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Bighorn Hunting Shutdown For Montana District 622 After Emergency Meeting
If you were hoping to go hunting bighorn sheep in Montana District 622, that’s not going to happen this year, and maybe not anytime soon. The state’s fish-and-game authorities have shut down bighorn hunting in that game management region after an emergency meeting at the end of March.
According to a social media post, the shutdown came due to surprisingly low numbers of sheep in the area:
The closure was proposed by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks after biologists conducting a spring survey last week only counted five sheep. One ram died while the biologists were conducting the survey. The ram is undergoing a necropsy at the wildlife health lab in Bozeman.
Montana’s fish-and-game authorities say this region has seen a decline in bighorn sheep population over the past couple of years, as noted by both biologists and hunters alike.
In the past, biologists counted 100-300 bighorn sheep in surveys of this area. With numbers declining so drastically in past years, Montana FWP said “The population seems to have diminished to the point where it is unreasonable to issue the one either-sex and one adult ewe licenses authorized.”
Tag numbers had already been reduced in 2024 from previous years’ numbers, and according to local news reports and hunting blogs, the decline has been noticeable for some time. While harvesting always plays a part in game population numbers, it seems that sickness was the cause of declining numbers in this case.
Montana FWP director Christy Clark says that “Hunters and landowners alike expect us to respond immediately when we see situations like this within our wildlife herds.
“Our staff is working hard to investigate the situation so we can determine how to best move forward.”
Montana’s application window for bighorn sheep permits closes on May 1. Already, 2,000 hunters have applied to hunt bighorns in HD 622. The state’s wildlife management authorities will contact them and offer either a refund, or a chance to apply in another area.
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