Sorted by date Results 1 - 18 of 18
Miles City - Beginning this week, vehicle access to Black Bridge Fishing Access Site near Glendive will not be permitted until road repairs can be made. The FAS remains open, but the entrance gate is closed and visitor access will be walk-in only. The Yellowstone River has significantly undercut and eroded the access road to the site, creating a public safety issue. Fish, Wildlife & Parks staff had attempted to allow limited vehicle traffic on the downstream end of the site, but visitor compliance was poor. Visitors repeatedly removed signage...
Miles City - The 2023 paddlefish season on the Yellowstone and Lower Missouri rivers is now over, with a total estimated harvest of 776 paddlefish. After monitoring two paddlefish seasons (2022 and 2023) with open river passage at Intake Dam, the new normal appears to be a dispersed fishery between the state line to Tongue River confluence at Miles City, MT, and a full season length (May 15-June 30) without a need for an early in-season closure if anglers near the 1,000-fish harvest target. With a general perspective of how the fish and anglers...
Miles City - Makoshika State Park will host a 3-D Archery Shoot for youth and adults on Saturday, June 17 from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. The event will be in the park at the archery range, with concessions provided by the Glendive Lions Club. Shooting fees are $20 for adults 18 and older, $10 for youths 6-17, and kids 5 and under are free. All proceeds will go to support upkeep of the archery range and targets in Makoshika. Participants can come and go as they wish between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. There are no prizes and no scoring for this event. Makoshika Park...
Miles City - The switchback road at Makoshika State Park has reopened following temporary repairs to areas recently impacted by sinkholes. Access is restored to sites above the switchback including the new picnic shelter, amphitheater, trails, primitive camping sites and the archery range. The youth and adult 3-D archery shoot scheduled for June 17 at the park will proceed as planned. Rain-caused sinkholes briefly closed the switchback road to vehicle traffic in late May. More extensive repairs will be made later this summer, working around...
Miles City - Makoshika State Park will host a 3-D Archery Shoot for youth and adults on Saturday, June 17 from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. The event will be in the park at the archery range, with concessions provided by the Glendive Lions Club. Shooting fees are $20 for adults 18 and older, $10 for youths 6-17, and kids 5 and under are free. All proceeds will go to support upkeep of the archery range and targets in Makoshika. Participants can come and go as they wish between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. There are no prizes and no scoring for this event. Makoshika Park...
Miles City - The 2023 yellow tag paddlefishing season on the Yellowstone River and Missouri River downstream of Fort Peck Reservoir started Monday, May 15. Wednesday, May 17, will be the first harvest days of the season during which paddlefishing is allowed in all designated areas. Sunday, Monday and Thursday are designated catch-and-release days for paddlefish, and Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday are harvest days. Catch-and-release days restrict paddlefishing to the Intake Fishing Access Site only near Glendive. The paddlefish season w...
Miles City - On Aug. 12, a large contingent of the McDonough family gathered under a shady new day-use shelter atop a breath-taking overlook at Makoshika State Park. They were there to share family memories of time spent at the park, and to dedicate the McDonough Pavilion that they had helped to fund in memory of Russell and Dora McDonough. The family, some of whom are based in Glendive, donated $70,000 for the project. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks contributed $15,000 and significant staff...
Miles City - It was a wild paddlefish season, but not so much for harvest rates as for weird weather and river flows. The 2022 Yellow Tag paddlefish season on the Yellowstone and lower Missouri rivers ended June 30 with a final estimated harvest of 769 fish. It was an interesting season that started with minimal river flows and poor expectations that snowpack would change the situation. However, mountain snowstorms and rain showers in late May changed river flow conditions dramatically. Low flows early and high flows late, combined with a new...
A free spring Bowhunter Education in-person course will be offered in Sidney on June 10, and June 16-18. Students can register for the course online at https://www.register-ed.com/events/view/1. Occupancy is 35 seats. There will be an orientation/walk in registration for the class on June 10 at 6 p.m. at the Richland County Extension Office, 1500 N. Central Ave., Sidney. Students should print all required files on the website and bring them to registration. Workbooks will be handed out then. All chapter quizzes must be done before the first...
