Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks surveys are mirroring what hunters have been seeing - high harvests on predators and three straight mild winters have been a boon to deer and elk.

The general big game season begins Saturday and ends Sunday, Nov. 29.

State wildlife officials reported big game survival and recruitment in Northwest Montana was good the last three winters with good recruitment in elk and deer. The aforementioned resulted in favorable conditions for fawn and calf survival.

In the Libby area, the CWD sampling station remains south of town at the Montana Department of Transportation’s Libby Shop, just south of where Big Cherry Creek crosses U.S. Highway 2, milemarker 35.  

Stopping at the Libby CWD sampling station is voluntary but submission of CWD samples for testing is encouraged.

But for those possessing a 199-20 either-sex B license, valid only in the Libby CWD Management Zone, CWD testing is required for anyone harvesting a deer.

The sampling station is open from Oct. 24 to Nov. 30 from 10 a.m. to sunset Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Hunters are encouraged to consult the FWP website https://fwp.mt.gov/hunt or contact the Kalispell regional office for more details. The phone number is 752-5501.

Also, four big game check stations will be open in Region 1 on weekends during the general season — Highway 2 west of Kalispell, Highway 83 north of Swan Lake, Highway 200 on the west end of Thompson Falls and Highway 93 near Olney. Hunters are required to stop at game check stations.

Elk

The availability of helicopters limited surveys in Hunter Districts 103 and 123, but ground surveys in the Lost Trail area revealed 414 elk.

Classification of calves was difficult due to large groups of elk. That herd is believed to be stable to slightly increasing.

Calf survival and recruitment in the Clark Fork Drainage (Thompson Falls to Noxon area) averaged 32 calves per 100 cows in 2026 spring surveys. This is similar to what was observed last year and indicative of a moderately increasing elk population. Only half of the surveys were conducted in HD 123 south of Thompson Falls due to helicopter availability, but calf recruitment from that flight was considered good. 

Although calf recruitment was up this year (27 calves per 100 cows) in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area, the elk herd is still experiencing low elk numbers. Overall, hunters should expect elk populations to be similar to slightly better than last year.

Also, there is a new bull elk permit in the North Tobacco area and with it certain restrictions.

According to Montana FWP, only HD 101-50 permit holders can hunt antlered elk in the North Tobacco portion. Permit holders can hunt the rest of HD 101, but cannot hunt antlered elk in any other HD. This permit area exists for all seasons—archery, general and heritage muzzleloader.

The change was approved at the December 2025 Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting and is now in effect.

General license holders can hunt antlered elk in the rest of HD 101, excluding the North Tobacco portion.

White-tailed deer

White-tailed deer numbers in northwest Montana should continue to increase this year due to a mild winter and good fawn survival and recruitment observed during spring surveys. Wildlife biologists observed whitetail recruitment, ranging from 29 to 54 fawns per 100 adults during the 2026 spring surveys across the region. 

State wildlife officials said the buck harvest has been stable to increasing within the region over the last four years and they expect to see that trend continue this season. They also expect the availability of older age bucks, more than 3 years old, to have increased as well with higher recruitment over the last several years.

Mule deer

The mild winter of 2025-26 resulted in good fawn survival based on aerial surveys in HD 103 (Fisher River) and ground surveys in HD 101 (Galton Range). These surveys resulted in 41 fawns per 100 adults and 39 fawns per 100 adults in HDs 103 and 101, respectively.

FWP officials expect stable to slightly increasing populations in much of the region, with buck numbers similar to last season. Only antlered bucks (i.e. a deer with an antler or antlers at least 4 inches long as measured from the top of the skull) may be harvested in Region 1.  

No antlerless harvest opportunity exists in the region. The North Fisher area in HD 103 requires a permit to hunt mule deer (HD 103-50), and CWD testing is required for any deer harvested with this permit. Permits are also required to hunt mule deer bucks in last half of the season in HD 101.