After receiving more than 3,000 comments from the public, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is rethinking its tentative proposals for a fixed-date big game hunting season; wolf hunting season dates; elk permits for the Missouri Breaks; and antelope hunting-permit numbers.

The FWP Commission will take up those matters at its meeting Wednesday at the Colonial Inn in Helena.

“We probably got more public comment on this set of tentatives than we can remember,” Tom Palmer, FWP spokesman, said on Friday.

“The comments weren’t just on wolves, but there was big, big interest in the antelope archery season, the elk season potential date change, and the elk hunting in the Missouri Breaks.”

In December, the five-member commission gave tentative approval to run the big game hunting season from Oct. 25 to Nov. 30 every year, with the thought that a fixed day season would allow people to better plan their hunts — in addition to eliminating the opening-day rush.

However, the commission also gave tentative approval to retaining the “formula dates,” in which the opening day of hunting is arrived at by counting five weeks back from the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

Many of those opposed to the fixed opening date said Montanans might not be able to break away from work on a weekday opener, and opening day is when hunters have the best opportunity to kill an elk or deer.

After hearing from the public, FWP officials now are proposing to maintain Montana’s traditional five-week season that ends the Sunday following Thanksgiving Day.

FWP also wants to expand the proposed wolf hunting season to coincide with the big game hunting season, but extend it another month after the end of that season.

The winter mountain lion hunting season runs in December and January, and those hunters wanted the opportunity to take a wolf as well as a mountain lion.

The commission previously had given tentative approval for the wolf hunting season to run from Sept. 15 to Nov. 30, contingent upon wolves being taken off the federal list of endangered species.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service expects that to take place this month but anticipates that lawsuits will follow, which could delay any wolf hunting season.

In addition, the state agency is recommending postponing any wolf trapping season for at least two years.

As far as the highly controversial elk archery permits for the Missouri Breaks, FWP is proposing a number of adjustments, all of which include limiting the number of archery permits.

The debate over the permits — which involves 31 hunting districts — includes economic, social and philosophical issues.

At the December meeting, FWP biologist Quentin Kujala said the new proposal “managed to have offended just about everyone.”

Currently, anyone who buys a hunting license also needs to apply for a permit to hunt elk in and around the Breaks, which is home to what’s been called the “last greatest public elk herd in the United States.”

Only a limited number of rifle hunters receive permits. But because the success rate for archery is much lower, anyone seeking a bow-hunting permit gets one.

This raised the question of fairness, with some hunters saying that rifle and bow hunters should be treated the same. It also lends weight to the perception, if not the reality, of overcrowding in the Breaks.

The proposal concerns outfitters, because only 10 percent of the permits can go to out-of-state residents. So while they may have a client who has paid $1,500 for a hunting license, if that person doesn’t receive a permit for the area, they can’t hunt there.

As far as the antelope archery situation, FWP is proposing to replace the unlimited 900-series antelope archery licenses with special drawing licenses, but boost the number of licenses available via the annual special drawings from 4,500 to 5,600.

At the Wednesday meeting, the FWP Commission will take public comment on the final proposed actions.

Meeting at Red Lion

Montana’s Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission will meet at the Colonial Red Lion Inn in Helena, beginning at 8 a.m. Feb. 20, to set the 2008 and 2009 big game hunting seasons and harvest quotas.

Click here to see all of the proposed changes affecting hunting in Montana.

Reporter Eve Byron: 447-4076 or eve.byron@helenair.com