My Billings Gazette

Kaching!

You finally scored that hard-to-get bull tag in the Missouri Breaks, now the planning starts. You should also plan to get in shape, if you're not already buff.

Thankfully, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is offering some tips for hunters looking to tone up for the fall season. The nonprofit turned to Cameron Hanes, a fitness and bowhunting authority, for a few tips.

“You don’t have to be a world-class athlete to build up amazing endurance, but you do have to get started with some sort of workout regimen. Every day you spend in inactivity, you get weaker. Every day that elk move through high country, they get stronger. And the longer you wait to exercise, the wider the gap grows,” Hanes said.

Here are five ways Hanes suggested to get in shape:

1. Try a “commercial workout” when you’re sitting around watching TV. Do push-ups and sit-ups during the commercials. Over the summer months, this exercise can make a big difference.

2. If you’ve been doing nothing recently, there’s no point in running. Going overboard right out of the gate will only make you too sore, cause you to hurt yourself or burnout quickly. Go for a brisk walk instead. Walk for 10 minutes and slowly jog for five. Do this back-to-back for 30 minutes, four times a week, for a couple of weeks. Slowly begin to lengthen the overall workout, then start increasing the jogging time.

3. You don't need to spend tons of time working out. If you’re at your ideal weight, you need just 30 minutes a day of exercise. If weight loss is a concern, experts say it takes an hour of exercise each day to lose weight without going on a diet. Thirty minutes will do for weight loss if you diet and exercise.

4. Hard workouts are not always better. Some of the world’s greatest athletes exercise at “conversation pace,” meaning their pace is easy enough to have a conversation while running. As you get into shape, try long (45 minutes or more) comfortable workouts three or four days a week. Then, one day a week, do a harder fast-paced workout.

5. Mix it up. Add some variety to your walking and jogging with cross-training and lifting weights — but keep in mind that almost everything you do in elk hunting begins and ends with your legs. Throw on your pack and climb hills or bleachers. Get on a bike. In the weight room, emphasize squats and lunges. Lots of reps are more important than heavy weights, because for elk hunting you need lean muscle, not size.

When hunting season arrives, remember to pace yourself. The endurance you’ve built over the summer will allow you hunt longer, not necessarily faster or harder. Many hunters tend to overexert at first and hit the wall quickly. Slow, steady hunting for longer periods gives you your best chance to take an elk.

The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation teamed up with veteran horse packer Smoke Elser to offer up some tips for hunters thinking about horseback riding into the high country after elk.

Elser has been guiding and outfitting in Montana’s Bob Marshall Wilderness for more than 50 years. His top 10 suggestions are:

1. Consider taking a riding lesson before your hunt. Learn the basics of mounting and dismounting, reins, leg cues, proper balance and body position. A horse is not an easy chair — a little preparation and skill are required.

2. Be realistic. Even though your horse can carry you over difficult terrain, it cannot carry you over impossible terrain. You’ll need to hike across the steepest, roughest areas. Hopefully, you’re in shape.

3. Stirrup length should be adjusted at the trailhead. Don’t be bashful about insisting on a comfortable fit that allows you to stand up slightly in the stirrups. Having your knees hunched up can be miserable for you and your horse.

4. Horses are a means of transportation from point A to point B, not to the elk. Don’t expect to shoot from atop your pony like Buffalo Bill. In fact, firing a rifle anywhere near horses can be disastrous. Your actual hunt will need to be on foot.

5. Think about clothing. Bring boots that fit easily into stirrups and wear clothing that allows you to mount and dismount easily. For example, coveralls constrict motion and should be avoided. Keeping quiet and warm are factors, too, and wool clothing is both even when wet. Also bring a broad-brimmed hat to help ward off branches to the face and snow down the neck.

6. Let your guide do the saddling and unsaddling. Often hunters want to help but end up improperly cinching, dragging saddles through mud, disassembling bridles down to the last buckle, etc., causing extra work for the guide. Don’t pretend knowledge of horses and tack if you have none.

7. Always let your guide tie up your horse for you. Improper tying can result in a dead or injured horse if they get choked or tangled. More commonly, hunters return to find only the guide’s horse still there. That could mean a long hike back for one of you.

8. Bring a rifle that fits easily into a scabbard. Oversized scopes or bipods will require disassembly and are impractical. If in doubt, ask your outfitter to recommend appropriate rifles and other gear.

9. Bring what you need, but you don’t need the kitchen sink. Nearly every elk outfitter has funny stories about hunters who insisted on packing things like ice skates, bowling balls, bathrobes, business suits and other nonessentials. But it’s really not funny — overloading is hard on a horse’s loins and kidneys.

10. Wallets in pants pockets tend to work themselves out when you’re riding a horse. Keep your elk tags and personal identification inside your shirt pocket.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has hired Ohio's David Risley as its new chief of the new Fish and Wildlife Division.  It's a powerful position that entails almost every aspect of what FWP does except State Parks and handling the money matters.

Here was the job announcement that went out to the press on Thursday:

David Risley, a 30-year veteran of Ohio's state wildlife agency, will guide Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks’ new Fish and Wildlife Division, FWP Director Joe Maurier announced today.

Risley, 55, leaves his post as the wildlife management and research administrator with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources' Wildlife Division, a position he's held since 2002. Risley will become the first administrator of Montana's recently combined Fish and Wildlife divisions.

