While some upland bird hunting seasons are in full swing in Big Sky Country, the state’s pheasant season kicks off on October 12th.
And for nearly 40 years, a program administered through Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has served as a win-win for hunters and farmers alike.
Trees and shrubs near the Freezeout Lake Wildlife Management Area are part of what's known as a shelter belt. It's part of the Upland Game Bird Enhancement Program established by Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks way back in 1987. What began as a bird release program, offers financial incentives for landowners.
“We can offer up to 75-percent cost share on projects like these, as well as pairing with other projects such as NRCS funds, farm service agency funds and our other partners different NGO groups and things like that.” said Matt Strauch, the Region 4Upland Game Bird Habitat Specialist for FWP. “So, it's kind of a win-win for landowners because it helps them do enhancements to their land, to increase habitat for the birds as well as maybe helping with a need as far as just overall grass in the landscape.”
The hunter funded program is financed by resident and non-resident license sales, benefiting landowners and helping hunters.
“With each one of these we do we ask for reasonable bird hunting opportunity for the landowner to allow that access,” said Strauch. “So, it may be walk in bird hunting or it may be through the block management program or even we can we have the ability to do this work on public lands as well through the program.”
The shelter belt Strauch showed MTN was a newer version, planted about three years ago. Strauch called it an example of a dry land shelter belt because it receives little water each year. The shelter belt consists of caragana shrubs, serviceberry and chokecherry and Rocky Mountain Juniper trees.
The tree and shrub combination is planted strategically, accounting for the elements and protection from predators, providing a healthy year-round habitat for Montana’s pheasant, sharp tail grouse and Hungarian partridge population.
“They work well for thermal cover for that wintertime survival, as well as a food source,” said Strauch. “Some of the some of these will be berry producing trees.”
A shelter belt is just one example of projects that make up the program. Strauch says in Region 4, covering North Central Montana, there are about 130 projects.
“We have food plots. We have what we call our habitat management lease. That's where we ask farmers and or landowners to set ground aside idle for wildlife, whether it be a riparian area wetland that we fence off from cattle or other farming,” said Strauch.
At the nearby Freezeout Lake Wildlife Management Area, Strauch pointed out another part of the program, a grass planting established in 2018.
“It provides plenty of insects for the chicks for their survival. Overall, it's a great stand just because of its height and diverse plant diversity,” said Strauch. “There is Basin Wildrye that takes time to establish but once it does it offers you know great cover, especially for species like pheasants.”
FWP says habiat projects can be as small as an acre or as large as multiple sections, depending on the type of project.
“It's what hunters want. They want to see this type of cover out there. It's great for their dogs to work. It's good for bird survival,” said Strauch. “It offers great opportunity for them to have these kind of places on the landscape. And this is also going to be used by other wildlife, too. That trickles beyond bird hunters.”
