![]() Our goal is twofold: a) to pull together a citizen's proposal that outlines more equitable and sustainable elk management policies than currently exists and b) to advance legislation that seeks to solve contentious wildlife management issues rather than exacerbating them.īut we’re not going to do this alone. Based on these conversations, we aim to develop practical tools for elk management. Our commitment is to stay true to our values while working with individual producers and trade organizations to find the middle ground. That means our neighbors who farm and ranch and those who outfit and guide need to be a part of this conversation. Throughout 2022, we’ll be hearing from local Montanans about what they want to see reflected in Montana’s Elk Management Plan. The process is broken.Įlk management needs to return to the Montana way of doing things. Unfortunately, special interests are winning out over everyday Montanans when it comes to our collective management responsibilities. Over the past few years, we’ve seen politicians in Helena introduce bills that legalize transferable tags, defund wildlife management and habitat work, threaten public lands, reduce the ability of citizens to engage in the season-setting process, and weaken input from hunters while amplifying the power of political appointees. Politicians continue to think they know better than the Montanans who spend months hunting. While recent elk policy changes have been fast and furious, political interference in our wildlife management is nothing new. ![]() Fixing Montana’s elk distribution problem doesn’t fall to landowners, FWP, or hunters alone. Our predecessors intended wildlife management to be a shared responsibility among our citizens elk cannot be bought, owned, or sold by private interests. Meanwhile, let's not forget that our wildlife is publicly owned as guaranteed by Montana's constitution. According to FWP, some districts in Northwest Montana require more than 530 hunter days to harvest a single elk. Partly because of those dynamics, a Montana public land hunter has only a 13 % chance of putting a bull elk in the freezer. With more restrictions on public access, changing land ownership dynamics, and increased concentrations of elk on private land, Montana elk hunting is undergoing a radical shift. However, our traditions and opportunities are changing. “We’re happy, we’re healthy, at the end of the day you can replace stuff,” he said.For many Montanans, elk hunting isn’t just a hobby or a way of putting food on the table: it’s a part of our family traditions, heritage, and identity. Although he was mostly empty handed, he is grateful to get back to his wife and six kids and that everyone stayed safe on this hunting trip. Grenda was on his way back to Alaska Sunday. But at the end that meat is going to be gone and I want the memory on the wall… I can’t believe a coward would take that,” Grenda said. “You know, you can eat the elk and have elk meat and my kids are all going to enjoy it. His duffle bag has his name and phone number on it. ![]() Hindsight, probably should have done that,” he said.Ī police report has been filed and Grenda is hopeful people will keep a look out for his KUIU duffle bag full of a majority of his hunting gear and the elk rack. It’s like 90 pounds with the cape and you’re not going to take it through an elevator and upstairs into a motel room for three, four hours. Compare 52 hotels near Elk Mountain in Elk Mountain using 345 real guest reviews. “It crossed my mind, but I’m like, you don’t need to bring an elk rack inside. His brother-in-law was driving the bull back to Idaho and parted from the hunting group early, stopping at the C'Mon Inn Hotel & Suites for a couple hours of rest. I shot a huge Boone and Crockett moose this year, a Boone and Crockett big horn sheep, which is like most people’s pinnacle, but this elk was probably one of my most prized trophies,” he said.Īnd he's now left on the hunt, again, for his elk rack and an estimated $5,000 worth of stolen gear, including his brother-in-laws bow, after it was taken from his brother-in-law's truck sometime between 3 a.m.-5 a.m. He is now an experienced hunter and just wrapped up a two-week trip in central Montana, where he bagged a prized bull elk that would have been crown jewel in his collection of mounts. Grenda lives in King Salmon, Alaska, but is originally from Idaho and spent many years hunting in Montana. I was pretty happy," Grenda said Sunday, “woke up and it was like your worst nightmare, the elk rack was gone.” “Came down just for archery elk hunt and I ended up getting one. ![]() BILLINGS - Bringing home a 340 inch, six by seven bull elk may be many hunters dreams come true, but for Adam Grenda, it now feels like a bad dream after it was stolen out of a truck in a Billings hotel parking lot Saturday morning.
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