"Montana is the Super Bowl of fish and wildlife opportunities, and to be offered a job like this is the dream of many within the natural resource management profession," Risley said. "I'm honored to have been selected and I'm looking forward to living and working in Montana, where the people clearly value and support their fish and wildlife resources."

Maurier said Risley was selected from a pool of 15 applicants and was among seven finalists interviewed for the job last month. "David has achieved an impressive number of accomplishments during his 30-year career in Ohio, and he has an excellent grasp of the issues facing fish and wildlife managers today. He has the right interests and personality for Montana and he's a great fit for FWP," Maurier said.

 Risley earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in wildlife management from Ohio State University. He began his career with the Ohio DNR's Wildlife Division as a private lands wildlife biologist in 1979. In his current position, Risley directs Ohio's wildlife management and research programs and is responsible for the division's 130 full-time employees and a $4.8 million budget. Risley's appointment will be effective Aug. 15.

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Risley will oversee the old fisheries division, wildlife division, enforcement division, information and education division and strategic planning.

Risley's hiring comes in the wake of the deputy director hiring of Art Noonan, pretty much a lifelong Democratic Party politician who doesn't hunt and hasn't bought a Montana fishing license dating back to at least 1989.

What it means is that the top three officials in FWP have a combined three years experience in Montana resource administration.  Risley has none.  Noonan has congressional staff experience in Washington, D.C., but none in Montana beyond the legislature.   Maurier was hired in 2006 out of Colorado to be the FWP Parks Division administrator and was Gov. Brian Schweitzer's college roommate.

How is it all going to work out for hunters, fishermen, campers, floaters, boaters, hikers and others who have spent their lives here invested in the outdoors?  Who knows?

But it's definitely a changing of the guard in Helena and for any insitutional knowledge whatsoever in guiding the department and protecting our fish and wildlife legacy for future generations, look down in the department -- don't look up.  -- mark

In case you didn't hear, the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission set a quota of 75 wolf permits for state hunters on Wednesday.

The agency expects most of those permits to be sought by elk and deer hunters who will shoot a wolf if they see them, rather than people specifically targeting the big canines, but I wouldn't bet on it. I think there are many folks who would like to specifically pursue a gray wolf as a trophy. No word on whether it would be added to the SuperTag line up, which allows the winner to hunt the species anywhere in the state, but I doubt it.

With the wolves' delisting appealed by environmental groups recently, there is sure to be a suit against FWP over the hunting permits. So I don't think there will be any wolf hunts this season, or possibly even next year, as the issue winds its way through the court system.

Environmentalists argue that the wolves have not reached a number substantial enough to allow hunting, plus the populations tend to be genetically isolated. Management agencies counter that the wolves have met the pre-assigned quotas and should be managed like other wildlife, such as mountain lions, which are hunted.

Fishing and floating in high water time on Montana's rivers is not an experience for the inexperienced.  Dangerous situations develop  quickly.  Obstacles are harder to avoid.  It's a time of year when even someone with extensive experience on the oars of a boat or raft can have a difficult time.

Witness the photo that came in from friend Doug Haacke which he said came from the Bighorn River.  The view is an eerie shot of a drift boat plumb on the bottom of the river.  I don't know the tale that went with it.   Haacke wrote, "Fortunately, everyone in the boat was rescued by guides or other anglers."

For safety's sake, remember that things like this can and do happen on the waters of Montana at this time of year.  Be careful out there. -- mark

Bozeman ultralight backpacker Ryan Jordan is offering to take everyone on a 120-mile romp into the Bob Marshall, Scapegoat and Great Bear wilderness areas this month.

Jordan isn't planning a mass descent on northwestern Montana, instead he'll be posting Tweets and real-time audio updates via satellite phone as well as SPOT locations that will allow visitors to track his progress on his blog during the hiking/packrafting trip July 5-14.

"I just wanted to give a headsup to some of you that I will be experimenting with social media from a short expedition as an avenue to engage armchair adventurers next week," Jordan wrote in an e-mail.

When asked if all the extra interaction would take away from the trip, Jordan responded: "It's a pretty minimal burden, actually, and I'm only broadcasting on this one, not interacting 2-way. I once did a full on audio/video/photo upload from an expedition and that was a lot to manage."

 Hot weather, cold water. That was the formula Saturday on the upper Stillwater River from Buffalo Jump fishing access site down to Cliff Swallow.

This upper section of the river isn't runnable in a raft once the water drops - it's too rocky. But right now it's nearly perfect, plenty of water to create some great whitewater. The scenery is hard to beat, as well, with the snow-capped peaks of the Beartooth's shining in the distance to the south.

I saw turkeys and mule deer on the drive up the canyon. Lush, green grass carpeted the hillsides. The scent of wild rose highlighted sections of the river and Indian paintbrush was blooming along the river bank.

If you feel comfortable paddling whitewater, check it out while you still can. There are also three rafting companies, Absaroka River Adventures, Adventure Whitewater  and Beartooth Whitewater that can take you and your out-of-town guests down the river for a reasonable fee if you don't have your own boat or are worried about braving the whitewater. If you're looking for information on whitewater outfitters in other areas of the state, check out Travel Montana's Web site.

Maybe I'll see you on the river. I'll be the guy with the big smile.