a slow continual degradation in both the quality of hunting and 

 in the numbers of game animals seen during the time spent in the 

 field. More and more areas each year are becoming treeless 

 wastelands incapable of sustaining wildlife, and allowing easy 

 ambush for any transient animal for all of the thousands of 

 roadhunters. As one hunter from Hamilton said that I met this 

 fall who had hunted hard on foot for 15 continuous days "I know 

 where every elk is in the Sapphire range from Hamilton to Sula - 

 all three of them". He complained about areas he had hunted all 

 of his life that are now huge clearcuts, and other favorite areas 

 extensively roaded. 



I see this US Forest Service policy as the primary reason for the 

 degradation of big game numbers in western Montana. Habitat has 

 always been the one principle factor that determined the overall 

 well being of any game species. Elk and deer have an ever 

 decreasing safe haven, consequently their numbers have been 

 severely limited. 



Elk and deer have been forced to choose to exist in really 

 laughable areas. For example, this past fall during hunting 

 season, there were 40 head of elk living within 2 minutes of 

 Lolo in amongst a recent subdivision. There is a covenent 

 against hunting there and the elk know it. The hundreds of 

 square miles of National Forest behind this subdivision contain 

 few elk. 



I feel that the Fish and Game Commission needs to have a more 

 effective role in evaluating timber sales and proposed road 

 programs with an eye toward minimizing the impact on big game 

 habitat. The early days of logging in this state (1900-1930) saw 

 only selective cutting with few roads. Now it seems the modern 

 Forest Service policy is to cut a road every hundred yards on a 

 hillside. This is ludicrous! We need permanent road closures 

 where the roads are made impassible after the timber has been 

 harvested. I applaud the helicopter logging. The days of money 

 losing timber sales must be stopped. Road closures need to be 

 more strictly enforced with a heavier penalty. Only the main 

 arteries into an area need be open with all other roads 

 permanently closed to vehicle traffic. Surely the untold 

 thousands of people who hunt and recreate in Montana deserve as 

 much a voice as the relatively few forest industry moguls . 



I have read of how the big game numbers in Montana are higher now 

 than in the past. This is nonsense, at least in western Montana. 

 Except for the populations of whitetail deer, empirical data I 

 have show all other huntable populations of mule deer and elk to 

 be much lower in number than in the 60's or 70's. I have lived 

 in this state too long to believe the headcounts coming from 

 Helena. I could list several areas where elk populations have 

 increased on or near private property, but these are not 

 accessible to the public. 



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