UMdijf* VOL. IV No. 3 Montana Fish and Game Department Official Publication Trophy Time Nationally and locally, sportsmen are becom- ing more aware of trophy animals and are interested in comparing their game heads or horns with those taken by others. In recognition of this interest, the Montana Fish and Game Department again extends a special invitation to Treasure State hunters to enter their trophy animals in its state-wide competition. '^\^ There is no restriction on the year in which the animal was killed as long as it has not been entered in a previous state contest. It is hoped that in this way, forgotten trophies will be brought to light. Winners in all classifications will receive a Trophy Award certificate and second and third place winners will receive honorable mentions. The Boone and Crockett Club, which sponsors national competition in heads and horns, has announced that there will be no national con- test this year. However, Montana hunters are urged to enter the state competition to determine the rank of their trophies and hold those of unusual size for the Boone and Crockett contest in 1955. As an added convenience to hunters, more personnel have been authorized to make official measurements this year. Those who are qual- ified to take official measurements are Don Brown in Lewistown; Faye Couey and Ken Thompson in Helena; Merle J. Rognrud in Mis- soula, Joe Gaab, Livingston, in addition to Dr. P. L. Wright at Montana State University and Kenneth Roahen with the U. S. Fish and Wild life Service in Billings. Official entry blanks for the state contest ma be obtained by writing: The Montana Fish and Game Department, Helena, Montana MONTANA FISH AND GAME DEPARTMENT IVpf}1;^ fc?\ Publication State of Montana J. Hugo Aronson, Governor MONTANA FISH AND GAME COMMISSION Walter Banka, Chairman William T. Sweet Manson H. Bailey, Jr. Ralph D. Shipley H. W. Black jffij^ A A. A. O'Claire, Secretary DIVISION DIRECTORS Walter J. Everin .Chief Deputy Walter M Allen Fisheries Superintendent Robert F. Cooney Wildlife Restoration W. Kenneth Thompson Information and Education Ovie N. Woolverton --Chief Clerk OuSl @ fe ^ One of the department's airplanes is equipped with fish planting tanks and can carry 5,000 small fish for planting in remote lakes. This method requires only a fraction of the time it would ordinarily take for pack horses to carry the fish into the back country in water tanks. The fish are dumped (water and all) from the airplane at about 300 feet. Losses from this method are considerably less than from the tedious pack trip and the fish do not seem to suffer from their "high dive." Rocky Mountain goats have been steady passengers, too. Eight new herds of goats have earned their wings and are now estab- lished in suitable habitat throughout the state. Populations of these as well as many other species of game animals which inhabit remote, often inaccessible places, are best determined by aerial photographs. Excellent footage for future movies is often obtained by the aerial photographer. Probably our most unusual job to date was completed last spring when the department needed a couple of horses in the South Fork of the Flathead to assist fisheries workers in transplanting spawn taken from native black spotted cutthroat trout. The horses were nec- essary to carry heavy tanks of eggs from the streams to a nearby landing field for further transportation to hatcheries. Access to the designated area over high, snow covered passes was impossible by pack string so the horses were anesthetized and flown in with no ill effects, although Uncle Tri-Motor com- plained of strained horsepower for a few days. All planes are equipped with a special type of ski which pilots can lower to land on snow or retract when wheels are necessary. .... So, you see, we airplanes are never idle for long. We have many characteristics that enable us to perform fish and game work with increased efficiency. It's beginning to look as though we have replaced the horse and buggy in conservation work. ♦e JUDITH ELK by Bob Cooney, Director Wildlife Restoration Division Located near the headwaters of the Judith River in the foothills of the Little Belt Mountains is one of Mon- tana's key game management areas which is known as the Judith River Game Range. Historically and biologically, this is an immensely interesting part of the state. It was here that Charley Russell, a kid with a yen for the West, spent his first years in Mon- tana. He lived in a log cabin on the 14 South Fork of the Judith with a trap- per and hunter named Jake Hoover. Here he learned about elk and deer and gained a background of natural history and pioneer living from which he drew material the rest of his life. Early Problems Land around the Judith River has always been game country with many of the problems inherent in the growing-up of the West. Game ani- mals wintering on the