How will the CFWCS affect FWP’s fish and wildlife biologists?
Montana’s biologists are as important as ever. FWP will not reduce its emphasis on Montana’s traditional fish and game management. With the help of SWG funding, however, FWP will continue to explore ways to meet the needs of species in the greatest need of conservation. As time and staffing allow, and in the course of normal data collection activities–like shocking fish and winter deer counts–biologists will be asked to be more attentive to species not typically inventoried or monitored. In some instances, there will be immediate opportunities for those interested to expand research and data collection efforts. FWP has already embarked on a number of demonstration projects using SWG dollars, including a prairie fish survey; studies on native sauger genetics and sauger movements in the Yellowstone; common loon ecology studies, and inventories of small mammals and reptiles in and near sagebrush habitats. These and other similar projects represent the first time many species and habitat
