FWP Language Style Guide

MONTANA FISH, WILDLIFE & PARKS

Creating clarity and consistency in all department communication

This guide was produced in 2022. Regularly updated versions will be posted on the FWP internal web page under the Forms and Procedures tab.

Questions or concerns about anything in this guide? Call or email the FWP Communication Bureau chief or Montana Outdoors editor anytime to discuss.

Introduction

Anyone who works for a high-profile state agency like FWP knows that what we say and how we say it matter greatly. If people don’t understand our messages, they won’t know what we do and how our work benefits Montana.

Vague, inconsistent, or confusing communication also creates the impression that we don’t care about each other or the people we serve. And that we can’t clearly articulate our management programs and accomplishments.

To help, FWP’s Communication and Education Division (CommEd) developed this FWP Language Style Guide. The goal is to make language style and usage consistent in all FWP public communication efforts including:

u Press releases

u Montana Outdoors

u Website and social media

u PowerPoint presentations

u Brochures

u Videos

u TV Outdoor Reports

u Billboards

u Fish and Wildlife Commission cover sheets

u Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson grant reports

This style guide is the language companion to the FWP visual style guide in the FWP Brandbook that helps us create a consistent look for department logos, signs, and publications. Employees can find the Brand Library for style at fwp.mt.gov.brandlibrary

The FWP language and visual style guides answer common questions about how to present information in written, oral, and visual public presentations and products in ways that reflect the department’s cohesiveness and professionalism.

This language guide also aligns FWP’s style with that of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, National Park Service, National Wildlife Federation, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and other major fish, wildlife, and parks organizations and agencies.

This guide may also be used, but is not intended, for technical papers and reports. Those documents are not aimed at a public audience and often adhere to different style guidelines, such as capitalizing fish and bird names.

Finally, part of CommEd’s role is to help FWP employees communicate more effectively. CommEd staff, including the seven regional CommEd managers, are happy to assist in writing, public presentations, and communication planning. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to them for help.

The FWP Language Style Guide provides guidance for both language style and usage, as well as definitions of things that may not be familiar to all department employees:

u Style is the particular way FWP deals with things like capitalization, acronyms, and plurals that often have no set rules in dictionaries but need to be consistent within the agency.

u Usage means the correct use of language and includes grammar— the set of rules that govern language. Also included are many definitions of words and terms used by our agency.

Reference Sources

This guide is based on the following style, usage, and natural history books, by priority:

General

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (11th ed.)

Chicago Manual of Style (16th ed.)

Associated Press Style Guide, 2020-22

Outdoor Reference Manual, Outdoor Writers Association of America

Falcon Style Guide, FalconGuides

Usage

Garner’s Modern English Usage

Plant and Animal Names

Montana Field Guide, Montana Natural Heritage Program

Mammals of Montana (2nd ed.), Kerry Foresman

Birds of Montana, Marks, Hendricks, Casey

Manual of Montana Vascular Plants, Peter Lesica

Amphibians and Reptiles of Montana, Wener, Maxell, Henricks, Flath

A Field Guide to Montana Fishes, by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks

Geographic Names

Montana State Highway Map, Montana Department of Transportation

STYLE: FWP

Style is the way our department uses capitalization, punctuation, and other aspects of language not related to usage (grammar and such).

Ampersand/&

Within the context of FWP’s work, an ampersand is not an acceptable substitute for the word “and” except in these three instances: Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks; U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service; and Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park.

Director’s Office

Capitalize both words. Same with Legal Unit (and all other units), Fisheries Division (and all other divisions), and Hatchery Bureau (and all other bureaus).

The official name (since 1979) is Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. It is the only Montana state agency without “Department” in its name.

The acronym “FWP” may be used only after the first full use of the department’s name. It is unnecessary to include the acronym in parentheses directly after that first reference, as in Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP). Also, FWP, the department, and the agency may be used interchangeably. For example:

• By that time, FWP’s budget had stabilized.

• No one thought the agency would be the same.

• Many elk hunters praised the department for the revised policy.

FWP, an FWP takes the article an beforehand, because of the “eff” sound of the letter “F”: An FWP network systems analyst responded quickly.

FWP attribution

FWP as an entity has no voice, but FWP officials and managers do. Phrase such sentences to reflect human beings taking action or a position.

INCORRECT: The agency maintains that people can coexist with grizzlies. Or FWP responded that it had met the minimum requirements.

CORRECT: FWP officials maintain that.… Or The department’s senior managers responded that .…

FWP

FWP job positions and titles (capitalization)

With very few exceptions (see below), no agency positions or titles are uppercase:

• She is the fisheries biologist for Region 6.

• The game warden congratulated the boy on harvesting his first deer.

• Later, wildlife technician Glenn Wilson lifted the carcass into the truck. See sidebar, page 6.

The titles director and commissioner (a member of the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission) are likewise not capitalized when they follow the person’s name or are used without a name:

• Chris Johnson, the FWP director, said the information would be released tomorrow

• It was ultimately the governor’s decision, the director said.

• The commissioner corrected the minutes for the record.

EXCEPTIONS:

Director and Commissioner are capitalized on first reference when used as a title directly before the person’s name:

• Director Chris Johnson praised the group for its service.

• Commissioner Taylor Smith introduced several changes to the policy. On subsequent references, use only the last name. Similarly, Enforcement Division ranks and titles are capitalized when they come immediately before the individual’s name: FWP Warden Captain Ryan Marten praised the hunters who provided crucial information. On second reference, just the individual’s last name is sufficient: Marten completed the investigation.

NOTE: Do not abbreviate Captain or Sergeant as Capt. or Sgt.

NOTE: You may see Fisheries Biologist, State Parks Technician, and other FWP positions capitalized as listings in the FWP directory, on business cards, after email signatures, and elsewhere. That is because these are headings and not a part of standard written communication text.

