While the total population of big game animals is not impressive 

 considering the area of the state, it should be borne in mind that the 

 controlling factor is availability of suitable habitat. It is doubtful if 

 the elk population can be greatly increased except in a few areas vi'ith- 

 out conflicting with existing land uses. There perhaps is room for a 

 large increase in many areas for deer, antelope, mountain sheep, moun- 

 tain goats and grizzly bear. The antelope offers a promising future 

 for Montana sportsmen and has responded well to management. 



Game Birds. Native upland game bird populations fluctuate in cycles 

 from causes of which at present we know little. The seasons and bag 

 limits have been regulated according to the period within these cycles. 

 Open seasons were provided during the past biennium on Blue Grouse, 

 Ruffed Grouse, Franklin Grouse and Sharptailed Grouse. Due to a low 

 in the Sage Hen cycle, no open season was provided during the 1945 

 season. Continued protection may help increase the Sage Hen popula- 

 tion to huntable proportions within a reasonable time. 



The Ring-neck Pheasant and Hungarian Partridge population has 

 been on the wane during the last few years. This decline became so 

 evident that the Fish and Game Commission reduced the length of the 

 season and bag limit in some areas in the state during the 1945 season. 

 Factors which have contributed to this decline in population are: un- 

 favorable weather during the rearing season, illegal kill of hens, re- 

 duced cover and an increase in predators during the corresponding 

 period. Limited open seasons and a reduction in the bag limit, together 

 with an expanded planting program from our game farms and a con- 

 certed effort to eradicate predatory birds and animals, will help bring 

 back the pheasant population so that an open season can be provided 

 each year in the future. 



Migratory bird regulations of the Federal Government are adopted 

 each year by the Commission. Montana was placed in the northern zone 

 during the 1944 and 1945 seasons. Local duck populations have re- 

 mained fairly constant; however, the northern flights upon which many 

 localities depend for duck shooting has been noticeably smaller during 

 the past two years. 



Game Fish. Because of favorable natural spawning conditions in 

 many waters and supplemental planting from the hatcheries, the greater 

 portion of our lakes and streams have been kept fairly productive of 

 game fish. However, the inci'eased fishing pressure on the most ac- 

 cessible lakes and streams has resulted in an overall reduction in game 

 fish populations. 



The lack of fishing pressure in most streams, lakes and reservoirs 

 supporting warm-water species is one problem in the management of 

 such waters, because of the tendency of warm-water species to over 

 populate and subsequently dwarf due to competition for available food. 

 The opposite is true of trout streams and lakes. Increased fishing 

 pressure has created a problem to keep the most accessible waters pro- 

 ductive of game fish. 



Thus it is evident that separate management practices are necessary 

 to keep waters productive according to the species of fish a par- 



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