Menhaden Graphic – Atlantic Allocation Map-Final_11-10-25_800
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Deer Season – Hunting & CWD: A Hunting Journal Found and New Hunters in the Making
From handwritten memories to new milestones afield – TRCP’s Ryan Chapin reflects on passing on the hunt while staying informed and committed to good CWD stewardship in Montana.
In Montana, the Youth-Only Deer Season marks the start of big game hunting for many families. Public schools close for teacher-in-service days, giving kids ages 10 to 15 the first crack at harvesting deer with a firearm. This camp has become a rite of passage for our kids and some of their friends, and a tradition that we all look forward to.
While preparing for this year’s camp, I unexpectedly found a hunting journal that I started years ago when I was a youth hunter myself in my home state of Ohio. At the garage work bench, I turned on a light and opened the binder’s Velcro clasp and flipped through my handwritten notes and sketches.
I read one of the entries: “September 5, 1994 – Tomorrow Dad, Austin and I will set a stand at Bickley’s in the corner near the apple trees…”
These memories reminded me of how deeply rooted this tradition is for me and how pleased I am now to be passing it along to our kids and their friends.
Using the same pencil that I hadn’t touched for over 31 years, I wrote:
“October 14, 2025 – Tomorrow, my daughter Ella, her friend Addie and I will join our friends in setting the annual Youth Deer Hunting camp on Rock Creek…”
While setting up camp the next day, I thought of how much of hunting is the same as when I was a kid; lanterns still whisper, and wood stoves still cast warm flickers of light. I also thought about how hunting has changed since my childhood. Today’s hunters come equipped with range finders, digital phone maps, boots that are actually waterproof, and CWD sample kits from local game and fish offices.
Still, the hum of the modern hunting season carries a new awareness. Chronic wasting disease looms in conversations and decisions alike, reminding us that stewardship means more than just taking a clean shot – it means staying informed, testing our harvests, and helping safeguard the future of the hunt.
After camp was set, we planned out the hunt while roasting hot dogs over an open fire. Over the next several days, each group would take a different location to maximize the girl’s chances of success. Our group hummed with excitement, and I thought about how nice it was to be back here along the creek among friends, family and the towering ponderosa pine.
In the early morning dark, Addie, Ella and I went out on the big ridge to where the cliff overlooks the creek bottom. Addie, who’s joined the camp for years as a non-hunting companion, just recently took hunter’s safety and honed her shooting skills with us at the range. Ella and I admired her determination, her sharp eye for spotting animals, and her interest in becoming a hunter; we were keen on helping her get her first deer. We settled into the rocks and waited for the sun to rise.
Not long after shooting light, Addie tapped Ella on the shoulder and tugged on my coat’s hood to get our attention.
“There are two deer below us in the rocks by the river,” Addie whispered while pointing straight ahead and down.
Ella nor I could see the deer until their tails flickered white and moved away before a shot could be set up. We were impressed with Addie’s keen eye; while also a bit embarrassed that we couldn’t see the deer ourselves.
Over the next hour, Addie followed the same routine two more times, seeing and pointing out deer unseen by Ella or me. I rubbed my eyes, gave Ella a concerned look and whispered to Addie.
“The next deer you see, just get it in your scope fast and don’t worry about showing us!”
Before we knew it Addie was at it again, but this time she pivoted her body and the rifle to the left. Immediately we saw the deer coming our way along the creek bottom. Ella ranged the deer at 160 yards, and I helped Addie switch the rifle’s safety to fire and increase the magnification of the scope. Addie focused in and her shot was good. The deer collapsed on the spot. She rolled away from the rifle and grinned. Ella was there with high-fives and praise for a job well done.
We gathered our gear and walked down off the cliff following the water to where the dead deer lay in the tall grass. Addie punched her tag, and we got out knives. We could see the other hunters coming our way as they must have heard the shot.
Addie asked, “Ryan, do we have to leave the brains and spine behind like we did in Eastern Montana?” Referring to a guideline that applied at one time to certain hunting districts in Montana.
“Not here Addie, we will drag the deer out whole and dispose of the carcass. Also, we will take a lymph node sample and make sure your deer tests negative for CWD before cooking burgers and steaks, how does that sound?”
Addie nodded and explained that she learned about carcass disposal in her recent hunter’s safety class.
The rest of the girls arrived and rallied around her. They helped with the field dressing, offered congratulations, and worked together to drag the deer out to the road. It was satisfying to see young hunters supporting one another and seeing in real time one of human’s oldest skills being passed to another generation.
