Sun River gates draw crowds near Augusta as antler season begins

AUGUSTA, Mont. — A growing crowd turned out about nine miles northwest of Augusta as the gates opened at the Sun River Wildlife Management Area.

Hundreds of people waited to get in on horseback, in cars and on foot as they headed into the area to look for deer and elk antlers.

The site is managed by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Its main purpose is to provide winter range habitat for the Sun River elk herd.

As temperatures warm up, people are able to use the area for hiking, horseback riding, hunting and other recreation.

Augusta game warden Per Wolfisberg said people keep showing up with energy for the opening, no matter the weather.

“Everyone always seems excited whether or not the weather is good to get out here to a place that’s been closed. And a lot of people are passionate about these elks so they find it really fun to come out here and maybe pick up an antler from one of them,” Wolfisberg said.

With hundreds of people expected in the area, wardens also prepared to patrol a large stretch of land beyond the gate.

Two horses helping with that work are Biscuit and Sylvestor. They were once wild mustangs in Wyoming before the Bureau of Land Management rounded them up, they went through training at the Honor Farm and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks adopted them at no cost.

Wolfisberg explained the horses gave wardens a practical way to cover remote country in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

“We obviously have millions of acres back here to go and enforce the laws. So we go back there and check fishermen and hunters and make sure people are following the rules that we set,” Wolfisberg said.

Wolfisberg said he hopes the mustangs will keep getting more used to people as activity picks up at Sun River this year.