One of the things I've noticed over the past decade or so is that late-summer weather here in southwest Montana has become drier and hotter, resulting in longer, more intense fire seasons. In fact, the local record for the lowest rainfall throughout July was set a couple years ago--basically nothing at all.
When the hot, dry weather arrives , elk start showing up on valley-bottom ranches in the valley bottoms shortly thereafter--long before even the bow season starts on September 1st. This of course results in even more complaints from landowners, and last fall the local game wardens started escorting people on night shoots. I have friends who live in a foothill subdivision just above one of those ranches, who were naturally alarmed to hear rifle fire at 4 o'clock in the morning.. They called local law enforcement, whereupon they were informed about the "hunts."
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
