May 15 is an important day for area outdoor enthusiasts as it’s the day the Sun River Wildlife Management Area opens to the public.
“People are here looking for elk antlers and not necessarily deer, but we’ll have some deer antlers come out,” Mark Schlepp, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region 4 wildlife area manager, said. “We’ve had some moose antlers come out, but the big draw is for elk antlers.”
According to FWP, wildlife officials counted just under 300 vehicles and estimate 750 people showed up for Wednesday’s opening event.
“Our early years, this wasn’t a big deal back in those days. May 15 starts at midnight, so we would come up here and let in three or four vehicles and off they’d go,” Schlepp said.
The going rate for elk antlers is between $10 and $15, depending on the condition.
Reporting by Jason Laird for MTN News
