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Articles written by Tom Puchlerz


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  • Guest Opinion: Shoulder seasons not meant for public lands

    Tom Puchlerz, Montana Wildlife Federation|Aug 11, 2021

    In Montana, private-land elk hunting is moving toward 11 weeks for people who can pay thousands of dollars for trophy bulls, while others are left to hunt cows in deep snows and bitter cold when they’re struggling to survive the winter. That’s the proposal of the Gianforte administration, a proposal that extends “elk shoulder seasons” through Feb. 15 each year and extends them onto your national forest in 19 hunting districts. This proposal is ill-conceived, premature and not in the interest of elk hunters, landowners and all Montanans who enj...

  • Guest Editorial: Flattening the curve on Chronic Wasting Disease

    Tom Puchlerz|Aug 19, 2020

    It's cool this morning. There is a different feel to the air. The days are slowly getting shorter, my bird dogs are getting restless and I am listening for that first bugle of a bull elk down in the river bottom. It's that time when I, and all hunters, anxiously prepare for the glorious days we spend pursuing our quarry in the forests and uplands of our Montana. But this year things are different, and as we take to the field we must acknowledge that difference and change our behavior for the sake of the hunt, our wildlife and our fellow...