Elk Harvest Up

Elk harvest numbers are way up along the Rocky Mountain Front. Bruce Auchly with F,W,& P in Region  4 says after the second weekend of general big game season they’ve seen an increase of 46 percent over the average. A lot of the successes have been on private land, plus the stormy, winter like weather that moved in last week helped get animals moving. The whitetail average is way up too; the long term number is 47, this year it’s at 75. Mule deer numbers are down from 61 to 49. Wildlife biologists say those numbers typically pick up in the second half of the season when the rut starts. I should hear from the Missoula F, W, & P (Region 2)today. I’ll get those numbers as soon as I get a look at them.