ranch lands along the foothills, livestock summer- ing with the game in the mountains, maintaining access areas for hunting and fishing over private land (all important to the economy of the community and the state) created problems in land utilization. Conflicts existed chiefly in the foot- hills where elk and deer, pushing out of the high country in the winter, used the haystacks and pastures needed for livestock in certain sec- tions. These were some of the intricate problems of dual land use in the Judith Country. Purchase of the Game Range It was in an effort to solve this com- plex problem that the Fish and Game Commission purchased approximate- ly four thousand acres of range located just outside the forest bound- ary near the confluence of Yogo Creek with the Middle Fork of the Judith River, known locally as Pig Eye Basin. This was an area long sought by game as winter range — a region of scattered timber and roll- ing grassland. Management of the Area Last winter, between six and seven hundred elk and several hundred deer used this range. Bert Goodman, manager of the area for the Fish and Game Depart- ment, spent much of his time drifting and herding game onto the range away from neighboring ranch lands. This was the first winter that the area has been fully effective. The program had taken twelve years to round out. A stock-proof fence was constructed about the boundary. Reseeding of grasslands, completed several years before, yielded a heavy stand of forage. It is expected that elk will drift more readily onto this area each suc- ceeding winter. They are quick to associate an abundance of forage and the lack of disturbance offered by such a winter range. An extended elk season south of the area, tried for the first time last year, aided materially in holding elk on the range reserved for their use. Elk Counts In order that necessary information could be gained regarding numbers of elk using the area, a careful an- nual count has been carried out. An airplane has been found useful and increasingly important in this work. Don Brown, pilot-biologist for the Department, has done much to de- velop the most effective methods of counting game from the air. It has been found that although the Little Belt elk mingle during the summer months, they separate into two dis- tinct groups in the winter. By far the largest number spend the winter months on or adjacent to Headquarters buildings for the Judith Game Range at Utica the Judith Game Range with a small group as far north as the Dry Wolf. The rest spend the winter on the Musselshell River drainage. The table below, based upon air and ground counts, shows the ratio of the two wintering groups and also indicates a reasonable stability in numbers as effected by recent hunt- ing seasons: AREA 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 Judith River Area 585 488 756 609 803 Musselshell Riv. Area 307 309 318 251 251 Little Belt Range Totals 892 797 1074 860 1054 It is now felt that the Little Belt Range would carry approximately one-thousand head of elk. This fig- ure is based upon the available range and other important land uses in the area. It can be seen that a kill amounting to approximately the an- nual increase of the herd would now hold it at this estimated carrying capacity. Tagging The size of the spring, summer and fall range affected directly by the acquired winter range tract rep- resents important information. With this in mind, nearly one- hundred elk were captured and tagged on the game range last winter. The recovery of tags by hunters will show where these elk were killed, thus yielding important factual information on the fall dis- tribution of elk that winter on the game range. The success of this pro- gram will depend upon the coopera- tion by sportsmen in turning in the tags. Elk Increase In summary the elk herd wintering in the Judith River drainage has in- creased materially since the original plant of 86 animals in the winter of 1927-28. With this increase, conflicts with livestock interests and heavy use of forest lands created a problem of management. The recent purchase of the Judith River Game Range, located in the heart of the wintering area, plus care- fully worked out hunting seasons, as well as herding activities, have gone a long way toward working out this problem and placing this important herd on a sustained yield basis in harmony with its environment. Sportsmen, ranchers and the Forest Service have worked carefully with the Fish and Game Department in bringing this about. Live-trapped elk await ear tagging before they are released on Judith Game Range. "I forgot to count the ridges and it was get- ting cold . . ." M0* m* Jm.f 'I found I -was crossing my own trail 'I wonder if an airplane can see my smoke" ^04t 'Zfuttt&l j& j& j& Anyone can get lost — even ex- perienced hunters. It does not require special talent to lose the way in