Northwest Montana hunters challenged by low snowfall

Scant snowfall presented Northwest Montana hunters with challenging conditions during the general rifle season, with harvest totals finishing slightly lower compared to last fall.

Montana’s general big game season ended Sunday, Nov. 26. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region 1 check stations tallied 9.1% of hunters with game, down from the 9.7% in 2022. Just over 10,000 hunters were counted, a modest uptick from the 9,239 counted in 2022.

Dillon Tabish, regional communication and education program manager for Region 1, said low snowfall made it more difficult for hunters to track animals, while the snow that did accumulate became crunchy and challenging to stealthy maneuver across.