HELENA — 2024 was a busy year for Montana Wild, with more than 17,000 visitors and 61 programs. Only ten days into the new year, they already have some exciting things in the works.
"[We're] always trying to find new and exciting ways to get wildlife education into the community," said Montana Wild program manager Corrie Bowditch.
The Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks educational center reached many across the state.
The free public programs, like archery and ice fishing, saw over 2,000 participants and over 5,000 students from 103 schools visited Montana Wild in 2024.
Bowditch said, "Because of a grant we have, we are able to support schools from quite far away to come here to Helena to visit. Everywhere from Eureka, Cutbank, Chester, Trout Creek, and kind of everywhere in between."
Montana Wild recently opened a new exhibit called "Form Follows Function," which shows people how an animal's body impacts how they live.
When MTN arrived, they were just about to set up a new trail camera near Spring Meadow Lake.
"We're hoping to capture things like mink, muskrats, deer. We'll hopefully be posting those to our Facebook weekly or monthly, depending on what we're able to capture," said Bowditch.
Montana Wild's wildlife rehabilitation center rehabilitated hundreds of birds this year, many returning to nature.
The center could be getting some changes starting this spring.
Bowditch said, "We're hoping to break ground on a new and improved avian center. The hope is that all of our birds [that are] patients and the ones who live here full-time will have improved enclosures and also allow the public to have better viewing accessibility of the birds so they can stop by anytime and get a close-up look at those birds."
In addition to the programs Montana Wild typically does, they are looking to add a wildlife telemetry program.
"Folks can practice using GPS collars and telemetry equipment to see how wildlife biologists might track things like bighorn sheep out in the wild," said Bowditch.
Montana Wild is at 2668 Broadwater Avenue in Helena. You can stay updated by clicking here to visit the websit here, or through their Facebook and Instagram.
