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must be approved by both the Montana House and Senate. The FWP Commission also reviews and 

 approves the agency's budget. 



Wildlife Resources 



Montana's wildlife includes more than 450 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. FWP 

 has statutory responsibility to regulate harvest of 55 wildlife species that are valued for meat, fur, or as 

 "trophies." Many of these species were almost lost in Montana as a result of unregulated exploitation 

 prior to and during settlement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 



Enforceable wildlife conservation began with the political and financial support from Montana's hunters 

 and anglers early in the 20"" century. Early programs emphasized restoring game animals, providing legal 

 protections in state statute, and aggressive predator control. These actions were initiated with public and 

 legislative support and were largely funded by the hunters, anglers, and trappers of Montana. These 

 programs were then, and are now, sustained by a philosophy of public hunting and a funding base from 

 participants. FWP's wildlife program has evolved along with modem scientific principles of wildlife 

 management and is considered one of the leading programs in the nation. 



Categories of Wildlife Defined in Montana Statutes 



Big Game. Thirteen species of large mammals are defined by statute as game animals, or "big game" 

 (87-2-101 MCA). These include white-tailed and mule deer, elk, moose, and caribou, pronghom, 

 mountain goat, bighorn sheep, and wild bison. Three species of camivores/omnivores also are designated 

 as game animals, including the mountain lion, black bear, and grizzly bear. Today, all the above big 

 game species except caribou, bison, and grizzly bear are legally hunted, according to regulations 

 approved by the FWP Commission. 



Numbers and distribution of most big game species probably bear little resemblance to pre-settlement 

 conditions. Nearly all big game species were either extirpated or severely reduced in number and 

 distribution through market and subsistence hunting prior to and during settlement. Settlement brought 

 agriculture, forestry, mining, and suppression of catastrophic fires and flooding, causing both subtle and 

 profound changes to Montana's landscape. These changes favored some species and were detrimental to 

 others. Present day populations of white-tailed deer and elk are at their highest levels recorded in recent 

 history. Mule deer numbers fluctuated over the last 20 years, but the statewide population is still robust. 



In addition to natural adjustment and recovery by some big game species, efforts to restore self-sustaining 

 populations to all, or portions of. historical ranges have been largely successful. Such efforts included 

 species reintroduction and the acquisition and intensive management of important habitats. In the case of 

 the mountain lion, a change in legal status from a "predator" to a "big game animal" in the early 1970s 

 enabled lion numbers and distribution to increase over the last 30 years. Mountain lions are now present 

 in eastern Montana in sufficient numbers to sustain a legal harvest. 



Furbearers. FWP is responsible for management of furbearers (87-2- 101, MCA). State law offers 

 protection to ten furbearing species because of the commercial value of their fur. Protection allows for 

 maintenance of sustainable populations while allowing for harvest of prime pelts. Furbearer management 

 has evolved since 1951 when the agency initiated intensive studies on furbearer species throughout the 

 state. 



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