NOTE: When used with a program name, the position title is not capitalized, but the program name is: Casey Martin, regional Fishing Access Site Program manager, explained why the boat ramps were closed.

FWP offices, units, divisions, and bureaus

Capitalize complete names, as in Director’s Office, Legal Unit, Fisheries Division, and Hatchery Bureau.

Hatchery/hatchery

Capitalize in the official name, such as Giant Springs Hatchery, but not in any other case.

Why we don’t capitalize job positions or titles

The FWP style does not capitalize job positions or titles. This is the same style used by newspapers, magazines, and books across the United States, as well as the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and U.S. Park Service. It would be weird if we did and would create the impression that we believe that our positions are more important than, say, a teacher, nurse, ranch hand, or auto mechanic. Job positions and titles are not proper nouns, which are the only nouns that get capitalized in the English language. Thus, Melissa Wilson is the fisheries technician in Region 1, Tyler Johnson is a wildlife research biologist based in Butte, and Chris Olsen is the new park manager at Forsyth State Park

There are a few exceptions. See FWP job positions and titles (capitalization), page 5.

Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission

Subsequent use can be the commission (lowercase), as in The commission met last week.

Fish and Wildlife commissioners

Lowercase when referring to commissioners in general, as in Fish and Wildlife commissioners are appointed by the governor. (Fish and Wildlife being short for Fish and Wildlife Commission).

Montana Outdoors

The name of FWP’s magazine, established in 1970. Always italicize, as with all book and magazine titles. Do not write Montana Outdoors magazine.

Montana state parks

How we refer to two or more state parks. Not Montana State Parks.

Montana State Parks and Recreation Board

Subsequent use can be the board (lowercase), as in The board ended its meeting early.

Board members

Members of the board are called members, and don’t have titles as the ` Fish and Wildlife commissioners do.

Montana WILD Education Center, the

The official name of the education facility in Helena that is commonly referred to as Montana WILD. Note that WILD is all uppercase. Use Montana WILD in subsequent usage. Note that the longer official name takes a “the,” but the shortened form Montana WILD does not.

Montana WILD Wildlife Center, the

This is the FWP facility in Helena next to the Montana WILD Education Center that temporarily houses injured raptors. It is considered a part of Montana WILD. The facility is often referred to as the rehab center or wildlife rehab center, which is fine for informal usage but not in FWP publications.

Parks and Outdoor Recreation Division

A new FWP division, created in 2021, that includes state parks and fishing access sites.

programs

Names of all FWP programs are capitalized and should include Program on first usage, such as the Block Management Program, Future Fisheries Habitat Enhancement Program, Heritage Resources Program, Native Fish Species Program, and Nongame Tax Checkoff Program. Subsequent usage can be shortened to Block Management, Future Fisheries, and the like. Subsequent usage also can be program, such as: The program was established in 1986.

Habitat Montana is an exception. This program, established by the Montana Legislature in 1987, doesn’t have Program as part of its official name.

Why we don’t capitalize fish and wildlife species common names

The FWP style does not capitalize fish and wildlife species common names in material intended for public distribution. This is the same style used by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in their public publications, National Geographic magazine, and other established conservation organizations and media. Since the late 19th century, the American Ornithological Society capitalized bird common names in its publications. Recently the American Fisheries Society began doing the same with fish names. Following these styles, a fish and wildlife agency could end up writing something like: “The area included a wide range of important species, including Rainbow Trout, Bull Trout, Northern Squawfish, elk, wolverines, grizzly bears, Scarlet Tanagers, Ruffed Grouse, and long-tailed frogs.” Obviously, a reader would be confused by that mishmash of uppercase and lowercase names.

Because FWP wants to decrease public confusion about fish and wildlife, not add to it, the agency has adopted the widely accepted “no caps” rule for all animal common names (except those, like Baird’s sparrow and Arctic grayling, that include people and place names).

R3/R3

Shorthand for the FWP (and national U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service) Recruitment, Retention, and Reactivation initiative (or effort), which encourages public participation—newcomers, existing users, and former enthusiasts— in hunting, fishing, camping, boating, and other outdoor recreation.

To prevent confusion with FWP’s Region 3, use R3 as an abbreviation in headlines, titles, and subheads. But in text, it’s okay to use R3, as long as the context makes its use clear:

CONFUSING: The director said he was excited about new R3 staffing changes.

CLEAR: The director said he was excited about new changes in staffing for the Recruitment, Retention, and Reactivation (R3) initiative.

region, regional (capitalization)

The only time we capitalize region is in the name of an FWP region, like Region 7. Never capitalize regional: The director said he was aware of the region’s issues and would take them and other regional matters under consideration. Later, regional supervisor Alex Taylor agreed with the committee that regionwide changes were necessary.

regions, FWP

Use numerals for all regions. Region 2, not Region Two.

NOTE: Many people, especially nonresidents, are not familiar with FWP’s seven regions and their locations. In statewide publications and all public communication, consider using a geographical description—such as northwestern Montana rather than Region 1 and north-central Montana rather than Region 4. Exceptions are in cases where the FWP jurisdiction is essential to the meaning: Baker said that all offices in FWP Region 7 would be closed until the emergency was over. Similarly, for statewide publications, try to use phrasing such as FWP regional wildlife manager in Glasgow or regional wildlife manager for FWP’s northeastern (not northeast) region rather than Region 6 wildlife manager.

EXCEPTION: For regional websites and press releases, where the audience is familiar with the regional locations, using Region 4, Region 1, and such is okay. state park

Capitalize the official name, such as Fort Owen State Park, Missouri Headwaters State Park, and the like. Subsequent use can be just the name—Fort Owen, Missouri Headwaters, and such—or just the state park: Portions of the state park were damaged by the storm. Park officials later said it was the worst storm Missouri Headwaters had seen in decades.

