Latest news with #MontanaFWP
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Yahoo
Miss Montana's 2025 Smith River floating lotto? Here's what to look for in 2026
If you've missed out on the opportunity to float in Montana's Smith River State Park this year, you're not the only one. The Smith River offers a unique floating experience as it stretches 59 miles of beautiful scenery through the Little Belt Mountains and is renowned for its fishing. Floaters can spend up to four nights on and along the river at designated camp sites from the launch point at Camp Baker north of White Sulphur Springs to the takeout point at Eden Bridge near Ulm. The float is in such high demand that a lottery system has been in place since 1990, and roughly 10 percent of applicants receive a permit. While you still may need a bit of luck, here's what you can do to maximize your chances for getting river-ready in central Montana next summer. To enter the Smith River floating lottery, you need to go online to the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks website at starting on Jan. 2. A non-refundable fee of $10 puts each applicant in the lottery and applications are available through Feb. 15. The lottery will be held shortly after the closing of applications, and winners will be notified by email. Results will also be posted at Those who draw permits are assigned a floating date and will be contacted by phone two days before the launch date. On top of the regular lotto, FWP offers a Super Permit Lottery for the Smith River in which applicants can purchase as many entries as they wish for $5. The Super Permit allows one party per year to choose which date they wish to float during the season. The typical floating season for the Smith River runs from mid-April through mid-July, depending on conditions. River access does not get closed down due to low flow, according to FWP, although recommendations will be given as conditions change. Floating parties can be up to 15 people per permit. The cost per person is $25 for Montana residents 13 and older and $15 for children ages 6-12. The cost per non-Montana resident is $60. All children under the age of 6 are able to float at no cost. Those who don't draw permits in the lottery are able to hire designated outfitters for a float on the Smith River. Those who wish to hire a commercial outfitter are asked not to apply for a permit as the businesses are allocated a designated number of permits each year. Commercial outfitters allowed to provide services on the Smith River are designated by Montana State Parks and the U.S. Forest Service. The list of authorized outfitters is listed on FWP's website. It is illegal for outfitters or individuals not authorized by MSP and the forest service to provide commercial services on the Smith River. This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: Miss out on Montana's Smith River lottery? What to look for in 2026
CBS News
15-04-2025
- CBS News
Man shoots and kills charging grizzly bear in Montana, officials say
A man shot and killed a grizzly bear in Montana after the animal charged at him at close range, wildlife officials said Tuesday. The man was shed hunting — or searching for antlers naturally shed by deer, elk and other animals at this time of year — when he first saw the bear on a brushy hillside in north-Central Montana on Friday, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks said in a news release . Montana FWP said the animal was an adult female in good condition with "no history of conflict." The bear was about 13 years old and weighed around 250 pounds, the agency said. The bear had a yearling cub with her, the agency said. As the man was leaving the area, the adult bear charged at him at close range, the agency said. He shot and killed the animal, and was uninjured, officials said. The agency said no action will be taken regarding the yearling cub. Yearlings are young bears that are over a year old, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service . Last July, officials said a 72-year-old man shot and killed a female grizzly bear in Montana after it charged and attacked him while he was picking berried. Grizzly bear populations are becoming more dense and widespread in the state, Montana FWP said. The bear species is protected under the Endangered Species Act in most of the United States, but grizzly bears have reached recovery levels in some ecoystems, including the Northern Continental Divide and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystems. The larger number of bears increases the chances of human-grizzly interactions. It's better to avoid conflicts with the bears, the agency said, and people can take steps like traveling in groups, following food storage recommendations, and never feeding wildlife to avoid bear interactions. People who are more likely to encounter bears should carry bear spray and be prepared to use it immediately, Montana FWP said. If you do see a bear, never approach it and leave the area when it is safe to do so, the agency said
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Resolution seeks ‘fair treatment' of Flathead Lake recreation
Somers Beach State Park on Flathead Lake. (Provided by Montana FWP for the Daily Montanan) Senate President Matt Regier grew up learning to water ski on Flathead Lake — the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi — as did many of his constituents. 'I have friends that live there. Hopefully someday I can afford to live on it, too,' Regier told reporters during a press availability this week. 'But Flathead Lake is not just for the people around it. Tourism is a big draw for the Flathead Valley. And when you have a problem like we did two years ago with lake levels and not being able to put boats in, I mean, that's just the start of it.' Regier presented Joint Resolution 18 to the Senate Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday, which requests that water managers consider recreation to be as important as other priorities when making decisions about Flathead Lake. In late June 2023, water levels on Flathead Lake were historically low — nine inches below the lake's full-pool mark and a foot below the 23-year median, according to U.S. Geological Survey data — and causing problems for businesses and recreational users. Requests to raise the lake level, made to the inter-agency team that coordinates dams across the Columbia River Basin, were denied, as water managers had to balance multiple uses including flood control, wildlife management and irrigation — not just recreation. 