Hunting Harvest Update [AUDIO]

One week remains  for big game rifle season, and so far hunter harvest totals for deer are about 25 percent behind this point in the 2010 season in West-Central Montana, while elk harvest is only slightly down. Wildlife & Parks Region 2 Wildlife Manager, Mike Thompson, says they are on par with the elk harvest in the 3 check stations in region 2 and down on deer harvest numbers.(That interview is attached below)

Thompson  says overall, check station tallies show 12,391 hunter visits compared to 14,098 in 2010 and a hunter harvest of 412 elk compared to 427, 132 mule deer compared to 175, and 331 white-tailed deer compared to 451Hunters are reminded that they must stop at all check stations that they pass on their way to or from hunting—even if they have not harvested any animals. The general rifle season for deer and elk runs through Sunday, November  27th