STYLE, USAGE, DEFINITIONS

Absaroka Range, the Absarokas Pronounced Ab-ZORE-kuh.

academic degrees (fields)

Lowercase the field unless a proper noun: He has a BA in English, a master’s degree in conservation biology, and a PhD in speech pathology.

academic degrees (abbreviations)

No periods in the abbreviations: She has an MS and a PhD in wildlife biology. Both bachelor’s and master’s degrees use apostrophes in singular form.

acronyms

Put acronyms in parentheses after first reference to an agency or organization: Biologists from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) and Trout Unlimited (TU) were involved. In subsequent references, you may use only the acronym: Later, it turned out that the USFWS and TU were crucial to the project. If there is only one reference to an agency or organization in an article or press release, do not use the acronym.

EXCEPTION: For Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, there’s no need to put the acronym in parentheses after first mention: The judges decided that Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks was the best agency. FWP officials agreed with the decision.

active and passive voice

Whenever possible, use the active rather than the passive voice.

PASSIVE: The boat was rowed by Chris.

ACTIVE: Chris rowed the boat.

Active voice is clearer and more concise than passive voice, which can make it hard for the reader to understand what or who is doing the action. Along these same lines, try whenever possible to include the agent responsible for actions.

NO: The stream habitat was degraded. (What or who degraded the habitat? In what manner was it degraded?)

YES: Nearby housing construction caused silt to run into the stream, covering spawning gravel and suffocating underwater insects.

This is not meant to cast blame but rather to help readers understand cause and effect. Active voice is not always possible or advisable for state agency communication. But try when you can.

acts (federal law)

Capitalize when using the full proper name of a law: Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (RAWA). Use acronym in subsequent references. Note: If the word “act” is part of the acronym, do not repeat it.

NO: FWP officials support the RAWA Act.

YES: FWP officials support the RAWA.

acts and agencies

Use federal in front of a federal agency’s name or legislation if it is likely unfamiliar to the reader and might be confused with a state agency or as state legislation: Bureau of Reclamation, but federal Office for Human Resources Protection.

Adams

A common dry fly. A popular variation is the Parachute Adams. See fly/flies, page 30.

Administrative Rules of Montana (ARM rules)

Agency regulations and standards used to carry out, interpret, or set policy. Commonly known as ARM rules, they can also describe an agency’s organization, procedures, or practices. They do not include hunting, fishing, and trapping seasonal rules.

affect/effect

These are two of the most commonly confused words in English.

Affect is a verb meaning to influence or to change: The storm will likely affect pheasant survival.

Effect is a noun that means a change in results or a particular feeling created by something: We will not know the effect of the storm for months. Coffee has no effect on me.

With either of these vague words, it’s almost always better to find a more accurate one: Though the storm will likely kill pheasants, we will not know the full extent of losses for months. Coffee doesn’t make me jittery.

Because people often don’t remember which word is which, they often substitute “impact,” which is even more vague. See impact, page 35.

age

Use numerals. The boy was 7 years old. It was likely a 3-year-old bear. For ranges, use the singular age and to rather than a hyphen: age 12 to 17, not age 12-17 or ages 12 to 17.

AIS

Abbreviation for FWP’s Aquatic Invasive Species Program, page 13.

alot

Not a word. Use a lot.

alright

Not a word. Use all right.

although/though

Both words, when meaning in spite of the fact, are interchangeable. Do not use altho or tho.

American Fisheries Society (AFS)

The professional organization of fisheries biologists.

American Indian

See Indigenous people, page 36. amid

Not amidst, which is British English. among

Not amongst, which is British English.

among/between

Between is used when referring to two things, like between a rock and a hard place, while among is used for three or more things: Who among the 12 of us hasn’t wronged another at one time?

and/or

Avoid this ambiguous usage. Usually or suffices. If it doesn’t, try this construction: She said we could fish or hike or both.

angler

Someone who fishes. Preferred over fisherman, fisher, or fisherperson.

animals (names)

The common names of all animal species, including birds and fish, are lowercase: black bear, rainbow trout, yellow warbler, and others. Exceptions are when the name includes a proper noun (a person’s name or a place), such as Baird’s sparrow, Townsend’s solitaire, American robin, Arctic grayling, and Iowa darter. See sidebar, page 7.

animals (plurals)

The plural for most birds and small and midsized mammals takes an “s” or “es”: warblers, wild turkeys, and the like, plus bobcats, beavers, martens, coyotes, shrews, foxes, fishers, and wolverines. For these midsized furbearers, this is the style used by Dr. Kerry Foresman in his authoritative Mammals of Montana, a key reference for this style guide.

Exceptions include most larger mammals (except mountain goats), which do not take an “s” for the plural: bison, moose, elk, deer, pronghorn, bighorn sheep as well as mink, lynx, wolves, and mice, and, for birds, grouse, teal, geese, snipe, and ptarmigan.

Most fish names are the same singular and plural: three walleye, five trout, two smallmouth bass, six bullhead, four pallid sturgeon. Exceptions: suckers, minnows, pumpkinseeds, crappies, saugers, cutthroats, and darters.

animals (names, shortened forms)

The use of shortened forms of compound animal names, as nouns or adjectives, is okay on second reference: grizzly, grizzlies, grizzly cub (for grizzly bear); whitetail, whitetail doe, whitetails (for white-tailed deer); muley, muleys, muley buck (for mule deer); smallmouth (for smallmouth bass); rainbow, rainbow fry (for rainbow trout); cutthroat (for cutthroat trout); and brookie, brookies (for brook trout).

animal (names, scientific)

Only include a scientific name (generic and specific) when necessary. In those cases, both names are italicized and the genus is capitalized (such as Plectropenaz nivalis for snow bunting).

animals (names, family)

Family names are capitalized, but not italicized: “Those blue butterflies are likely members of the Plebeiinae subfamily.”

animals (pronouns)

Do not use personal pronouns (“he” or “her”) unless the sex has been established: The grizzly entered its den late that year. But: The grizzly sow moved between the hikers and her cubs.

