It’s cool this morning. There is a different feel to the air. The days are slowly getting shorter, my bird dogs are getting restless and I am listening for that first bugle of a bull elk down in the river bottom. It’s that time when I, and all hunters, anxiously prepare for the glorious days we spend pursuing our quarry in the forests and uplands of our Montana. But this year things are different, and as we take to the field we must acknowledge that difference and change our behavior for the sake of the hunt, our wildlife and our fellow hunters.
Over the past six months Montanans have gotten a lesson in “flattening the curve” and as a state we’re working hard to keep Covid 19’s spread to a minimum. We’ve learned the importance of social distancing and surveillance testing. It’s a lesson we can use to protect our deer, elk and moose from Chronic Wasting Disease, the always-fatal neurological condition that was first detected here in 2017 and is spreading across the state.
As we’ve learned, social distancing is essential to limit the spread of Covid 19 in people. That means being physically separated by enough space to prevent transmission. We’ve had to work from home, shut down large swaths of our economy and limit gatherings. It’s been tough, but necessary.
