Havre holding second urban deer hunt

From Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks

Havre’s second urban deer hunt, developed as part of its urban deer management plan it developed with the help of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, is again in operation.

To help with expanding deer populations, the City of Havre has initiated an urban deer management plan which includes an archery hunting opportunity for antlerless mule deer within and adjacent to the city limits.

The management plan will address deer that threaten human safety or property and reduce the potential for human-deer interactions and conflicts by lowering deer density within the city.

One portion of the plan is to implement a public archery hunt in areas identified by the city. Details of this opportunity include:

• Hunt dates are Sept. 20 through Feb. 15, 2024.

• Hunting will only be allowed in areas identified and approved by the city.

• Hunting areas are open space that have been identified as safe and have a higher likelihood of a successful harvest.

• Only archery equipment, as defined in the current FWP hunting regulations, may be used. This includes both compound and traditional bows, arrows at least 20 inches long, and broadheads with at least two cutting edges and at least 7/8 inches wide.

• Crossbows are not allowed.

• A bow stamp is not required for this hunt

• Licenses are valid only for antlerless mule deer. Hunters may use:

— Any unused 2023 600-01 and 690-00 antlerless mule deer license.

— Havre Urban Deer License- 100 licenses will be available over-the-counter to Montana residents at license vendors, online, or at an FWP office.

• Maximum of two Havre urban deer licenses per person.

• Licenses have been available for sale starting Sept. 19.

• Hunters need to check in with the Havre Police Department at 520 Fourth St. in Havre before hunting and acquire a map with locations and rules.

• Written daily permission is required, and can be obtained at the Havre Police Dept.

• Additional permission is required from individual landowners for private land approved for participation in the hunt

• Harvested deer must be field dressed outside the city limits. All carcass parts (bones, spine, ribcage, heads, etc.) need to be disposed of in a class II landfill to limit the spread of CWD.

• Hunters interested in getting their harvest sampled for CWD need to contact the Havre FWP office at 406-265-6177.

For any questions about this management plan or hunt, people can contact the Havre Police Department at 406-265-4361, or stop by their office at 520 Fourth St. in Havre.

Why urban deer can pose a problem

Deer have been displaced from their natural habitats by human development and are now living around homes and towns. Deer are creatures of habit. They may visit the same food sources and select the same cover to hide in every day unless humans or other predators interrupt these patterns.

Deer can cause several types of problems in residential settings, from personal property damage and crop destruction to expensive car-deer accidents. The most common complaint is deer damage to vegetable gardens, fruit trees and ornamentals. It is not easy or cheap to keep unwanted deer away.

Deer are highly adaptive; they soon learn that a dog is on a chain or fenced, that scarecrows are not so scary, that repellents are not really that bad, short fences are easy to jump, and holes and gaps in fences are easy to find. In addition, deer can be attracted to artificial food sources.

Feeding deer is illegal

A person may not provide supplemental feed attractants to game animals by purposely or knowingly providing supplemental feed attractants in a manner that results in an artificial concentration of game animals that may potentially contribute to the transmission of disease or that constitutes a threat to public safety.

Not only is it illegal, but feeding deer can render them dependent upon artificial food sources.  Furthermore, individuals feeding deer could be held legally liable for any problems or damage caused by the deer on neighboring property.