animals (young)

Names of young for common Montana wildlife:

fawn: deer, pronghorn

calf: elk, moose

lamb: bighorn sheep

kid: mountain goat

cub: bear

kitten: mountain lion, bobcat, lynx

pup: wolf, coyote, otter, prairie dog

kit: red fox, swift fox, beaver, rabbit

chick: all upland birds and all raptors

except eagles and owls

colt: sandhill crane

antelope

See pronghorn, page 48.

cygnet: swan

gosling: goose

duckling: duck

eaglet: eagle

owlet: owl

pup: bat

poult: wild turkey

fry or fingerling: all fish except sturgeon and paddlefish

larvae: sturgeon, paddlefish

antler/horns

Antlers are bony head protrusions grown by male deer, elk, and moose. They are shed each year, anytime from January through May, and regrow during the spring and summer.

Horns are found on both male and female bighorn sheep, mountain goats, and bison—males’ are larger than females’—and are permanent and not shed. The visible part of the horn is the horn sheath, which is also permanent.

The pronghorn is a real oddball. Both the male and female have horns, the male’s being larger, but they shed and regrow the horn sheath each year.

antlered bull or buck

An elk or deer with one or two antlers at least 4 inches long.

antlerless elk or deer

A term used in hunting regulations to denote a male or female elk or deer with no antlers, or with both antlers less than 4 inches long. Generally it refers to cows and calves for elk and does and fawns for deer, but can include young male elk and deer.

antlers (tines)

In the West, a bull elk or buck deer is described by the number of tines on each antler: a 3x4 mule deer, a 6x6 bull. Note the lowercase x with no space before or after. Elsewhere in the United States, bucks are described by the total number of tines on both antlers combined: a 12-point buck.

annually

Bureaucratese (see page 63). Use “yearly” instead.

anytime

The word anytime means at any time or whenever: You can come visit us anytime.

apostrophes (animal, place, and group names)

Apostrophes are used in animal names that include a person’s name, such as Franklin’s grouse and Townsend’s big-eared bat. They generally don’t appear in place names (Bears Paw Mountains). Some organization names look like they should include possessives (such as the Montana Outfitters and Guides Association) but don’t. Verify with each group to be certain.

apostrophes (acronyms, years)

Do not use an apostrophe for plurals of acronyms or years. Simply add an “s” or (for acronyms ending in “S”) an “es” For instance: 1990s, WMAs, BMAs, FASes.

aquatic invasive species (AIS)

Plants, animals, or pathogens that are not native to Montana—introduced accidentally or intentionally—and can harm the state’s aquatic ecosystems and economy. The official FWP program name is the Aquatic Invasive Species Program.

Arctic grayling

Capitalize Arctic.

assure/ensure/insure

Assure means to confidently tell someone that things will happen as hoped or promised: I assured my supervisor the report would be done on time. Ensure means to guarantee or make sure: I will ensure that your laptop is kept safe. Insure refers to insurance: We insured our house against flood damage.

ATV (all-terrain vehicle)

An off-highway vehicle with four tires, a seat designed to be straddled by the operator, and handlebars for steering. See OHV, page 44.

awhile/while

Awhile means “for a while.” While means “a period of time.” So you’d write: Please stay awhile. Or: Please stay for a while. While also means “during,” such as in You go ahead and eat while I take a shower.

n B

backcountry

Generally used to describe areas or activities not legally accessible by vehicles and without road access, running water, toilets, or similar amenities. See frontcountry, page 31.

backpack

As a verb, this means to hike and camp for one or more nights. As a noun, it is a large sack with shoulder straps, often with an interior frame and many side pockets, used to carry tents, sleeping bags, and other camping gear on a person’s back for long distances.

bait fish

Small fish such as shiners and fathead minnows used by anglers to catch larger game fish such as walleye.

barbed wire

Not barb wire or barbwire.

basin

Generally lowercase: Missouri River basin. Exception: Powder River Basin.

bass

Always use the specific name largemouth bass, rock bass, white bass, or smallmouth bass to clarify and reinforce the distinction. Note that all four species are non-natives.

bear (age and gender)

A bear cub, cub-of-the year, or young-of-the-year is a bear that was born that calendar year.

A 1-year-old bear is a yearling.

A 2-year-old bear is called a 2-year-old bear.

A sub-adult bear is age 3 to 5 for grizzlies and 1 to 3 for black bears. This refers to the time when young bears may no longer be traveling with their mother but are not yet sexually mature.

An adult bear (sexually mature) is typically age 5 and older for grizzlies and 3 and older for black bears. Note: Do not refer to an adult female bear as a sow or an adult male as a boar, which perpetuates the misconception that bears are related to pigs. Refer to them as an adult female or adult male.

bear proof

Nothing is completely bear proof (other than Fort Knox), so use the term bear resistant instead.

bear resistant

Hyphenate as an adjective before the noun, but not after: We always use bearresistant containers. Our orchard is bear resistant. Because there is no verb to describe this activity, use phrasing such as We need to make our campsite bear resistant.

bear spray

No need to write bear pepper spray.

Bears Paw Mountains

Not Bear Paws Mountains. Note that the National Park Service refers to the historic battlefield as Bear Paw Battlefield.

beaver(s)

Plural takes an “s.”

