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A view of the Big Hole River valley.

About FWP Montana Outdoors - 2016 issues

January-February 2016

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The 35th Annual Photo Issue

This cover shot was taken by Jaime and Lisa Johnson.


Full January-February Issue

 

 

March-April 2016

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Keeping Forests Forested: How a little-known federal program is protecting rural jobs, wildlife habitat, water quality, and recreational access in western Montana.  Read more >>

Snow Men: Predicting summer stream flows requires dangerous high-altitude expeditions in late winter and early spring.  Read more >>

Time to Mate? The amazing strategies mammals have devised for determining when to reproduce.  Read more >>

Pistol Whipped: Turns out a gun is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.  Read more >>

From Freeway to Freezer: How to avoid colliding with a deer, elk, moose, or pronghorn. And some good news if you do.  Read more >>

Kids on Ice: FWP’s “hard-water” clinics get kids outdoors and teach them to catch fish and understand underwater biology.  Read more >>

Cow or Plow: Cattle need grass, which makes ranching the best hope for grassland songbirds.  Read more >>

 

Full March-April Issue

 

 

May-June 2016

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Musselshell Makeover: How the people in this central Montana watershed found a way to share water from—and restore function to—the river running through their lives.  Read more >>

Ugly Discovery at Swan Lake: The Fish and Wildlife Commission takes an unprecedented step to stop illegal fish introductions after walleyes are found in a scenic northwestern Montana lake.  Read more >>

We Know You're in There: Geneticists use new eDNA science to quickly and accurately identify fish species in streams and lakes and trace the origins of individual fish.  Read more >>

Chucking Big Buggers for Big Browns: It’s not the most elegant fly-fishing technique. But it is the best way to catch trout the length of your arm.  Read more >>

Raceways to the Rescue: The surprising story of how FWP fish hatcheries help Montana conserve native populations and restore federally listed species.  Read more >>

Open or Close? Why connectivity is essential for native fish populations—except when it isn’t.  Read more >>

 

Full May-June Issue

 

 

July-August 2016

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A Bumbler Fishes Through It: I was no Brad Pitt, but I decided I had to learn how to catch a trout with a fly.  Read more >>

Deadly Decoration: When ospreys line their nests with baling twine, the results can be grim.  Read more >>

The Price of Popularity: Anglers, kayakers, boaters, and inner-tubers love the scenic, sunny, trout-filled Madison River. That’s the problem.  Read more >>

A Black Flash in the Mountain Sky: It nests behind remote waterfalls, flies high beyond human sight, and winters in places unknown. As it has for more than a century, the black swift remains Montana’s most mysterious bird.  Read more >>

A Great Place to Be a Curlew: Thanks to ranchers, tribal leaders, and other conservationists, the Mission Valley’s intermountain grasslands still provide abundant habitat for the nation’s largest shorebird and other wildlife.  Read more >>

Sneaking in to Wildlife Havens: By quietly cruising down a river in a canoe or kayak, you can see more birds and mammals than you ever thought possible.  Read more >>

 

Full July-August Issue

 

 

September-October 2016

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A Shot Worth Taking: Why Montana still allows sage-grouse hunting.  Read more >>

The Perfect Day: The good news, I told myself, is I get to keep hunting.  Read more >>

Buffalo Gal: A heavy heart is lightened by gratitude during a once-in-a-lifetime hunt.  Read more >>

Monitoring Muleys: How FWP figures out mule deer population trends and harvest recommendations, and why biologists say now is the time to issue more B licenses in southeastern Montana.  Read more >>

Coming Through Darkness: Essay.  Read more >>

Q&A: Shoulder Season Basics: What hunters and landowners need to know about FWP’s unprecedented attempt to reduce extremely overabundant elk populations in 43 Montana hunting districts.  Read more >>

"No, I'm Not Kidding" When hunters get this phone call, it might be news they’ve been waiting for their entire lives.  Read more >>

 

Full September-October Issue

 

 

November-December 2016

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How Low Can They Go? A team of cavers descends into the nation’s deepest limestone cave, in Montana’s Bob Marshall Wilderness, farther down than anyone has ever been.  Read more >>

Overdue: State and federal agencies say it’s time to take Yellowstone region grizzly bears off the threatened species list.  Read more >>

Macro vs. Micro: FWP sees populations. The public sees individual animals. Can the difference be resolved?  Read more >>

Saving the Best Forever: FWP conservation easements protect critical wildlife habitat and secure hunting access while sustaining family ranches. Will new landowners support those goals?  Read more >>

The Mountain Men of Montana: Even with the constant danger, physical hardship, and endless isolation, they lived what seemed to be free, independent lives that many of us dream of having.  Read more >>

 

Full November-December Issue