C. Falls hunter poaches wolves

A Columbia Falls man has pleaded guilty to poaching two wolves near Whale Creek up the North Fork.

Randy Houk, whose age wasn't released, paid fines totaling $1,135.

Fish, Wildife and Parks is offering up to a $1,000 reward for information on the shooting death of a wolf found Oct. 25 in the Red Meadow drainage of the North Fork Flathead. Call 1-800-TIPMONT to leave an anonymous tip.

A hunter at the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks check station in Olney checked through the first legal, general-season wolf kill in Region 1 on Sunday. Meanwhile, deer and elk hunters reported a slow start, similar to last year.

Jay Madsen, of Kalispell, said he shot the gray wolf in the Lazy Creek area, north of Whitefish Lake. Three other wolves have been reported to the state for Wolf Management Unit 1, which covers the entire northern tier of the state.

Wolf hunting across most of southern Montana closed on Monday at sunset after the quota was exceeded during the first day of the general hunting season. The statewide quota is 75 wolves.

The six Northwest Montana check stations saw a total of 2,566 hunters with 83 white-tailed deer, 12 mule deer and 19 elk for a 4.4 percent rate of hunters with game, compared to 4.0 percent last year.

Of the whitetails checked, 34 were bucks and 49 were antlerless. Fewer B-tags were available this year, and could be part of the reason for relatively low harvest of antlerless whitetails.

The Swan Valley station had the largest number of deer taken, while the U.S. 2 station west of Kalispell had the largest number of elk taken. Similar to last year, hunter numbers at most check stations were well below average as compared to the past decade.

At the Olney station, 366 hunters checked in with 18 whitetails, one mule deer and no elk for a 5.2 percent success rate. In the North Fork, 238 hunters checked in with two whitetails, two mule deer and four elk for a 3.4 percent success rate.

Hunters are reminded that either-sex whitetails are legal game through Sunday, Nov. 8. After that for the rest of the season, the regulation is bucks-only for whitetails. Mule deer hunting is bucks-only all season long. Elk is brow-tined bulls only. These regulations apply in most Region 1 hunting districts.

Young hunters age 12-15 may take antlerless white-tailed deer and antlerless elk all season long in most Region 1 hunting districts. Hunter are advised to check the Montana hunting regulations for the district they plan to hunt in.