Becoming an Outdoors-Woman

The official name of the program and organization. The hyphen should be included as shown.

bench

A level area of land on a mountain.

best

Hyphenate when using as a compound adjective before a noun: This was the best-known trail. But no hyphen after the noun: This trail is best known for its scenery.

between/among

See among/between, page 11.

biennial/biannual

Biennial means every two years. Biannual means twice per year. A good memory device is the “e” in biennial, which starts the word “every.”

big game

Larger hunted animals such as elk, deer, bighorn sheep, moose, and pronghorn. Not hyphenated, even when used as a compound adjective before a noun: big game hunter.

bighorn sheep

The full name is Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, but usually “Rocky Mountain” is omitted. You may use bighorns or wild sheep on second reference.

binoculars

Not binocular. As with the word glasses, binoculars can be singular or plural depending on the usage: I will take my binoculars (singular), but Bob Wards sells many types of binoculars (plural). When enumerating, it’s one pair of binoculars (singular) and two or more pairs of binoculars (plural).

bird (names)

See animal names, page 11.

bird of prey

A category of sharp-taloned birds that eat meat. Also known as raptors. Includes eagles, owls, hawks, harriers, falcons, and, on some lists, turkey vultures.

bird sounds

Italicize: tweet-tweet, ke-ree.

Only 1 space after a period

Two spaces after a period at the end of a sentence make publications—and the agency that produces them—appear dated. Double spaces were required after periods back when people used typewriters (pre-1990s). Typewriters produced characters (letters and numbers) that each took the same amount of horizontal space. As a result, writers needed two spaces after a period to give the following capital letter some visual room so that readers could recognize that a new sentence had begun. But Microsoft Word and other word-processing programs make spacing proportional, giving skinny characters (like “l”) less space than fat ones (like “W”), which means only a single space after a period is necessary. All major style guides call for a single space after a period, and all books, magazines, and newspapers follow this rule.

birdseed

One word.

bird watcher, bird watching

Birder is a permissible substitute for bird watcher, as is birding for bird watching.

bison

Preferred over buffalo, though buffalo is acceptable in historical references and in First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park. Note that many Native Americans prefer the term buffalo when referring to this large prairie ungulate.

black bear, black bears

The species’ common name, even though many black bears are not black. Describe various colors as, for instance, brown-phase black bear, cinnamon-color black bear.

Blackfeet, Blackfoot

The Blackfeet are the Montana members of the Blackfoot Confederacy, which includes tribes in Canada. The Blackfeet Reservation is the Indian reservation bordered by Canada and Glacier National Park owned by the Blackfeet Nation. Blackfoot is also the name of a river and other places in west-central Montana.

block management area (lowercase)

Lowercase unless part of the formal name: We had good success on the Ron Aasheim Block Management Area near Big Sandy. Abbreviate as BMA and BMAs.

The same rules applies to wildlife management area, state park, conservation easement, and fishing access site.

Block Management Program

Subsequent use can be Block Management when referring to the program.

blue grouse

Now called dusky grouse. See dusky grouse, page 26.

blue-ribbon trout rivers

Use a hyphen because otherwise it could read as “ribbon-shaped rivers that are blue in color.” FWP no longer uses this designation for management, but it’s still a handy way to denote Montana’s most popular and productive trout waters.

Bonus Point System

The system through which hunters can increase their odds of drawing a license or permit by purchasing bonus points. The points don’t “move you up the preference ladder,” as is often mistakenly thought, but act as “extra chances” in a given license or permit lottery.

born/hatched

Animals (mammals) that are live-birthed are born, while animals (birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians, insects) that emerge from external eggs hatch.

bowfishing

The practice of using a bow and arrow to kill fish, typically nongame species such as common carp.

bowhunting, bowhunt, bowhunter

One word, no hyphen.

brand

When related to FWP, our brand is our public image, the way people perceive the department (think image, promise, reputation).

brand position

An internal statement intended to distinguish our agency from other departments and from NGOs, and guide how FWP employees think about our relationship to the people we serve. The FWP brand position statement: FWP unites people to help us protect the integrity of the Montana outdoors experience.

branding

What we as an agency do, say, and show to express our four brand beliefs:

1. We perpetuate opportunity outside.

2. We focus on integrity.

3. We strive toward balance.

4. We bring people together (inclusion).

broadhead

An assemblage of several metal points, blades, or both attached to the end of a modern hunting arrow shaft designed to penetrate a big game animal’s hide and cause massive internal tissue damage and hemorrhaging resulting in death.

bullet

A cylindrical, pointed lead, copper, or other metal projectile fired from a gun. A bullet is part of a firearm cartridge. Bullet is often used interchangeably with cartridge, but technically cartridge is the correct term for the combination of bullet and gunpowder combined in a metal case that is loaded into a rifle or handgun breech. See rifle, page 50.

bulleted lists

Use a black circle or a number. When each item is a sentence:

• Add a colon at the end of the heading (see line above).

• Start each line with a capital letter.

• End each line with a period.

For lists of items that aren’t sentences, include:

1. A colon at the end of the heading (see line above)

2. A capital letter for the first word in each line

3. No period or semicolon at the end of any of the lines

Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

A federal agency that manages millions of acres of public grazing and other lands in Montana and other states. On second reference use BLM or the bureau.

Bureau of Reclamation (BOR)

A federal agency that manages dams and irrigation projects throughout the West. On second reference use BOR.

n C

caddis fly, caddis flies

Two words (though mayfly and mayflies are, confusingly, one word).

caliber

The diameter of the inside of a rifle barrel. It is measured in millimeters (a 9 mm pistol) or in decimal fractions of an inch (a .270-caliber rifle). Note: No hyphen between the numeral and mm when used as a compound adjective.

camouflage

Often misspelled as camoflage because the shortened form camo lacks the “u.” Camouflage refers either to an animal’s coloration used to blend in with surroundings and avoid detection, or patterned clothing used by hunters for the same purpose.

campsite

But tent site.