During the rest of our time at deer camp, Ella and Ava each also harvested deer and were supported by their friends with the same encouragement and camaraderie. As we packed up and headed home, I was pleased with how my relationship with hunting has evolved. From scribbling notes in my first hunting journal to watching a new generation carry the tradition forward. As we left camp, I felt a quiet responsibility settle in; the kind that comes with knowing our tradition is alive, and that it’s ours to pass on.
As we unpacked gear back home, I thought about how much I’ve learned since those early journal entries – less about taking deer and more about taking care. Each season, I study the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks hunting regulations booklet and CWD updates before heading out, check which units require sampling, and make sure our family has fresh sample kits and knows the rules for carcass transport and disposal. On the lands we hunt – from the river bottoms to the timbered ridges – I’ve come to see these steps not as burdens, but as part of the hunt itself: another way to respect the resource and the places that give us so much. Staying informed, testing our deer, and cleaning our gear are small acts that help ensure these same camps, lanterns, and early mornings remain part of the next generation’s hunting stories.
When the season ends and the freezers are (hopefully) full, I’ll take a quiet moment to look back on what we learned about the deer, the land, and ourselves, and just maybe, I’ll keep that old journal close by and start writing in it again.
Deer Season – Hunting and CWD.
This new TRCP series shares the personal deer hunting stories of three staff members while exploring the practices aimed at addressing the spread of chronic wasting disease. This season, we invite you to follow along and take part in preserving what we love most about deer hunting.
As deer seasons open across the country, hunters are packing gear, checking maps, and preparing for the moments that define another fall outdoors. But today’s deer hunters face new challenges – chief among them, the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), a 100-percent fatal neurodegenerative wildlife disease that affects members of the deer family. While more and more hunters are finding CWD in their backyards, it remains a source of confusion for many.
From pre-season prep and regulation changes to lessons learned in the woods and around deer camp, Deer Season – Hunting and CWD will show how everyday hunters are part of the solution. Along the way, you’ll find tips, resources, and reflections that tie together our love of the hunt with our shared responsibility to keep deer herds healthy for future generations.
Helena Event Celebrates Winner of Montana Big Game and Wildlife Highway Crossings License Plate Artwork Contest
Kylie Bute of Bozeman designed the winning plate selected from nearly 30 eligible submissions
The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, in collaboration with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and Old Salt Co-op, hosted an event on Wednesday evening in Helena to celebrate Kylie Bute’s winning design of the Montana Big Game and Wildlife Highway Crossings License Plate Artwork Contest.
Director Christy Clark of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks joined the celebration and spoke about the importance of wildlife crossings and safe migration routes for big game species.
“Meaningful conservation efforts take all of us working together,” said Director Clark. “This is a great example of how state agencies and conservation organizations can partner with community groups to find unique ways to help protect wildlife migration and provide for public safety. Congratulations and thank you for this captivating design, Kylie Bute.”
The event brought together members of the outdoor conservation community, agency staff, and community members to celebrate the recent milestone legislation supporting wildlife movement and driver safety and to raise funds for wildlife crossing projects across the state.
“Montana’s big game migrations are iconic, and safe highway crossings are essential for wildlife and drivers alike,” said Ryan Chapin, Montana field manager for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “We applaud MT FWP for establishing this wildlife movement specialty plate and congratulate Kylie Bute on her winning design which will soon be proudly displayed on vehicles across our great state.”
Bute was announced the winner of the Montana Big Game and Wildlife Highway Crossings License Plate Artwork Contest and received a $1,000 award for her creative contribution to Montana’s conservation efforts. Bute’s winning design will soon appear on specialty plates available to Montana drivers, with proceeds benefiting wildlife connectivity and wildlife-vehicle collision risk reduction projects through MT FWP’s newly established Big Game and Wildlife Highway Crossings and Accommodations Account. Thank you to all the artists who submitted inspirational and compelling designs.
“My passion for art has always been about telling stories, and this design is a way to spread awareness of the importance of wildlife conservation and movement,” said Kylie Bute, a June 2025 graduate of Gallatin High School. “I’m deeply appreciative and proud to know that my artwork will soon be on vehicles across our great state, helping Montanans connect with the incredible wildlife that surrounds us.”
Guests enjoyed food and drinks from Old Salt Co-op. A portion of the sales during the event will be deposited into the Big Game and Wildlife Highway Crossings and Accommodations Account.
