The goal is to increase the elk kill during the 2004 season in areas where the numbers are as much as 40 percent above targets set by the Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department, said Jeff Herbert, assistant administrator of the Wildlife Division.
The regulations create more liberal hunting seasons for elk and allow some hunters to obtain two permits.
"It's really out of the box from what we've done," he said. "This is the right direction to go. It's imperative that we not back off from our plans to get the populations back within objectives."
Although some hunters have expressed concern that the new regulations will result in too many elk being killed, Mulligan said he questions whether even these steps will be enough to make much of a dent.
Herbert said it will take several years of aggressive management to reduce elk numbers to appropriate levels.
In some hunting districts, the commission replaced permit-only hunting with more general hunting of either sex. In other areas, the number of antlerless elk permits was increased substantially to better control populations by removing more cows.
In other areas, Herbert said either-sex seasons were lengthened to give hunters more opportunity for kill an elk.
He told the commission that how well the new regulations work will depend largely on how much access landowners provide sportsmen.
Before the regulations were approved, Commissioner Mike Murphy of Wolf Creek withdrew his proposal to create a new hunting district for bull elk that would encompass his ranch.
The new district would allow unlimited hunting of "brow-tine" or mature bull elk, making the area more popular for hunters seeking trophy animals. Currently, the elk can be hunted there only by those winning a tag in a lottery drawing.
Murphy was criticized by neighbors, hunters and wildlife groups that claimed his plan would allow him and other landowners to charge hunters for access to their property.
Murphy denied those allegations Thursday and said his suggestion stemmed from his general dislike for permit hunting because it severely limits sportsmen's chances.
He said he withdrew the proposal because suspicions about his motives overshadowed the reason behind it. "I don't feel that the way it was presented to the public that it could have got hunter support," he said.
Murphy said he may submit the proposal again after he gets a clearer picture of whether hunters share his objections to permit versus general hunting.
In other action, the commission rejected 4-1 a proposal to prevent hunters winning special elk permit drawings in some districts from applying again for five years. The restriction would have applied in 42 districts where applications far exceed the number of available permits.
Murphy said a waiting period is unnecessary and unwise.
"We've got thousands of elk out there. It's just one more limitation on sportsmen's opportunity to participate in hunting in Montana."
Also, the commission unanimously rejected starting the general big game season in 2005 on a Saturday, instead of the traditional Sunday opening day. Mulligan said the change didn't have the kind of overwhelming support from hunters that is needed for approval.
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