Like much of the rest of Montana, the reason folks move to Jefferson County, stay here, or come back after leaving often revolves around the outdoor opportunities our geography provides. Chief on the minds of many is hunting. Within its bounds, our county contains the opportunity to hunt every big game animal on offer in Montana, short of the mountain goat. (Though a few “beasts the color of winter” still avail themselves of the slopes of yesteryear’s volcanics in the Elkhorn Range, there aren’t enough to hunt sustainably.)
Our hills have mule deer and our river bottoms whitetails. We’ve got elk, and some would say too many. Only 60 years ago they were brought into the gulches of northern Jefferson County in a spirit of reparation to the species. They were plucked from the Yellowstone Herd and went on their first and last rides in a truck — alive, anyway. In addition, there are moose, a bighorn sheep herd still hanging on, and predators that abound on the meat of the aforementioned.
As much as anything, we’ve got good country. Chunks of earth to fall in love with. Over half a million acres of public land in total. The Elkhorn Mountains – the nation’s only Wildlife Management Unit – with the most sought-after elk permit in the state and its herds and its beauty. The Boulder and Bull Mountains – often nameless and timbered to their tops, and so much in between.
There are private land opportunities too. We’ve got over 80,000 acres of Block Management, where through different means of permission, the state has brokered agreements with private landowners to allow public hunting. What a privilege to cultivate a connection with a piece of ground that, though potentially fleeting, is shared with us and is as powerful as the next. There’s other private land too, and whether or not one shoots an elk or deer on public land, there’s a good chance the meat on its bones came in significance from private grass, and that should not be forgotten.
It’s all there, that opportunity. So much of it worked for and defended and maintained. It demands respect and even reverence if it is to persist. So enjoy it and love it and share it. The blood, sweat, and tears of attempted acquisition, and the full bellies and memories when the season is over. If you hunt in Jefferson County, you are dang lucky, and don’t forget it.
