Hunt seagulls instead of sage grouse? Just a thought

My friend E Dub called last week. He wondered if his out-of-state bird license would be cheaper this year if he can’t hunt sage grouse.

I told him I doubted it. Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks isn’t known for lowering prices despite diminishing opportunities. Elk licenses didn’t get any cheaper after the wolves ate all the elk. FWP did, however, eventually add wolves to the list of hunt-able species.

Maybe that’s the best we can hope for, I told him, another bird to hunt.

Then I got a call from Marko Manoukian, the Phillips County extension agent. He said I’d left out one of the...