Canadian border

Like Mexican border: The feral hogs were spotted near the Canadian border. But alternatively: U.S.-Canada border.

capital/capitol

Capital refers to the city serving as a state’s or country’s seat of government. Capitol is the building where state or federal leaders meet: Helena is the capital of Montana. While in Helena, legislators meet in the capitol every two years to pass new laws. Memory tip: Think of the “o” in capitol to remind you of the round olike rotunda in the building.

capitalization

Capitalize Montana (but not state) in state of Montana. Capitalize County but not city in the name of a county or city, such as Cascade County or city of Missoula.

carcass tag

A hunting license that is visibly attached to a harvested big game animal to certify legal possession of that animal by the hunter. A validated carcass tag (license) must have the month and day of the kill notched out of it. The term tag is slang for license. To tag a harvested big game animal is to attach the validated carcass tag (license) to it.

carp

Oversized members of the minnow family that are not native to Montana. Since the early 1900s, Montana has been home to the common carp. Other invasive species that could reach our state someday are the bighead, silver, and black carps. Refer to these collectively as invasive carp, not Asian carp.

catch-and-release

The practice of returning fish back to the water after they have been caught and landed. Usage: The anglers practiced catch-and-release while fishing the lake.

caverns

Synonymous with caves. Note that caverns take a plural verb—The caverns were too dark for me—except when referring to Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park, where Caverns is used as a shortened form of the park name, is uppercase, and takes a singular verb: The Caverns was the top sight our family visited that year.

See Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park, page 38.

-central

Locations identified by compound adjectives containing central include a hyphen: south-central Montana, but northwestern Montana.

century

No hyphen as a noun: It happened in the 19th century. But hyphenate as an adjective: It was a 19th-century artifact.

chair, chairman, chairwoman

The gender-neutral chair is preferred.

chronic wasting disease (CWD)

See diseases, page 25.

clear-cut (noun

and verb)

, clear-cutting climate change

A more accurate scientific term to describe the effects of increasing levels of greenhouse gases on the world, including extreme storms and other wild weather. Use global warming, one aspect of climate change, when referring solely to warming temperatures: FWP hoot owl closures have increased over the past two decades due in part to global warming. But: The meteorologist said that climate change could account for the increase in thunderstorms over the past decade.

Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC)

Not Citizens.

coldwater

One word when used to describe a stream’s fish habitat: The Gallatin is an excellent coldwater fishery. Two words when referring to frigid H2O: I splashed cold water on my face.

colon

A colon is punctuation signaling that what comes next is related to the previous clause, usually an example or explanation of what came before. Capitalize the first word after a colon only if it is a proper noun or the start of a complete sentence: Department officials made this promise to staff: We will respect you. But: We always use bait: worms, leeches, or minnows.

commas

Use commas before and in a series: The park provided hiking, fishing, and boating. This is known as the “serial” or “Oxford” comma. Exceptions: FWP press releases and our agency’s name, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.

commission cover sheets

FWP staff provide these one-page information sheets to the Fish and Wildlife commissioners before commission meetings. The sheets explain each agenda item and the department’s proposed motion.

communication plan

A systematic way to determine how best to solve a communication problem or take advantage of an opportunity. At FWP, communication plans are developed in cooperation with CommEd staff and follow the POAM-T system. See POAM-T, page 46.

compare to/compare with

Either is fine when writing about the similarity between two things. But if the intent is to point out differences, use compare with: Compared with my brother, the strikeout king, I could hardly hit the broad side of a barn with my pitches. Or: Compared with Texas, it’s easy to see why Montana is a superior state.

compose/comprise

Often confused, creating errors. Comprised of is always incorrect. Compose means make up; composed of means made up of. Comprise means to contain, include, be composed of. Example: The whole comprises the parts.

EXAMPLES: Montana is composed of 56 counties. Montana comprises 56 counties.

Fifty-six counties compose Montana. Still confused? Write around it with a simple declarative sentence in active voice: Montana has 56 counties.

compound plurals

For plurals, use lowercase: Missouri and Yellowstone rivers, Swan and Bitterroot ranges, Canyon Ferry and Fort Peck reservoirs.

conifer expansion

The process of trees taking over open grasslands and mountain parks—historically kept open by periodic wildfires and fires intentionally set by Native Americans—and crowding out grasses and forbs used by wildlife for food and nesting. Generally not a good thing for wildlife. Also called conifer encroachment and conifer succession.

conjunctions (starting a sentence)

It’s okay to begin a sentence with And, For, But, Or, or Yet.

conservation easement

Lowercase unless part of the name: FWP promotes the use of conservation easements for protecting wildlife habitat. But: We hunted the Bird Creek Conservation Easement. Abbreviate as CE and CEs.

Continental Divide

Use the Divide on subsequent reference.

CPR

In addition to cardio pulmonary resuscitation, this stands for catch, photo, release, a variation of catch-and-release that includes taking a photograph of the fish before letting it go.

contractions

Contractions combine two words into one, using an apostrophe to replace some letters: It is = it’s; can not = can’t. Contractions are considered informal and are okay to use when quoting someone or in other informal usage: “We’ll be out here until after dark,” the game warden told me. They are also okay in articles and brochures, but not in more formal writing.

copyright (FWP)

All FWP printed materials should include, inconspicuously on the back, in 8 point or smaller, the copyright symbol and the year they were produced: ©2022 Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. This will officially copyright the work and protect it from illegal use under federal copyright law.

copyright (attribution)

Organizations, including standard print and electronic media, may use FWP’s written, video, and photographic materials for educational purposes if credit is given to the agency. Typical credit for written material: From “Living with Bats,” Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Used with permission. They don’t need to include the copyright symbol. See printed materials, page 47.

In some cases, FWP materials may be used for commercial use, because the department wants to more widely disseminate the information. In these situations, written permission is required from the CommEd administrator.

Corps of Discovery

Another name for the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Pronounced core. Subsequent use can be Corps, as in The Corps remained along the river for another two weeks. Corps is singular: The Corps is considered one of the great assemblages of adventurers in U.S. history. See Lewis and Clark Expedition, page 38.

Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army

The U.S. Army Corps (pronounced core) of Engineers, an arm of the United States Army, is responsible for civil engineering works such as Fort Peck Dam. Subsequent use can be Corps, as in Officials with the Corps determined later that the dam would remain in place. Corps is singular: The Corps is adapting a more holistic approach to dam management.

