000 FWP did NOT delay the season. The FS closed the forest.
To my knowledge, they have never closed or delayed a season in MT due to fire danger. I am not sure if it is even in their power to change season dates once the licenses and permits have been issued... Land managers (BLM, Forest Service, private landowners, etc) have sometimes reduced or closed off access to the lands, but the season opened as scheduled.
1988 FWP Commission closed the season, and I agree they did not have the authority to do so because of fire danger.
it is tinder dry and lots of fuel,
Thanks, creasy. I was not a bowhunter back then, so I didn't remember that one!
I think its the county commissioners who make the decision and that would be a county to county decision..
Governor Declares statewide fire emergency,
County has no authority on Federal land.
It may have been that 2000 season, I don't recall exactly, but it was an extreme drought year with many prairie fires and cattle sell-offs, and we saw LOTS of hay being trucked west as we drove out to the badlands in far western ND.
If I remember correctly, the county commissioners closed the season there the day we arrived from IN, but were overruled in that action by the state. The commissioners thought they had that authority, but I believe there was a quick ruling by a judge that set it aside and they rolled it back to a warning about extreme conditions and a ban on open campfires, etc.
They grumbled about in the news locally, but it stuck, st least for that season, much to our relief.
Woulda really sucked to take a week vacation and buy NR tags, and drive 1200 miles each way just to see the scenery. Still, that would have been a minor nuisance in comparison to the losses the local farms and ranches were suffering, even where they escaped without having a fire on their place.
Partner and I were both walk-in hunting and non-smokers and were very careful where we parked to make sure there was no vegetation near our exhaust system, and I stuck around at the truck about fifteen minutes before walking in a few times, just to be sure the exhaust was cooled down just in case if there was any grass that was even close to reaching it. We used only the propane campstove for meals, had no campfire, and took extra precautions wherever we could think of any.
I was sure glad to see the commissioners' ruling overturned, but I could understand their side of the issue, too. This wasn't just a fun week that they were at risk of losing, it was their livelihood and quite possibly some lives as well when some of the fires were being fought.
Counties can make decisions about fire restrictions in the county, and each stage of fire restrictions sets limitations on what can be done within the county ( campfires, open burning, etc). Counties don't decide if land is open or closed and they have no influence on opening hunting season...
I think there usually is a joint government agency fire board that meets, discusses and recommends to the various land managers.
So, I think the forest service puts staged fire regulations into place as does the BLM and so forth.
My feeling is we are OK this year -- we are only days from that typical autumnal storm that comes through anytime from now to the third week of September.
But,hey, what do I know? I have been so wrong, so many times before that I should just shut up...
My guess is the larger chance of shutdowns will be in the form of private landowners enrolled in block management not allowing access until conditions improve and probably resulting in a greater impact to birdhunters than bowhunters this weekend. If BLM and USFS were going to implement actual closures to access rather than fire restrictions, they would/should have done so by now.
The numbers here are certainly scary: 25% of normal precip around Helena in June, 50% in July and August. I too would love to believe that drought-ender is right around the corner, but...
I went to the forest service office in Bozeman today to ask about possible closures. Currently we have a few areas around bozeman that have closures due to fires burning in the area but I was told there was no plan to create more closures as a precaution. She said as long as it's open now and there is no fire burning in the area we should be fine. Pray for rain and be safe out there.
I do stand corrected, FWP did not close the 2000 seasons or delay them, but the public land managers shut off all access, USFS, BLM, DNRC, etc.
Plus the stage three restrictions made it unworkable on all but private land.
Garo