The Montana Big Game and Wildlife Highway Crossings License Plate Artwork Contest was organized by the TRCP and supported by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, Montana Department of Transportation, National Wildlife Federation, Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Glacier-Two Medicine Alliance, Vital Ground Foundation, and Montanans for Safe Wildlife Passage.
Learn more about TRCP’s wildlife migration work HERE.
Mussel Restoration Effort Indicates Improved Water Quality in Pennsylvania Waterway
The freshwater mollusks, along with eels, are being reintroduced in a branch of the Susquehanna River upstream of the Chesapeake Bay
When my dad attended college in 1975, he could see the West Branch of the Susquehanna from his dorm window. But he never fished it – because there were no fish to catch. The river had been degraded to the point where it could barely support aquatic life. In fact, a Pennsylvania stream map I have on the wall from 1958 actually shows this section of the river with a skull and crossbones along its reaches.
Fast forward to 2025 and it’s a different story. Anglers float the West Branch chasing smallmouth bass, walleye, channel cats, panfish, and more. Eagles and ospreys are common, and elk regularly wade its waters. And now, an initiative to restore American eels and freshwater mussels is underway because the water quality has improved enough to justify the effort. The river’s change in fortune is a direct result of water quality standards and investments in clean water initiatives.
Freshwater mussels in North America were once much more common and widespread than they are today. Historic water-quality impacts and dam construction have restricted their distribution and populations, with many disappearing completely from historic watersheds. As water quality improves, state agencies are working to restore freshwater mussel species and the fish hosts that they require for reproduction. Here in Pennsylvania, an effort is underway to do just that in sections of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River; waters which ultimately find their way to the Chesapeake Bay.
Early Efforts Show Promise
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, Lock Haven University, and other partners are leading the restoration effort, funded in part by a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Chesapeake WILD grant. To determine if the water quality is suitable for mussel reintroduction, the PFBC and WPC have housed juvenile mussels in protective “silos” in a section of the West Branch. The mussel silos are placed within the river and periodically removed to monitor their survival and growth. PFBC biologists have already determined that the water quality is now suitable for further mussel reintroduction, due to the successful survival and growth of the juvenile mussels in these silos.
Unfortunately, actual recolonization of mussels has not yet occurred in many places. Multiple downstream dams impact upstream movement of aquatic organisms, including the American eels that host the larvae of eastern elliptio mussels. When these mussels reproduce, their young develop into larvae, called ”glochidia,” and disperse throughout the water. It is here that the glochidia attach to the gills of a host fish where they develop into miniature mussels. The mussels later release from the fish and find a home in the stream sediment, where they grow and can live for decades.
Importance of In-Tandem Eel Reintroduction
Eastern elliptios rely on only a handful of fish species to reproduce, with American eels as their primary host. While they can reproduce using other fish species, reproduction through eels as their host has been shown to be the most productive. With the presence of dams along the Susquehanna blocking their migration route, however, eel numbers in many tributaries have declined, leading to a corresponding decline in elliptio reproduction.
To restore this historic relationship in the West Branch, scientists and students at LHU are essentially infesting eels with elliptio larvae. Eels are captured in the lower Susquehanna, transferred to a lab at the university, and placed in tanks that contain glochidia from mussel broodstock collected from beds farther downstream. Once the glochidia attach to the eels, they are transported to sections of the river upstream of existing dams and released. The intent is for the juvenile mussels to mimic natural processes and develop on the eels before dropping off into the river, creating new populations of mussels. Another project partner, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, is currently refining techniques for mussel rearing that will allow their hatchery to produce tens of thousands of viable glochidia from only a handful of adult mussels.
On the Right Track
Once a dead zone, the West Branch of the Susquehanna River is now a destination sport fishery, because of its remoteness, scenery, access, and smallmouth bass populations. Various conservation efforts – including mine and coal remediation, reforestation, riparian buffer programs, stream restoration, and water quality policy – have led to increased health of the river. The presence of mussels will restore another component of this aquatic ecosystem, benefiting gamefish species and enhancing angling opportunities. Protections and funding for water quality initiatives in Pennsylvania like this are critical for aquatic organisms, anglers, and rural economies that all benefit from clean water.
Learn more about how TRCP supports policy change for healthy habitat and clean water.
