It probably comes as no surprise that hunting is big business in the vast and largely unspoiled lands of Montana. Hunters, on average, spend an annual $2,484 on sport expenses that might go towards travel, gear, lodging, permits, guides, or any other kinds of needs. A western hunting ranch property in Montana can offer a serene way to escape from the rest of the world, at least for a while. The calm atmosphere and the abundance of wildlife is precisely what attracts hunters — and their wallets — to Montana lands.
Even so, the finer details of the Montana hunting industry are revealing. A new report released by the Montana Wilderness Association estimates that hunters spent some $4 million in just two Montana counties last year: Fergus and Petroleum. What’s more surprising from the report, however, is that the vast majority of that money, somewhere around $3.8 million, came just from hunting elk.
The two counties are known for their hunting land surrounding the Chain Buttes, Horse Camp Trail, Dovetail Creek, Blood Creek, Arrow Creek, and Carter Coulee areas. They boast some of the most densely populated elk regions in the country.
“These areas represent some of the most productive ungulate habitat anywhere in North America, and that’s because these areas are largely roadless and undeveloped,” said Bill Berg, former deputy project leader of the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge in Glasgow, MT. “If we want to continue having big game populations that are this healthy, we need intact ecosystems.”
The Montana Wilderness Association is in the process of negotiations with the Bureau of Land Management, hoping to obtain greater protective measures for the region.
According to the Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks Department, Fergus County alone recorded over 25,000 elk hunter days in 2015. While the majority of Montana elk hunters might be state residents with western hunting ranches of their own, the 7% of nonresidents accounted for 50% of the economic spending.
The Bureau of Land Management needs to finalize its Resource Management Plan for the area by January. Clearly, conserving these precious elk habitats should be a priority, for the benefit of the animals, the hunters, and the economy.