HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – The final results have been released from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Havre Check station for the 2020 hunting season.
The station saw a record number of mule deer checked, with 782. That’s up 15 percent from last year and 53 percent above the long-term average.
The only other harvested animal that checked in above both last year’s numbers and the long-term average were ducks (74 harvested: 68 percent above long-term average and 208 percent greater than last year).
Several animal harvests were below long-term averages but still above last year’s numbers. Those are:
- Antelope (164 harvested: +105 percent from 2019, -37 percent from long-term average)
- White-tailed deer (149 harvested: +35 percent from 2019, -3 percent from long-term average)
- Elk (37 harvested: +48 percent from 2019, -6 percent from long-term average)
- Sharp-Tailed Grouse (97 harvested: +52 percent from 2019, -21 percent from long-term average)
- Hungarian Partridge (30 harvested: +63 percent from 2019, -48 percent from long-term average)
The only animal harvest below both last year’s numbers and the long-term average was the pheasant (467 harvested: -7 percent from 2019 and -41 percent from the long-term average).
Hunter numbers were slightly above average, with 1,777 hunters checking in. That’s 2 percent above last year and 5 percent above the long-term average.
The check station was open for eight weekends from October 10th (open of general antelope), through November 29th (end of deer/elk general season).
All harvest data only includes animals brought through the Havre check station and is only a partial representation of the region-wide harvest.
Participation in the first half of the season was lower than average, while participation over the last three weeks was much higher than average. FWP cites adverse weather during the beginning of the general season for this large variation.
