Montana is one of my favorite places. I hunted up in the northeastern part of the state before the oil boom, and I would love to return to the state and try out the areas around Great Falls and Big Timber.
When I get there, I hope they’ll still be places I can access and hunt. That’s why I’m urging everyone to sign this petition in support of Montana State HB 235. Public land access is big issue in every state. Let’s do all we can to make sure there’s plenty of it in Montana.
To give you a sense of what’s at stake, check out this great article about upland hunting in the state:
Flush with Birds: A look at Montana’s remarkably diverse upland bird populations. By Dave Carty. From Montana Outdoors, September–October 2008
“There’s a ranch west of Big Timber that I’ve hunted for nearly 15 years. I can usually count on my dogs finding one or two coveys of Hungarian partridge there during an afternoon hunt, but it’s not what I’d call a hotspot. Then, two years ago, something unexpected happened.
My buddy John and I arrived late in the day. After donning our hunting vests, we set out downhill toward a spot where a stream and two corners of a fence converge. For some reason, it was filled with Huns. For the next two hours, we put up one covey after another, maybe 80 or more birds in all. Never before had the hunting at that spot been so fantastic, and never since have I had a hunt there like it. My astonishment at finding so many birds in a place that I thought I knew stays with me still…”
Read the rest of this story here.