The U.S. Army Corps often uses the acronym COE or Army COE, but FWP should stick with Corps as a shortened form.

crankbait

A minnow-imitating lure, usually with two or more treble hooks, used to catch fish on a spinning rod. Common crankbaits are the Rapala and Rebel brands.

crayfish (singular and plural)

A family of freshwater crustaceans that look like small lobsters. Also called crawdad, crawfish, and mudbug, though crayfish is preferred. Montana is home to two native crayfish species, calico and virile, and two non-native species, rusty and red swamp. Note that the virile crayfish, native to eastern Montana, is spreading west and is considered an invasive species in waters where it is not native.

credit (writing and design)

The author or designer or both of publications may be included (but is not required) on the back or inside the back or front cover of FWP printed materials: Written by Brett Johnson. Designed by Sam Smith. See printed materials, page 47.

credit (photographs)

If you are sure it’s an FWP photograph, put the credit as FWP in small type along the side of the image. If you are not sure, contact the Montana Outdoors art director to learn how to obtain permission to use the photograph. Once permission has been obtained—often requiring a use payment—be sure to include the photographer’s name in all caps, small type size, not italicized, outside of the photo along one side: JENNY JOHNSON.

criminal activity

The most common related to FWP is the unlawful taking of fish or wildlife, known as poaching. Another is vandalism, which refers to destroying or defacing property. A person who engages in criminal activity related to FWP is a lawbreaker, suspect, culprit, miscreant, or offender.

Crow Indians, Crow Indian Reservation

The Crow—or Apsáalooke (ahb SAHL a kuh), meaning “People of the LargeBeaked Bird”—are Native Americans living primarily in southern Montana. The federally recognized Crow Tribe of Montana has its headquarters on the Crow Indian Reservation southeast of Billings.

cutthroat trout (singular and plural)

For the same species: We caught seven cutthroat that morning. But use cutthroats to refer to more than one species of cutthroat trout: We tried to catch both native cutthroats while fishing in Montana.

n Ddata

Use with plural verbs: The data are sound. The data were disputed.

NOTE: Data as a singular verb is increasingly common in English usage—The data is indisputable—and may someday be fully accepted as such. But for now, science-based fish and wildlife agencies such as ours still use data as plural. An alternative is to use the word information, which takes a singular verb and sounds less stilted to the general reader: Information from the study was crucial in convincing the officials.

dates

Express dates as follows (note no abbreviations for months):

• December 31 (not December 31st or 31st day of December)

• December 31, 2022, (with a comma following the year unless at the end of a sentence)

• December 2022

• October, November, and December 2022

degrees (academic)

PhD (no periods), master’s degree (MS, MA), bachelor’s degree (BS, BA). See doctor, Dr. , page 25, and academic degrees, page 9.

different

Use different from, not different than, as in Pronghorn are completely different from any other wild ungulate in North America.

dinosaurs (names)

Dinosaurs don’t have common names, so use the scientific name, such as Tyrannosaurus rex, and, on second reference, use the abbreviated form T. rex.

direction

In general, lowercase north, south, east, west, northeastern, western, northern, and such when they indicate compass direction. I drove south for two hours. The cold front is moving west.

disability, person/people with disabilities

Disability is a general term for functional limitations that interfere with a person’s ability to do things like walk, hear, see, or learn. Usage: FWP made sure that people with disabilities could use the fishing dock. Preferred is person/people with a disability (putting person/people first) rather than disabled person/people. Never use handicapped.

diseases

Disease and syndrome names are lowercase: The deer had chronic wasting disease. Acronyms are uppercase: CWD. Exceptions are diseases that have a proper noun as part of the name, such as Lyme disease (named for the town of Lyme, Connecticut).

D-J

Short for Dingell-Johnson, which refers to the law designating redistribution of federal excise taxes on fishing gear, boats, and boat motor fuel to state fisheries agencies for fish, fishing, and boat and water safety projects.

Douglas fir

Coniferous tree. No hyphen.

doctor, Dr.

Use Dr. on first reference as a formal title for FWP employees (and those of related agencies and organizations) who hold a PhD (doctoral degree) in their field. Note that some FWP staff who hold a doctorate may not want to be identified as Dr., and for them we won’t use it. If unsure about an individual, ask the Communication Bureau chief at CommEd headquarters in Helena.

Note that the traditional thinking in newspapers and magazines has been that using Dr. other than for medical doctors could create confusion because readers would then assumer the person was in fact a medical doctor. But in the context of FWP communication, its use is obviously clear. No one would think a cardiologist was studying pronghorn migration.

Use Dr. in first reference only, and then just the last name on subsequent references: The study was designed by Dr. Corey Nelson. Later in the meeting, Nelson told the committee that the project was well underway.

drainage

All the waters—including tributaries, streams, ponds, sloughs, and lakes—that contribute to the water supply of a watershed.

driver license

Not driver’s license.

dry fly

A floating imitation of a mayfly, caddis fly, or terrestrial insect (like an ant or grasshopper) used to catch trout while fly fishing. See fly, flies, page 30.

dusky grouse

The official common name of the chicken-size native mountain game bird Dendragapus obscurus. In the early 2000s, DNA analysis showed that this and the sooty grouse—previously considered one species called blue grouse—were actually two distinct species. Use the actual name whenever possible*, though you can use phrasing such as dusky (blue) grouse and also known as blue grouse on first reference to help people learn the new name.

*Note that because “blue grouse” is in state statutes, it needs to be the name we use in the upland game bird hunting regulations booklet.

E

nEarth

Capitalize when talking about the planet. Mars is much smaller than Earth, and far more red. Otherwise lowercase: We moved heaven and earth to finish the project on time.

ecosystem

Lowercase except when in a proper noun such as Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem or Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (abbreviated as GYE and NCDE).

effect/affect

See affect/effect, page 10.

e.g./i.e./etc.

