There are thousands of happy Montana and out-of-state hunters today, as the results of the annual deer and elk tag drawings have been released by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Education and Program Manager Dillon Tabish shared the news with KGVO on Wednesday afternoon.

“The wait is over, and this is a highly anticipated announcement every year for folks who put in for deer and elk permits,” said Tabish from his office in Kalispell. “Those are the special limited licenses that we offer for areas where there's only a limited number of hunting licenses available. So really, these are highly coveted licenses and this year, especially.”

Tabish provided the numbers.

“We had a huge number of people apply for dear and elk permits,” he said. We had 82,000 residents, in fact, more than 82,000 residents, and 16,000 non residents apply for permits this year,” he said. “That is a 13% increase in residents and a 30% increase in non residents.”

Tabish explained how to check the FWP website to find out if you were chosen for a deer or elk tag.

“If you're wondering whether you were successful in getting one of those special licenses for the hunting district where you applied, now you can check,” he said. “Go on to your my FTP account on our Fish, Wildlife and Parks website. and you can check right now and find out if you got the lotto ticket.”

Tabish said once a hunter has determined which tag in what district, that’s when the planning begins for the upcoming hunting seasons.

“Go onto our website and number one, now you identify OK, where's my license valid and what's the land ownership and what's the geography going to be like, and from there, it just gets fun,” he said. “You start planning out with friends and family, what are our hunting season plans going to look like, and it’s just another way to get excited for the days to come.”

The deadline to apply for moose, bighorn sheep, mountain goat and bison is Saturday, May 1; the deadline to apply for elk B, deer B, and antelope is Tuesday, June 1. All applications must be completed online or at an FWP office. Most FWP offices with license sales are open Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

 

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