(NMB) With the general hunting season coming to a close this weekend, here are the numbers that FWP’s Havre hunter check station are reporting after week seven. 1559 hunters have been checked this year up five percent from a year ago. 311 mule deer have been checked, which is down 4 percent from last year. White-tailed deer numbers have also been lower this year, currently down 32 percent from last year. Recent reductions in B licenses due to EHD outbreaks in parts of the region are likely a factor in the lower deer numbers. There have been 21 elk checked which is up 17 percent from last year.
Upland bird harvest has been fair this year. Pheasant numbers are down 12 percent from last year, Shar-tailed grouse are up 13 percent from a year ago, h\Hungarian partridge are down 8 percent and duck numbers are currently 40 percent below the long-term average.