'I needed to do something to stand up for my constituents, especially back home, (to show) how vital having water in Flathead Lake is,' Regier told reporters. 'I always speak for my constituents, but this is special to them.' Regier cited comments from Gov. Greg Gianforte made that year about the importance of the lake to the region's economic vitality — roughly $600 million is spent from anglers, boaters and other tourists in Flathead County alone, according to a University of Montana study. During a normal year, the dam-controlled lake fills up during the spring runoff by mid-June and tends to stay level throughout the summer months. In 2023, however, low snowpack and regional drought conditions prevented the lake from reaching full-pool levels. According to the University of Montana's Flathead Lake Biological Station — which operates from a campus on the east side of the lake — snowpack the previous winter was just 80% of the long-term average, and an unusually warm May led to a rapid meltout. Flathead Lake Biological Station Director Jim Elser said inflows from the main stem Flathead River, which is the primary source for the lake, was between 34% and 60% throughout the year. With so little water entering the lake, levels continued to drop, ultimately reaching a full two feet below full pool, which is 2,893. Low water levels affected boat and business owners around the lake, according to the Flathead Beacon, as many public and private boat access sites couldn't operate. Rental companies lost customers, too. Farmers upstream of the lake saw irrigation issues, as lake water often backs up the river to an elevation high enough to divert into sloughs, and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of crops were jeopardized. Efforts to address the problem ran up the ladder from county officials, to the governor and Montana's Congressional delegation. One avenue considered was a plan to release water from Hungry Horse Reservoir located upstream. Hungry Horse Dam, along with Se̓liš Ksanka Qĺispe̓ (SKQ) Dam, operated by Energy Keepers Inc., on behalf of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, are part of a network of 60 dams throughout the the Columbia River Basin. Many of the dams are operated by the Army Corps of Engineers or Bureau of Reclamation, but all of them are jointly coordinated to regulate flood control, energy generation, irrigation, streamflow for fish migration and recreation. An inter-agency Technical Management Team comprising representatives from four states, five federal agencies and six tribal nations, coordinates operations across the Columbia River Basin. A proposal by Gov. Greg Gianforte to fill Flathead Lake using water from Hungry Horse was considered, but ultimately found to be an inadequate solution, due to the risk of draining too much water from the reservoir during drought conditions. During the fall, water released from Hungry Horse augments the Flathead River to aid endangered Bull Trout. Many elected officials, including U.S. Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke lambasted the decision, accusing the Technical Management Team of prioritizing fish over people. Zinke later introduced legislation to Congress that would require Flathead Lake to be held at full-pool capacity through Labor Day each year, but the legislation never got out of committee. Regier said during the committee hearing on Wednesday that he had considered similar legislation 'with a lot more teeth than just a resolution' until he researched the intricacies involved in coordinating the water system of the Pacific Northwest. 'Once we started digging into that, there were a lot more players than I realized that were involved in water levels in Flathead Lake,' Regier said. The resolution put forward instead requests that 'all decision-making bodies with an influence on the usability of Flathead Lake ensure that recreation needs be measured fairly compared to hydropower, fish, and irrigation demands,' and also requests that Flathead Lake Recreation be 'expressly reflected' in the next iteration of the Columbia River Treaty. Negotiations to update the 61-year old treaty between the U.S. and Canada are currently paused due to President Donald Trump's threats to Canada's sovereignty. The committee did not take immediate action on Regier's resolution. Management of Flathead Lake primarily rests with Energy Keepers Inc, the company that operates SKQ Dam. Under the dam's federal license, the lake is dropped to its lowest level during the winter, and has specific flood-risk limitation on how quickly the water level can be brought up during the spring runoff. In a February news release, Energy Keepers said that streamflow conditions in the Flathead Basin were 'similar to 2023 and 2024' and the dam was being operated to increase the likelihood of meeting refill requirements. In both 2023 and 2024, the dam operators requested waivers from the Army Corps of Engineers to deviate from the normal process and begin filling the lake early in order to maximize capacity. The first water level benchmark to be released won't come until mid-April, and Energy Keepers has not updated its forecast for the lake since Feb. 2. Data from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service show that snowpack in northwest Montana is significantly better than in recent years. As of March 27, NRCS data indicated that snow water equivalent — the amount of moisture contained within the snowpack — across the Flathead Basin is at 96% of the 30-year median. Rain and snow are forecast during the next week in the area.
