Big game survival and recruitment in northwest Montana was good the last three winters, especially for elk and deer. Winter temperatures and snow conditions were generally mild and the high harvest on wolves and lions resulted in favorable conditions for fawn and calf survival.

Four big game check stations will be open in Region 1 on weekends during the general season…

Staff in Region 2 anticipate better than average hunting opportunities for the upcoming fall hunting season. Western Montana had a very mild winter in 2025-2026, on the heels of two previous mild winters. The winter was abnormally dry, but early summer conditions provided some needed moisture, which should benefit animals heading into the fall. During spring surveys, biologists observed good recruitment for both deer and elk, and overall counts are trending upward in several areas, especially in the Upper Clark Fork.

REGION 3

Hunter harvest last year was limited because unseasonably warm weather kept wildlife at high elevations in many areas. The winter of 2025-26 was exceptionally mild as well, and 2026 saw favorable spring and summer precipitation in some areas. These factors contributed to good overwinter survival and higher-than-average recruitment of calves and fawns into most elk and deer populations in southwestern Montana. Overall elk counts in some districts were well above average. Hunters may benefit from these strong wildlife populations. But hunter success will again depend heavily on weather, which is the primary catalyst for wildlife migrations into areas more accessible to hunters.

REGION 4

Big game species across most of FWP’s Region 4 came out of the 2025–26 winter in good condition, with strong overwinter survival rates for not only adults but also the fawns and calves born in 2025. During the winter and spring, much of the region was experiencing a continuance of the moderate to severe drought that reduced habitat quality, but timely and abundant rainfall in late spring and early summer rapidly and significantly improved forage and overall habitat conditions. As a result, deer, elk and pronghorn are entering the critical fall and winter period of 2026 in very good body condition for the first time in the past several years. This turnaround gives wildlife managers optimism, and barring a particularly harsh winter, they anticipate strong fawn and calf production next year – setting the stage for improved hunter success and big game populations in the seasons ahead.

Above-average summer temperatures and below-average precipitation across most of the region have resulted in reduced forage for wildlife going into late summer. However, following a mild winter, mule deer fawn recruitment improved in some south-central Montana hunting districts.

REGION 6

Several years of extreme drought and the long winter in 2022-23 reduced deer and elk populations in most areas of northeast Montana. FWP adjusted license quotas in many districts as needed, and many districts are at their lowest quota level for antlerless mule deer and elk.

The last three winters were mild, however, and more precipitation has improved habitat conditions in much of the region, resulting in improving trends for most big game populations.

REGION 7

Habitat conditions in much of southeastern Montana are considerably better than a couple years ago, when the landscape was severely impacted by drought. However, there was very little snow this past winter, which resulted in low winter mortality for many wildlife species but conversely results in very little moisture going into the spring. Much of the region received early summer rainfall this year, which improved habitat conditions across much of the region. But July was extremely hot and dry, which has deteriorated habitat conditions.