Washington Hunters Were Under Fire

Folks in Malta took the opportunity to vent about the hunting season last week during a visit from the right wing Montana Talks radio show.

Apparently, out-of-state hunters — particularly those from Washington — killed what deer were left in Phillips County. This, after they trespassed, littered, and packed the parking lot at the local grocery store.

All the evidence was anecdotal which fits the show’s format. Actual facts and figures simply get in the way.

While host Aaron Flint and his guests railed against non-residents, the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, and American Prairie, a non-profit group reintroducing bison to the area, no one representing any of those entities was on the show.

It was interesting to note that the offending interlopers mentioned were all from out of state. Montanans, it was pointed out, seldom trespass or litter or violate game laws. And on a show with Montana in the name it was only appropriate to demonize hunters from another state, especially such a liberal one.

Before the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began its ongoing campaign to remove upland bird habitat from the Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge just outside Malta, folks from elsewhere used to flock there. Hunters were required to sign in at the headquarters.

For years the majority of entries in the log book were from the Flathead Valley. Washington was a close second, and Minnesotans were third.

In spite of all the hunters from elsewhere, the Bowdoin still offered fantastic public-land pheasant hunting. It wasn’t until the USFWS removed the cover that hunting declined along with the number of hunters.

Although it would have made sense to have a wildlife professional weigh in on the status of the deer population, targeting Washingtonians based on anecdotal evidence makes far better right-wing radio.

Conflicting views only muddy the water.

Parker Heinlein is at [email protected]