Montana FWP 2019 Calendar

2019 CALENDAR

THE OUTSIDE IS IN US ALL.

THE OUTSIDE IS IN US ALL. MAKOSHIKA STATE PARK. PHOTO BY ERIK PETERSEN

OUR EIGHT CORE VALUES n SERVE THE PUBLIC n EMBRACE THE PUBLIC TRUST n HONOR TRADITION AND HERITAGE n WORK WITH LANDOWNERS n USE SCIENCE n PROVIDE LEADERSHIP n PROVIDE STEWARDSHIP n VALUE OUR WORKFORCE OUR FOUR BRAND BELIEFS WE PERPETUATE OPPORTUNITY OUTSIDE. Outdoor opportunities are a big part of why people live here. Through resource stewardship, state park amenities, access programs, and education, FWP makes those opportunities not only available, but richer and more rewarding. And only by getting people outside can we get them to value the outdoors. We want people to “get out in it” because that connects them to the outdoors and to us—and starts the transformation from outdoor enthusiast into conservationist.

WE STRIVE TOWARD BALANCE. Our job as stewards is to use sound science, proven strategies, and innovative approaches to balance Montana’s resources with where, when, and how people enjoy them. Also known as conservation, this balancing act fosters resilient landscapes, beautiful places, abundant wildlife, and a future for the experiences Montanans love. Our job also is to balance—using both natural and social sciences—the diverse public values related to fish, wildlife, and state parks.

WE FOCUS ON INTEGRITY. That includes our own professional and scientific integrity; the integrity of the land, water, and cultural and historical resources we conserve; and the integrity of the Montana outdoor experience—from hunting and fishing to camping and kayaking. By protecting the integrity of all that, we help keep Montana, Montana.

INCLUSION: WE BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER. Through FWP, people discuss, debate, pay for, and learn about outdoor resources and experiences. Sure, there are disagreements over resource use. But the various ways people meet and join in FWP settings and processes create solutions and a sense of inclusion. Just as important, when we’re at our best we also come together as one agency and use our knowledge and experience to benefit the resources and public we serve.

Our responsibility is massive. FWP does more today, day after day, than we ever have. We must come together internally while bringing people and partners together to support our work. For us to succeed, we need everyone who cares about the outdoors to join with us in caring for the outdoors.

Hello, FWP Colleagues: Over the past half year, I’ve heard from many FWP employees who enjoyed the all-staff meeting last April and hoped the department could find more ways to bring employees together to celebrate the important work we do. We will. This new calendar is one example.

The calendar highlights some of the many ways FWP keeps Montana such a great place to live in and visit. It also provides reminders of our mission, vision, core values, and brand beliefs.

Everyone here does so much for Montana that we could easily fill a dozen calendars with photos of programs and projects—and maybe we will. I hope we can continue to produce this tribute to our great agency for years to come.

For now, I encourage you to use this calendar and read the monthly tributes to the important work being done by you and your colleagues. I also hope that you, as I do every day, continue to take pride in working for a department that is so essential in making Montana the wonderful state it is.

—Martha Williams, FWP Director

COVER: MULE DEER SWIM AND FORD THE MISSOURI RIVER AS ANGLERS PROSPECT FOR TROUT NEAR CRAIG. PHOTO BY JOHN WARNER

BIGHORN SHEEP MANAGEMENT

JANUARY

FWP staff and Montana State University students capture sheep from healthy herds and transplant them to

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establish populations in new locations across the state. Battling against small herd sizes and respiratory disease, FWP works with MSU and wildlife groups to study herd health, nutrition, and habitat, and to advance the conservation and restoration of bighorn sheep.

SHEEP MONITORING PHOTO: ERIK PETERSEN

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1 Transporting a sheep on a snow sled for release at the Sun River Wildlife Management Area, 1950s.

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Video: Bighorn sheep transplant

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“Like music and art, love of nature is a common language that can transcend political or social boundaries.” —Jimmy Carter

MONTANA FISH, WILDLIFE & PARKS

THE OUTSIDE IS IN US ALL.

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WOLVERINE RESEARCH

FEBRUARY

A recent multi-state survey has given researchers a much broader picture of the distribution of wolverines.

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In remote mountains of Washington, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana, scientists established bait stations across thousands of square miles to attract wolverines and then analyzed hair captured at the sites to determine wolverine presence. The study also identified key connectivity corridors between core habitats in need of protection.

