Eastern MT Upland Birds - First week vs. second

[Luis]

Maybe Montana feels the public should have the use of public land.

 

[406flyfish]

Continuous disturbance of young broods

 

[cmahoney]

I went to a meeting to hear the reasons for the proposed rule changes were.
Reasons given:
NR bird dog trainers were training dogs before the season opened. On opening day the NR dog owners were joining the trainer and getting their limits because the trainer knew exactly where the birds were because he spent weeks training the new bird dogs on the birds.
Proposed Rule change:
Limit days for bird dog training and not let the NR's just come join their dogs and trainer to limit out each day on opening week.
I went looking for facts, and my observation was:
I spoke with a dog trainer from MI with a travel trailer and dog kennels training bird dogs for his clients in Eastern MT. He had 12 dogs. I drove further down the gravel road and saw more camps with dog kennels.
There are probably a couple hundred dogs being trained on wild birds in MT by NR trainers.
My personal conclusion:
The residents asking for rule changes have valid reasons.

Perfect example of justified regulations.


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[KurtR]

Maybe Montana feels the public should have the use of public land.

So why cant ranchers just put their cows out with out paying?. I’m a dog guy but the trainers are making money off the public land no different than any other business. If it’s one guy running his personal dogs that’s a different story.

 

[Dos Perros]

The Montana residents I know ALL train their dogs on wild birds during the summer. Some of it is private but a lot of it isn't.

 

[KurtR]

I wonder what kills more birds. Broods and hens getting kicked of nests in the spring or the nr hunting in the fall. It makes sense the no one here can run on wild birds from april 1- august 31.

 

[TSAMP]

Iowa shuts down dog access to public ground between March 15- mid July or somthing close to that. Except for designated dog training areas. Several local groups actually funded the training area developments which includes grounds keeping and creating ponds for waterworks. It's pretty slick.

Folks started to treat it like a dog park during covid and think they're trying to work something out to say you need a valid hunting license to use it, currently you only need the license if your working birds or furred game.

 

[Luis]

So why cant ranchers just put their cows out with out paying?. I’m a dog guy but the trainers are making money off the public land no different than any other business. If it’s one guy running his personal dogs that’s a different story.

I agree. You make a valid point for charging fees to professional dog trainers utilizing public land for a commercial business. If the comment period is still open, I will add that.

 

[KurtR]

Iowa shuts down dog access to public ground between March 15- mid July or somthing close to that. Except for designated dog training areas. Several local groups actually funded the training area developments which includes grounds keeping and creating ponds for waterworks. It's pretty slick.

Folks started to treat it like a dog park during covid and think they're trying to work something out to say you need a valid hunting license to use it, currently you only need the license if your working birds or furred game.

I think thats what they did down by nashville on the retriever grounds so you just dont have a bunch of pet dogs out running around causing trouble. I know the retriever club down there does all the grounds keeping and upkeep of the ponds.

 

[TSAMP]

I think thats what they did down by nashville on the retriever grounds so you just dont have a bunch of pet dogs out running around causing trouble. I know the retriever club down there does all the grounds keeping and upkeep of the ponds.

It's pretty bad around here. I hate to sound like that guy but I don't bring my dogs to WMAs to "meet" your 2 Dalmatians. I had a small group of karens in the middle of my fav rabbit spot this week yapping it up. Not a shred or orange between them.

 

[406flyfish]

Some of these comments are pretty comical. 99% of these opposing parties are NR and outfitters obviously. The main NR comments are, more overcrowding as it narrows the window and economic impact.. Funny as they’re are a few businesses who stated they would rather take the hit then deal with NR for the first two weeks of the season.

https://fwp.mt.gov/binaries/content/assets/fwp/commission/2024/february/public-comment/upland-game-bird-season.pdf

 

[ndbuck09]

Isn't it interesting that as meateater has started to talk about bird hunting in Montana and that Standing Stone Kennels has put out youtube videos on sharptail hunting in the last couple years, the Nonresident numbers have risen quickly? Here again, how much does hunting media help hunting??

Maybe Montana residents should place some blame on their own residents in Bozeman promoting it?

 

[406flyfish]

The Chernin Group owns Meateater. An Investment firm based out of California.. Then you have the surplus of YouTubers influencers like “The Uplander” who spot burn and exploit everything for their own personal gain. I thought one had to acquire permits if they’re were making commercial content on NF or other government owned property?

 

[jmez]

I wonder what kills more birds. Broods and hens getting kicked of nests in the spring or the nr hunting in the fall. It makes sense the no one here can run on wild birds from april 1- august 31.

On public ground.

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[KurtR]

On public ground.

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Yep. That’s why a bunch of guys come here in the summer and train on the rez

 

[jmez]

I just looked it up. I have to look it up every year. As the regs read:
No one, NR or R, can train on wild birds statewide April1-July30.
From Aug1 - third sat in September you can train on public land or right of ways with the following stipulations
No more than four dogs per day
Dogs must be owned by you and not offered for sale
Owners of dogs may be assisted in training by a trainer but must be present
Horses are only allowed fri-sun until noon

All of the pro trainers have to lease ranches to train on here, or be on the reservation.

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