The data collected at checkpoint stations throughout the state, Eggeman said, help officials determine and manage elk, deer and bear populations. Because of their smaller sample size, he said, bears receive “special treatment.”

When he finished his measurements of the bear, he pulled out a map of the Blackfoot and asked Don Burnham, hunting in the area for his 47th season, where he made his kill. He put his finger near Sunset Hill, and said he used a .300 Winchester.

“My first kill is usually an elk, but this is a pretty good start,” he said.

Burnham said he plans to turn the bear’s hide into a rug after harvesting the meat. Sunday’s kill marked his third black bear during his 47 years of hunting in the Blackfoot, and he plans on returning before the end of the season for an elk.

Tom Leonard, 18, arrived soon after, with a six-point buck strapped to his tailgate.

The UM students gathered around the deer, and peppered Leonard with questions. Ethan Antle, a wildlife biology major working the station for the first time, asked if he could cut the animal’s cheek open to get a better look at its teeth.