All images courtesy Jim Kauffman
Louisiana Decision Undermines Hard-Won Conservation Measure on Menhaden Fishing
The new Notice of Intent could once again permit industrial menhaden harvest in waters as shallow as five feet – rolling back a successful 2024 conservation measure developed through collaboration between anglers, industry, and state leaders
The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission (LWFC) voted 4-3 today to move forward with a Notice of Intent (NOI) that could allow industrial pogy boats to again fish within a quarter-mile of most Louisiana beaches – eliminating a broader half-mile buffer zone that the industry agreed to in 2024 after negotiations with recreational angling and conservation groups, LWFC, and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
Despite overwhelming public opposition – including testimony, written comments, and letters from nearly 200 Louisiana-based and national conservation organizations and fishing tackle companies urging the LWFC to keep industrial fishing for pogies – also called menhaden – at least ½-mile off Louisiana’s coastline, the LWFC sided with the two foreign-controlled menhaden companies operating in the state.
“Today’s decision is extremely disappointing for anglers, conservationists, and those who care about Louisiana’s coastal ecosystems and habitat,” said Chris Macaluso, director of fisheries for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “In 2024, anglers, conservationists, and the menhaden industry reached a compromise to establish modest protections for Louisiana’s shallow coastal waters by setting a half-mile buffer off most Louisiana beaches. What happened today is nothing less than the industry and their political allies backing out of that deal.”
Commission Chairman Kevin Sagrera of Abbeville, La. – where Canadian-owned Omega Protein owns one of its two Gulf-based processing plants – instructed Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries staff in October to draw maps that reduced the ½-mile buffers to ¼-mile across most of the coast at the behest of the industry. The other industrial menhaden company operating in the Gulf is South African-controlled Daybrook Fisheries, which runs a processing plant in Empire, La.
The ½-mile buffers were enacted prior to the 2024 menhaden fishing season after two massive fish kill events were caused by the industry’s boats, as well as net tears in 2022 and 2023, that resulted in wasting millions of dead pogies, redfish, croakers, and other fish that washed up on Louisiana beaches. Menhaden reduction vessels draft around 10 feet, but will now again be permitted to fish in water as shallow as 5 feet if the NOI is ultimately approved in spring 2026.
“What happened today not only undermines public trust in our state’s ability to conservatively manage its fisheries but will ultimately result in harm to fragile coastal habitats and fish like redfish and speckled trout, whose populations have already declined over the past decade.”
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Chris Macaluso, director of fisheries for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership analyzed menhaden industry-related fish kill and spill information from 2024 and determined that the estimated number of fish spilled was reduced by 74 percent after the ½-mile buffer was instituted. Menhaden harvest data from NOAA Fisheries database also revealed that – despite industry claims that the buffers were resulting in a loss of jobs, profits, and fewer fish harvested – 2024 harvest levels were similar to levels during the 2021 and 2014 fishing seasons and that the dockside value of the Gulf menhaden harvest increased by a full $60 million from 2021-2024.
A 2024 study that thoroughly examined bycatch associated with the Gulf industrial menhaden fishery showed that more than 140 million non-target fish were killed along with menhaden by industrial vessels that year alone, including 22,000 breeding-size redfish (which are illegal to harvest by recreational anglers), 240,000 speckled trout, more than 80 million croaker, 25 million white trout, 5.5 million white shrimp as well as millions of other species like spot, black drum, catfish, sharks, and rays. An additional 8,000 smaller redfish, Louisiana’s only saltwater gamefish, were killed and along with menhaden reduced by the industry into fish oil, fish meal, and other industrial products. The 2024 study also showed that bycatch of speckled trout, redfish, and other species increased in net sets made in water shallower than 22 feet deep.
The LWFC was set to approve a 1-mile buffer coastwide in early 2024 after extensive public outcry about the millions of dead fish spoiling on Louisiana’s beaches in the previous two seasons. That decision was delayed by Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry’s administration, which eventually insisted both recreational fishing and conservation advocates, along with the menhaden industry, accept a ½-mile buffer as a compromise.
The vote to reduce the current ½-mile buffer will include a 60-day public comment period to begin on December 19 and conclude on January 23, 2026. Should the LWFC give final approval to the NOI after the comment period, the Louisiana Legislature has the option to conduct an oversight hearing of the decision and could remand the decision back to LWFC for changes, if deemed necessary.
More information about the broad importance of menhaden is available on TRCP’s Forage Fish Recovery Page
HOW YOU CAN HELP
TRCP has partnered with Afuera Coffee Co. to further our commitment to conservation. $4 from each bag is donated to the TRCP, to help continue our efforts of safeguarding critical habitats, productive hunting grounds, and favorite fishing holes for future generations.
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