Powder River Examiner -

By FWP Region 7

March 9, 2023

Region 7 – The new license year opened March 1, which means that you are now able to buy your 2023 hunting and fishing licenses and begin applying for permits and special licenses. The deadline to apply for deer and elk permits is April 1.

Applications for most species – deer, elk, antelope, deer B licenses, elk B licenses, antelope B licenses, moose, sheep, goat, bison, bear, turkey – can be made beginning March 1.

Application deadlines

• April 1: Deer and elk permits, and non-resident big game combinations

• May 1: Moose, sheep, goat, bison

• June 1: Deer B, elk B, antelope, antelope B

Deer, elk and antelope in the Broadus area – If you are planning to hunt deer, elk or antelope in the Broadus area your focus will be in HD's 702, 704 and 705. This area is generally the southern half of Region 7 and includes the vicinities of Colstrip, Ashland, Broadus and Ekalaka (see the regulations for details). Below are the licenses and permits you will want to focus on as you purchase/apply this March.

Deer

• General Deer License: Valid for either sex and either species of deer throughout Region 7.

• 007-00 B License: Valid for antlerless white-tailed deer throughout Region 7.

• 007-03 B License: Valid for antlerless mule deer throughout Region 7.

Elk

• General Elk License: Valid for spike bull or antlerless elk in HD's 702, 704 and 705. During the archery-only season it is valid on all landownerships. During the general firearms ("rifle") and Heritage muzzleloader seasons it is valid on all landownerships EXCEPT the National Forest.

• 799-20 Permit: Valid for either-sex elk in HD's 702, 704 and 705 during the archery-only, general firearms, and Heritage muzzleloader seasons.

• 799-21 Permit: Valid for either-sex elk in HD's 702, 704 and 705 during the archery-only season.

• 007-00 B License: Valid for antlerless elk throughout Region 7. During the archery-only season it is valid on all landownerships. During the general firearms and Heritage muzzleloader seasons it is valid on all landownerships EXCEPT the National Forest and Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge (CMR).

• 799-00 B License: Valid for antlerless elk in HD's 702, 704 and 705. It is valid on all landownerships.

• See Late Season (formerly "shoulder season") information below for further details on which licenses are valid.

Antelope

• 007-20 Either-Sex License: Valid for either-sex antelope throughout Region 7.

• 007-30 B License: Valid for doe/fawn antelope throughout Region 7.

• 799-30 B License: Valid for doe/fawn antelope only in HD's 704 and 705. This is a second opportunity license and is available over the counter, one per person, on a first-come, first-served basis to hunters who successfully drew the 007-20 and/or 007-30 antelope license.

The intent of this license is to provide increased harvest opportunity and mitigate problematic concentrations of antelope while not increasing hunter density (i.e., adding more licenses to the area without adding many additional hunters).

• 900-20 Either-Sex License: Archery-only license valid for either-sex antelope throughout Region 7 and nearly all other open antelope HDs in the state (see regulations).

About Elk Late Seasons

A late season is a firearms season that occurs outside the archery-only and general firearms seasons. The primary purposes of elk late seasons are to reduce elk populations in areas that are over population objective and/or to address problematic distributions of elk. Most late seasons focus on antlerless elk harvest on private land. Late elk season success will depend on landowners, hunters and FWP working closely together in a cooperative and respectful fashion.

Key points for hunters to remember:

• For HD's 702, 704 and 705 the elk late season is valid for antlerless elk only and on private land only from Nov 27 – Feb 15. Elk are NOT allowed to be hunted on public land during this season (see exception for the Heritage muzzleloader season; refer to the regulations for details).

• All current elk licenses that are valid in Region 7 can be used during the late season in HD's 702, 704, and 705. These include a general elk license, 799-00 elk B, 007-00 elk B, and 700-00 elk B license. *Reminder: the 700-00 elk B license is NOT valid in HD's 702, 704 and 705 during the archery-only, general firearms, and Heritage muzzleloader seasons.

• Rules (season dates, valid licenses, etc.) for other areas of the state will be tailored to each hunting district, so know your regulations.

• Hunters should start early by establishing contacts and building relationships with landowners who may offer access for elk late season hunts.

• If landowners are seeking more elk harvest on their land or have any questions, they can contact a local game warden (Kyle Queer: 406-853-7700; Daven Thorne: 406-853-7800) or wildlife biologist (Ryan DeVore: 406-853-8886).

Don't forget about the MyFWP App

Hunters and anglers can also take advantage of the MyFWP mobile app, if they haven't already. The app holds and displays licenses, permits and E-Tags, which can be downloaded and used in the field without cell service. Hunters and anglers will need a MyFWP account to use the app, which is a secure and convenient digital profile that stores licenses, permits and related information.

To create a new account, visit the MyFWP login page. Users need to make sure to link their ALS number to the MyFWP account to ensure their hunting and fishing licenses are attached to their MyFWP account.

A MyFWP account is not used to apply or make purchases. Purchases and applications are done through the online licensing system on the FWP website (click "Buy Online"). Remember, if you're applying for a special license or permit you will need to have a valid email address.

Hunters have the option of choosing a traditional paper tag or a digital carcass tag, but you can only possess one or the other. The MyFWP app can be used as a digital wallet to store digital carcass tags. Just be sure to open the app before going into the field and download your licenses to your phone so you can still access the digital carcass tag to validate your harvest even if you don't have cell service. You can also take a photo of your digital tag as a back-up.