un- familiar country. How do hunters get lost? What do they do when they are lost? What can be done to prevent be- coming lost — or what should hunters do if they find that they are lost? These and other questions are answered in a new film produced by George Smith of Film Originals, Inc. The movie titled "Lost Hunter" tells the story of how an experienced hunter and woodsman became con- fused while hunting in a new area with a friend. He discovers how, with only a few easily carried accessories and by using a little common sense, he could have spent a much more comfortable time in the forest and would have been found more quickly by the search and rescue party. As a precaution against the time when getting lost is no joke, all sportsmen should see this new sound and color movie. It is available for showings through the Montana Fish and Game Depart- ment for sportsmen's clubs, schools and other interested groups. 17 ANIMAL FAIR One of the outstanding features at many Montana fairs this summer was the Montana Fish and Game Department's annual exhibit of the state's wild- life species which attracted an estimated 200,000 people. It was the biggest display (more than 75 animals) to be shown since the exhibit was started. The last showing of the animals was in Missoula and other appearances included Shelby, Great Falls, Havre, Chinook, Terry, Baker, Miles City, Sid- ney, Glasgow, Kalispell, Hamilton and Deer Lodge. The main exhibit was transported from fair to fair in a 2V2 ton truck at night to avoid the excessive heat of the day which is detrimental to the animals. A daily diet of raw meat, canned pet food and an egg went to the meat- eaters, the birds were given wheat and poultry mix and the deer and antelope fawns consumed a dozen cans of condensed milk and some fresh leaves every day. Fair boards were required to furnish adequate pens and food wherever the animals were exhibited. Many of these housing facilities were constructed for permanency and will continue to show the exhibit year after year. Some of the animals will be held over the winter at privately-owned zoos, others were released in protected areas and those that could care for them- selves (the beaver, muskrats, turtles, snakes, etc.) were released in the wild. This big-eared fawn ■was one of five young mule deer in the exhibit. Two -white-tailed lawns and two young antelope were also shown. Most of the deer were confiscated from persons who ■were illegally possessing them. 18 This eager beaver found that he was not able to build a dam in his small tub of water, but he seems to be enjoying his lunch of fresh ■wil- lows and aspen. The beaver were also fed fresh vegetables. Mr. Raccoon makes short work of his favorite dish — a raw egg. Although these little bandits are not native to Montana, they have drifted into the Yellowstone Valley where they have become quite well established. The shaggy coat of a badger can be seen at the lower left. The fish exhibit was shown only in Great Falls and in Glasgow where tank facilities were available. The display included fish found locally in each area. The Glasgow showing featured sturgeon, catfish, bass and other species while the display at Great Falls included several spe- cies of trout, whitefish and chars. Children loved to watch the half-grown bear drinking soda pop, a commodity he consumed at the rate of two-and-one-half cases a day until the practice was discontinued for the bear's own welfare. Exhibit managers encouraged children to help them feed many of the animals. Here, a prairie dog gets his daily ration with an assist from a very interested friend. The Montana 'wildlife exhibit was a focal point, indoors and outdoors, at 14 state and county fairs. In the picture at left, a sleepy owl (upper right) looks down on the crowds which seem too pre- occupied to notice him. 19 by William R. Bergeson Upland Game Bird Biologist It will soon be turkey time again, the time to gather around the festive board to give thanks for many bless- ings. But for Fish and Game Department upland game biologists, turkey time has another meaning — the introduc- tion of wild turkeys into suitable Montana habitat. On November 13, department bi- ologists transplanted 13 'wild turkeys in the Lime Kiln area of the Judith Mountains northeast of Lewistown. Hunting of any kind will be strictly prohibited in this area and a pred- ator trapping program is being con- ducted to give the birds a chance to get started. The birds, eight hens and five toms, were transported nearly 1,300 miles from Colorado by the author and Robert Eng. The turkeys were placed in special crates, each of which held two turkeys in separate compartments. The trip required 40 hours of continuous travel, mak- ing it the longest trip ever made with captive wild turkeys. If all goes well, this plant may form the nucleus for further trans- plants in other suitable areas in Montana.