By Benjamin Alva Polley EBS COLUMNIST
During the first week of hunting season, my father-in-law, brother-in-law, a friend and I stayed at the Lewis and Clark Hut on the American Prairie Reserve, near the confluence of the Judith and Missouri Rivers. The Missouri Breaks, a rugged expanse in central Montana, is characterized by steep bluffs, striking badlands and sweeping grassy plains etched by river valleys—it’s remote, off the grid and abundant with wildlife. I’d spotted griz tracks here two years before APR captured video of the first grizzly seen there in a century.
Renting the lodge, our goal was to restock our freezer with game, as we had done before. Days nearly reached 50 degrees, rattlesnakes were active on sunny slopes, and nights dropped well below freezing.
At twilight each morning and evening, we saw herds of about 60 elk—mostly cows with a few large bulls near irrigation spigots—and plenty of mule deer does and fawns. But none of these were legal game where they congregated. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and APR only allow whitetail deer hunting on APR lands. Cow elk and mule deer could be hunted on adjacent, checkerboarded Bureau of Land Management and state lands, but access was challenging, especially for my septuagenarian father-in-law, who had just had a hip replacement.
For the first few days, whitetails were scarce; something felt off. We learned the cause after talking to Mike Ferda, the PN Ranch manager, who had recently found at least a dozen mature dead whitetails along riverbanks and elsewhere. He suspected bluetongue.
After regaining internet service, I learned about bluetongue virus and the related Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease. These viruses typically break out in late summer and early fall, presenting symptoms such as fever, labored breathing, and swelling of the head, neck or tongue. Both diseases are transmitted by biting midges and can have high localized mortality until hard frost ends the outbreaks. Typically, they don’t impact overall deer populations long-term. Governor Gianforte has recently limited the issuance of hunting licenses in northeastern Montana in the wake of virus outbreaks.
The virus exists across the southern U.S. from Florida to Arizona, as well as in the West and Midwest. Suspected cases have been reported in both eastern and western regions of Montana, including along the Yellowstone River and on the Flathead Reservation.
In the unforgiving heart of Montana’s prairie, where wild rivers carve the land and only the hardiest wildlife endure, a silent virus is taking a toll on deer—and reshaping hunting season for those who seek the solace of the Breaks.
Benjamin Alva Polley is a place-based storyteller. His words have been published in Rolling Stone, Esquire, Field & Stream, The Guardian, Men’s Journal, Outside, Popular Science, Sierra, and WWF, among other notable publications, which can be viewed on his website.