WOLVERINE PHOTO: KALON BAUGHAN

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Setting a remote trail camera as part of a wolverine monitoring project near Augusta.

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Montana Outdoors: Read the results of this study.

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“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” —Theodore Roosevelt

MONTANA FISH, WILDLIFE & PARKS

THE OUTSIDE IS IN US ALL.

ANGLER EDUCATION

MARCH

FWP fishing programs and clinics engage people with opportunities across the state. Programs such as Adopt-A-Fish

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and Hooked on Fishing are taught in nearly 3,200 classrooms each year, with more than 50,000 Montana participants. A tackle loaner program, family fishing sites, and fish identification programs introduce Montanans, young and old, to the tremendous outdoor opportunities in their communities.

ICE FISHING CLINIC PHOTO: THOM BRIDGE

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Video: Hooked on Fishing program.

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31 “When all the routines and details and the human bores get on our nerves, we just yearn to go away from here to somewhere else.

To go fishing is a sound, a valid, and an accepted reason for an escape. It requires no explanation.” —Herbert Hoover

MONTANA FISH, WILDLIFE & PARKS

THE OUTSIDE IS IN US ALL.

SUNRISE AT LAKE ELMO STATE PARK

APRIL

Urban state parks provide great opportunities for swimming, fishing, birdwatching, and picnics. Lake Elmo is a

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125-acre state park within the city limits of Billings. It offers a 1.4-mile nature trail, year-round fishing, ice skating, a playground, and a fenced dog park. Located at the FWP Region 5 offices, an interpretive center is open to visitors on weekdays.

LAKE ELMO STATE PARK PHOTO: BOB ZELLAR

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Montana Fish and Game Department established, 1901

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Video: Milltown State Park

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“Parks represent an efficient, cost-effective way to improve public health.” —Chuck Norris

MONTANA FISH, WILDLIFE & PARKS

THE OUTSIDE IS IN US ALL.

WILDLIFE MIGRATION

MAY

Over the past several years, wildlife biologists with FWP and the Montana Department of Transportation have been

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working with landowners across Montana to find ways to modify fences to reduce hazards to wildlife while still managing livestock movement. FWP offers a publication, A Landowners’s Guide to Wildlife-Friendly Fences, that draws on the experience of landowners and resource professionals on how to operate with wildlife-friendly fencing.

PRONGHORN PHOTO: ELIZABETH MOORE

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Montana Outdoors: read “Finding a Way Through”

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Memorial Day

“What’s the use of a fine house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on?” —Henry David Thoreau

MONTANA FISH, WILDLIFE & PARKS

THE OUTSIDE IS IN US ALL.

SWIFT RESEARCH

JUNE

In eastern Montana, FWP biologists are engaging citizen scientists in monitoring the prevalence of chimney

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swifts. Volunteers survey residential chimneys, where these swifts like to nest. In northwestern Montana, FWP partners with the American Bird Conservancy and Glacier National Park to identify and protect the cool, wet nests behind waterfalls where black swifts rear their young.

CHIMNEY SWIFT PHOTO: PAUL REEVES

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Montana Outdoors: read about black swift

Video: black swift

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MONTANA FISH, WILDLIFE & PARKS

THE OUTSIDE IS IN US ALL.

FISHING IN MONTANA

JULY

The Treasure State contains more than 15,000 miles of coldwater rivers and streams, and about 1,900

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coldwater lakes totaling 400,000 acres. Montana also is home to roughly 6,100 miles of cool- and warmwater rivers and streams, and thousands of warmwater lakes covering approximately 350,000 acres. It’s estimated that anglers spend more than $1 billion annually in trip-related expenses.

TROUT FISHING PHOTO: ED COYLE

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Video: See Montana’s catchable fish underwater

“The Earth is a fine place and worth fighting for.” —Ernest Hemingway

MONTANA FISH, WILDLIFE & PARKS

THE OUTSIDE IS IN US ALL.

MONTANA STATE PARKS CULTURAL CELEBRATIONS

AUGUST

Storytelling, historical reenactments, tours, and activities are just some of the fun and informative activities at

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Montana’s state parks. Check out events like Native American Heritage Day at Chief Plenty Coups State Park, Corps of Discovery Campout at Travelers’ Rest State Park, Bannack Days (pictured above) at Bannack State Park, Fall Family Fest at Giant Springs State Park, and Buzzard Day at Makoshika State Park.

