Qame. PiaU&ntl, yeAtendcuf, and ^lodcuf, 



Montana has a wildlife heritage which has 

 few duplications anywhere else in the world. 



We must depend upon the journals and 

 diaries of early explorers for a picture of condi- 

 tions as they existed in the early eighteen hun- 

 dreds. It is almost impossible for us to visualize 

 the abundance and variety of game that inhab- 

 ited the plains and river bottoms of eastern and 

 central Montana. These included vast herds of 

 buffola, elk, deer, and antelope. Mountain sheep, 

 an animal that we now associate with the craigs 

 of the mountain ranges, were reported as plenti- 

 ful in the breaks along the Missouri river and its 

 tributaries. Even the grizzly bear was encoun- 

 tered as far east as the present boundary be- 

 tween Montana and North Dakota. 



This picture of vast abundance was changed 

 but little during the period of the explorer and 

 trapper. These men depended upon game, but 

 killed only what they needed for food and cloth- 

 ing. 



The gold strikes of the early 60's brought 

 in a flood of prospectors. Game within the prox- 

 imity of the mining camps became an important 

 source of food. Wholesale slaughter did not take 

 place, however, until the overthrow of Indian 

 tribes in eastern Montana following the Custer 

 Campaign in 1876. The slaughter of big game 

 animals that then took place holds a unique place 

 in the history of wildlife destruction. In 1880 the 



The American bison. The millions of yesterday ha 

 faded into the twilight of obscurity. 



northern buffalo herd was estimated at a million 

 head. In four years these animals were all but 

 exterminated, killed for their hides and tongues. 

 The other big game species were vastly depleted. 

 Remnants, however, managed to survive by 

 adapting themselves to the more severe climate 

 of the mountain ranges. 



By the turn of the century the wildlife re- 

 sources of Montana presented a sorry picture. 

 The buffalo had disappeared as a wild animal 

 many years before. A few scattered bands of elk 

 still remained in the high mountains. Deer were 

 rapidly diminishing in areas where they had for- 

 merly been abundant. Mountain sheep had for 

 the most part disappeared from the river breaks. 

 Antelope were reduced to but a fraction of their 

 former numbers, and the more valuable fur bear- 

 ers were becoming extremely rare. With the in- 

 creasing evidence of scarcity came the realiza- 

 tion that the wildlife resources of the state were 

 not inexhaustible. The first Board of Game and 

 Fish Commissioners was established by legisla- 

 tive enactment to take efect March 14, 1895. Sea- 

 sons and bag limits were set; they were, however, 

 extremely liberal. The big game season was from 

 September 1 to January 1, and the limit for each 

 hunter was eight deer, eight mountain sheep, 

 eight mountain goats, and eight antelope. The 

 upland bird season was from August 15 to Janu- 

 ary 1 with no limit on the number of grouse that 

 might be taken. The season on waterfowl ran 

 from August 15 to May 1, and also in this case 

 there was no limit to the number a hunter might 

 take. 



On April 1, 1901, the first state game warden, 

 W. F. Scott, was appointed and a fish and game 

 department organized. The law enforcement per- 

 sonnel was limited to eight deputy wardens. 



A great many problems have presented them- 

 selves since the pioneer days of the Department 

 almost half a century ago. Important industries 

 have developed. Ranching, farming, lumbering 

 and mining all play a significant role in the land 

 economy of the state today. Just where wildlife 

 fits into this complicated pattern is not always 

 easy to determine. It has become incr. 

 upparent, therefore, thai a fund oi accuj it 



