Generous hunter, meat lovers linked to Montana landowners

"Anything. Anywhere," says the Montana State University graduate student whose parents, two brothers and a sister all hunt. Now out every weekend and sometimes after class, Fenster said he hunted six out of Montana’s seven hunting regions last year. This year, he has hunted three regions so far, and late-season tags will send him to a fourth.

http://doecowhunt.montana.edu/

"Shucks, I have 12 deer doe tags to go still," Fenster said from the basement office he shares with Marc Kenyon, a fellow graduate student who sometimes goes hunting with him. Ron Aasheim, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks spokesman, said one hunter can buy as many B licenses as he or she wants for anterlerless whitetail deer in certain areas until the licenses run out.

Fenster said he eats a lot of venison and gives meat to friends, family or local families having a hard time. This year, he also plans to donate game to the Gallatin Valley Food Bank. The Food Bank sees about 25 families a day, 500 families a month and 17,000 individuals a year and welcomes game that has been commercially processed, said Volunteer Coordinator Jessica Casey. The Food Bank gives families their choice of beef or game, and about half take game, she said.

As a six-year resident of Montana, Fenster said he already knows landowners who let him hunt on their property. But he is also one of more than 10,000 people a year who have turned to an MSU web site that matches landowners and hunters. "DoeCowHuntMontana" was designed to reduce elk, deer and antelope populations, so the site focuses on hunters who want to shoot doe deer, doe antelope and cow elk and landowners who have those. The site was developed by the Extension Wildlife Program at MSU.

By Evelyn Boswell, MSU News Service

Full Story: http://www.montana.edu/cpa/news/nwview.php?article=3059