BANNACK DAYS PHOTO: MONTANA STATE PARKS

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Montana Outdoors: read “Digging Deep Into History”

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“The ground on which we stand is sacred ground. It is the blood of our ancestors.” —Chief Plenty Coups, Alaxchíia Ahú

MONTANA FISH, WILDLIFE & PARKS

THE OUTSIDE IS IN US ALL.

GRIZZLY BEARS

SEPTEMBER

FWP employs bear management specialists throughout western Montana to work with communities and landowners

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to provide education and awareness, and mitigate conflicts with the iconic grizzly bear, FWP’s agency symbol and Montana’s state mammal. Whether or not the ever-expanding grizzly population is delisted from its federal threatened species designation, FWP will continue to resolve problems between bears and people.

GRIZZLY SOW AND CUB PHOTO: DONALD M. JONES

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Montana Outdoors: read “Bursting at the Seams”

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“Most animals show themselves sparingly. The grizzly bear is six to eight hundred pounds of smugness. It has no need to hide.

If it were a person, it would laugh loudly in quiet restaurants, boastfully wear the wrong clothes for special occasions, and probably play hockey.” —Craig Childs

MONTANA FISH, WILDLIFE & PARKS

THE OUTSIDE IS IN US ALL.

FISHMT

OCTOBER

Zach Shattuck releases a tagged pallid sturgeon in the Missouri River. Endangered species research, electrofishing

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survey data, fish telemetry reports, reservoir seining results, and hatchery stocking records are all part of FWP’s new FishMT web application. FishMT provides everything FWP knows about Montana’s fish and fisheries through a user-friendly information portal for anglers, scientists, teachers, students, and fish lovers.

PALLID STURGEON MONITORING PHOTO: TYLER HADDIX/MONTANA FWP

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Video: See white sturgeon in Montana

FWP App: FishMT

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“Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.” —Norman Maclean

MONTANA FISH, WILDLIFE & PARKS

THE OUTSIDE IS IN US ALL.

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HUNTER EDUCATION

NOVEMBER

Hunter education is perhaps FWP’s most popular program, teaching youth and adults the safety and ethics of

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hunting. Montana’s 1,300 instructors teach 7,500 hunter ed and 3,000 bowhunter ed students each year. Many instructors have 20, 30, and 40 years of service. A few have been teaching for half a century or more. Becoming an instructor requires certification and taking time away from family, all in the interest of shaping future hunters.

HUNTER EDUCATION PHOTO: THOM BRIDGE

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Montana Outdoors: read “Saving Lives, Building Ethics”

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Thanksgiving Day

“Go afield with a good attitude, with respect for the wildlife you hunt and for the forest and fields in which you walk.

Immerse yourself in the outdoor experience. It will cleanse your soul and make you a better person.” —Fred Bear

MONTANA FISH, WILDLIFE & PARKS

THE OUTSIDE IS IN US ALL.

WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREAS

DECEMBER

FWP wildlife management areas, like the Sun River WMA above, provide wintering grounds and protect critical

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habitat for game and nongame wildlife, including bear, elk, moose, waterfowl, and songbirds. FWP works with local ranching communities to reduce wildlife depredation problems. WMAs are open to public hunting, wildlife watching, hiking, and photography. Some WMAs are closed after hunting season to protect wintering wildlife.

SUN RIVER WMA PHOTO: JEFF VAN TINE

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Sportsmen transplant elk from Gardiner by rail to the Mount Fleecer Area southwest of Butte. Circa 1910.

This area is now the 7,400-acre Fleecer Mountain WMA.

Video: Judith River WMA turns 75

“The greatest responsibility of the planner and architect, I believe, is the protection and development of our habitat.” —Walter Gropius

MONTANA FISH, WILDLIFE & PARKS

THE OUTSIDE IS IN US ALL.

YELLOWSTONE CUTTTHROAT TROUT. PHOT BY PAT CLAYTON

MONTANA FISH, WILDLIFE & PARKS OUR MISSION Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, through its employees and citizen commission and board, provides for the stewardship of the fish, wildlife, parks, and recreational resources of Montana, while contributing to the quality of life for present and future generations.

OUR VISION Montana is a place where people have abundant opportunities to connect with the world-renowned fish, wildlife, and state parks resources that define our state, and where a responsive and relevant FWP has the resiliency and public support it needs to lead the way in making sure these resources remain an essential part of Montana’s culture, economy, and high quality of life.

PRODUCED IN-HOUSE BY THE FWP COMMUNICATION AND EDUCATION DIVISON. DESIGN BY LUKE DURAN