Hunting season is just around the corner

Rick Schoening

State of Montana Game Warden

Well, it is hard to believe that hunting season is just around the corner. Bird seasons and archery begin in less then a month. Boy, this summer has really flown by for this fellow. A lot of people have been wondering where in the heck I have been.

From May 20 through July 24, I was out of the area. I mean really out of the area!

I had the once in a lifetime opportunity to travel around the world judging the World Cup Roller Pigeon Fly for 2005. Check out their website at

www.worldcupfly.com

You'll see what I am talking about.

The hobby of raising Birmingham Roller pigeons has been a passion for me since I was five years old. My father introduced me to this wonderful past time. In a nutshell, these birds perform a series of backward somersaults so fast that they appear to be a spinning ball. They will drop 20-30 feet hitting speed of 10-12 complete revolutions per second!. I am not pulling your leg.

Judging these birds is a lot like judging a gymnastics competition. Instead of a panel of judges, we only have one. That was yours truly. Quite an honor I must say. The World Cup competition includes Canada, England, Denmark, Holland, South Africa, Australia and the United States. I judged 66 finalists in all of these countries. I went 44,000 miles in a little over eight weeks.

So anyway, I am getting back to the job of being your game warden. Which brings me back to the title of this column.

With the hunting season approaching, many youngsters are wondering when hunter safety classes begin. Ray Aylesworth is our chief instructor for Lake County. His phone number is 676-0300. Ray can give you the dates when the fall classes will start.

The boating season is winding down, but I have seen some practices out on the water that need to be brought to your attention. I think you will agree that the personal watercraft users are actually doing a pretty good job at getting along with their boating neighbors and shoreline owners. The industry has finally stepped up to the plate and is producing PWC with four-cycle engines. These "boats" are quieter than most powerboats.

Towing of a tuber or skier without an observer is still a safety problem on the water. Not enough life jackets, PFDs, aboard is still quite widespread. I guess I just don't understand why some boaters don't take the time to do a safety check before each outing. It is just common sense.

Speaking of PFDs, all boats 16 feet and longer are required to have a type 4 throwable device on board in addition to your required wearable PFDs. A type-4 PFD is the square pillow with the straps on the sides. Also a ring buoy is a type 4. We have been verbally warning boaters for the last few summers about the requirement. Enforcement is unfortunately going to have to be escalated.

All of the big game special permits have all been mailed out. Congratulations to those successful applicants. If you haven't received any in the mail, you missed out. There are many surplus licenses that are on sale now at Montana Fish Wildlife and Park's website,

www.fwp.mt.gov

Don't be left out.

I sure hope we get some rain so the woods will be available for our treasured fall excursions. Be sure to be careful of fire and other activities in our wildlands and state parks. I will be seeing you out there.