Montana Upland Game Bird Enhancement Program Projects
Hunters and their gun dogs have less than a month before the upland game bird season begins, so it’s a good time to dig into this season’s hunting access guide.
To get started, hunters can refer to the Projects Access Guide, published annually by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks’ Upland Game Bird Enhancement Program. The guide includes project maps that depict boundaries of private lands enrolled in the UGBEP. Once hunters have obtained the landowner’s permission to hunt, the maps with access boundaries can be an invaluable tool for hunters to locate UGBEP project areas.
The UGBEP Projects Access Guide also contains information on habitat enhancement work done on public lands, Open Fields, habitat management leases, pheasant release sites and the method used to obtain permission in order to hunt upland game birds.
Project maps have been created with “georeferenced capabilities,” a fancy way of saying hunters can download the maps from the FWP website to most smartphones and tablets. Once loaded on a device, georeferenced maps can allow hunters to dynamically view their position on the map relative to important features such as roads and access boundaries.
Beginning Aug. 15, hunters can find the new guide and the maps online at fwp.mt.gov. Click UGBEP Projects Access Guide.
Printed access guides will be available at FWP headquarters and regional offices late August. Hunters can also request a copy of the access guide via FWP’s website. FWP will begin mailing guides to hunters the week of Aug. 20.
FWP urges Montana hunters to extend their thanks to all partners who collaborate on habitat conservation and access opportunities that benefit wildlife and hunters. These programs, through partnerships formed with private landowners, government agencies and conservation organizations provide nearly 355,000 acres of enhanced upland game bird habitat while providing nearly 645,000 acres of access to upland game bird hunters.
For more information, contact Debbie Hohler at 406-444-5674, or by e-mail to dhohler@mt.gov.