Miles City - The 2022 paddlefishing season on the Yellowstone and Lower Missouri rivers started, Sunday, May 15. Harvest days are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays on the Yellowstone and Lower Missouri. On Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays, anglers are limited to catch and release of paddlefish, and only at Intake Diversion Dam Fishing Access Site. No catch and release is allowed upstream or downstream from Intake. The first harvest day that was open in all the yellow tag fishing area,...
A free spring Bowhunter Education in-person course will be offered in Sidney on June 10, and June 16-18. Students can register for the course online at https://www.register-ed.com/events/view/1. Occupancy is 35 seats. There will be an orientation/walk in registration for the class on June 10 at 6 p.m. at the Richland County Extension Office, 1500 N. Central Ave., Sidney. Students should print all required files on the website and bring them to registration. Workbooks will be handed out then. All chapter quizzes must be done before the first...
Miles City – A temporary gravel bypass around a bridge on the main road to Gartside Reservoir Fishing Access Site will be removed the week of April 11, and the bridge will be closed for two to three weeks for repairs. To preserve some walk-in access to the reservoir, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks maintenance staff has mowed and set up a temporary parking area off of County Road 115 and placed a sign. Construction on the bridge should be completed near the end of April. The bypass, which was b...
Miles City - Richland County officials have restored drive-in public access to Gartside Reservoir Fishing Access Site near Sidney after a bridge on the main access road was closed for safety issues. The bridge is still closed following a failed Montana Department of Transportation inspection in late October, but Richland County crews quickly constructed a bypass gravel road around the bridge to preserve access while allowing time for repairs. The bypass will be in place until repairs are...
Miles City - Due to current dry conditions and high fire danger throughout much of Montana, hunters may encounter some Block Management Area closures or restrictions. In southeastern Montana’s Region 7, as of Aug. 13 there were 19 BMAs in eight counties that were either closed or limiting access. The list of BMAs is attached. Statewide, there are just over 70 closed or restricted BMAs. Hunters are advised to check back closer to their hunt to ensure access, as conditions may change daily. To check the status of BMAs in various FWP regions, v...
MILES CITY – With obviously dry and dangerous fire conditions in southeastern Montana, several counties in the region have enacted fire restrictions heading into the Fourth of July holiday. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks follows the counties’ lead in placing fire restrictions on its properties within those counties. Before recreating, please check for restrictions by visiting the statewide fire restrictions website at https://www.mtfireinfo.org/. Currently, the counties of Custer, Rosebud, Richland, Dawson, Carter, Treasure, Rosebud and Bighorn...
The 2020 paddlefish seasons on the Yellowstone and Lower Missouri rivers (yellow tag) are canceled in response to Gov. Steve Bullock’s extension of the directives for social distancing and non-resident quarantine to help stop the spread of COVID-19. As of now, paddlefish season on the Upper Missouri River from Fort Benton downstream to Fort Peck Dam (white tag) will remain in place and the drawing for these limited tags occurred April 6. The fishery opens May 1 and is conducted in a more dispersed manner. There are also no proposed changes t...
In accordance with guidelines for social distancing related to COVID-19 and to protect the public as well as staff, Fish, Wildlife & Park strongly encourages hunters and anglers to make licensing purchases online at fwp.mt.gov. For those who need assistance with their purchase, please call the FWP licensing center at 406-444-2950 or your regional or area office: • Region 6 (Glasgow): 228-3700; Havre Area Office: 265-6177 • Region 7 (Miles City): 234-0900; FWP Headquarters (Helena): 444-2535 FWP regional and headquarters offices remain ope...
The Miles City Fish Hatchery has played host to some very important and unusual visitors for the past month. Three male pallid sturgeons from the Missouri River in Montana, estimated to be up to 80 years old, have been kept in a large holding tank at the facility. They were brought there so that Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks can harvest their milt to fertilize eggs, part of the agency's efforts to bolster this endangered, prehistoric species. Hatchery reproduction and stocking of pallid...