Abbreviations of Latin terms meaning for example or instance (e.g.); in other words (i.e.); and and the rest (etc.) It’s best to skip the Latin and say what you mean in English.

e.g.: Several of your habits get on my nerves (for instance, your constant knuckle cracking.)

i.e.: We are bereft of resources (in other words, we need more money and staff). etc.: Be sure to include Martin, Phillip, Macie, Alex, and the others. Note that other synonyms for etc. include and such, and the like, and and so on.

Elk B License

This is a separate license from a General Elk License that allows a hunter to harvest an antlerless (cow or calf) elk in certain hunting districts. Awarded by a drawing, sold over the counter, or as a surplus license, depending on the year and hunting district. A hunter can harvest up to three elk per year, either with one General Elk License and two Elk B Licenses or with three Elk B Licenses. An Elk B License is different from an elk permit, which has to be used with the General Elk License. See license, page 38.

email

No hyphen.

Endangered Species Act (ESA)

No need to add federal beforehand or include of 1973.

endangered/threatened species

Endangered species are plants and animals that have become so rare they are in imminent danger of becoming extinct. Threatened species are plants and animals that are likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of their range. Reserve the word endangered only for species listed as such under the ESA.

ensure

See assure/ensure/insure, page 14.

E-Tag

A digital carcass tag that can be stored and validated using the Montana MyFWP mobile phone application. For each of their licenses, customers can choose to receive a paper version or an E-Tag. E-Tags can be downloaded to a smartphone device and validated in the field, in or out of cellular service. See Montana MyFWP, page 41.

etc.

See e.g./i.e./etc., page 26.

Eurasian watermilfoil

An invasive underwater plant that forms thick mats in shallow areas of lakes, ponds, and reservoirs.

European settlement

A way to define periods of time before or after native people were driven from their historical lands: Grizzlies were common in much of the northern Great Plains before European settlement.

exit

Don’t capitalize highway or freeway exits: We took exit 24.

ExploreMT (XMT)

FWP’s new business system for selling licenses, administering license and permit drawings, and interacting with FWP customers. It replaces and improves on the Automated Licensing System (ALS). ExploreMT provides the technology that allows FWP to create new services such as the MyFWP app. See Montana MyFWP, page 41.

n F

Fahrenheit

Use the abbreviation F (no period) instead of the word Fahrenheit, and include degrees: It got down to -22 degrees F (note the space before the F). Note that FWP does not use the Celsius (metric) scale for air temperature. Also, use the minus sign (-) for temperatures below zero, not the words below zero.

fall

The season between summer and winter. Generally preferable to the more genteel autumn, though both mean the same thing.

farm fields farmer

Someone who raises crops such as wheat, sugar beets, hay, peas, and lentils for a living. Farmers are different from ranchers, who raise livestock, though many people are rancher-farmers, who do both.

farmland

farther/further

Farther refers to physical distance: I can cast farther than you.

Further refers to symbolic distances or concepts of time: I wanted to discuss it further, but we decided to wait a few days.

federal

Lowercase. See acts and agencies, page 10.

fence

Plural is fences, though sometimes you’ll hear ranchers say, He’s out fixing fence.

fenceline

A boundary line create by a fence. They plowed the sagebrush up to the fenceline.

fencing

Comes in several varieties, including multiple-strand barbed wire, woven wire (also called sheep fence), electric, and jackleg (made of horizontal wooden poles or planks), as well as portable hog panels and welded wire panels.

feral

Describes animals that live in the wild but have descended from domesticated specimens. As with an invasive species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and displace or kill native species. In Montana, the most common are feral horses and feral cats.

feral swine

Invasive pig species that escaped domestic captivity and bred and spread throughout much of the United States and parts of southern Canada. Also called feral pigs, feral hogs, and wild swine. The Eurasian wild boar is a pig species

Pet peeves

“It drives me nuts when people say…”

“My English teacher always said to never…”

This guide steers clear of pet peeves and old-fashioned rules, opting for style and usage used today in major newspapers, magazines, and books. Many people believe certain rules are correct because they were taught that way in middle or high school. But it turns out that many of those rules—like not starting a sentence with “And” or “But”—are outdated. Other people have personal biases against one usage or another, when there’s no logical reason for the gripe (like not using the word “like” for “such as”). To steer clear of these and other biases, we’ve consulted the most upto-date sources—particularly Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Garner’s Modern English Usage, Associated Press Style Guide, and Chicago Manual of Style—to ensure that FWP employees know the correct language to use in the most appropriate way.

native to parts of Europe, Asia, and northern Africa that was imported to the United States and Canada and often escaped enclosures. These often breed with domestic food pigs that also escaped captivity and produce feral swine.

fewer/less

Generally, fewer is used when the number of things is counted (fewer invasive mussels) whereas less is used when it’s a quantity or amount that is measured (less water or less time).

field-dress

To gut a big game animal after it is killed.

fingerling

A young fish about the size of a human index finger. Larger and older than a mosquito-size fry. See fry, page 31.

fish (singular and plural)

The word fishes occasionally shows up in common usage (“Sleeps with the fishes,” The Godfather; “loaves and fishes,” the Bible; “If wishes were fishes,” Dune), but it’s not generally used in common writing or speech. Fishes refers to two or more species, so simply use species instead, as in Fort Peck Reservoir is home to multiple fish species (not fishes). Note that fisheries professionals use fishes to refer to various species in scientific papers, which is fine.

Fish and Game, Department of

The former name of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. The name was changed in 1979 to reflect the department’s broader responsibilities to manage all wildlife, not just game animals, as well as state parks. Though some older Montanans still use this outdated name, FWP employees should not.

fisher(s)

A fur-bearing member of the weasel family. Years ago many people referred to these forest furbearers as fisher-cats, due to their long claws and catlike scream. Avoid using as a substitute for the gender-neutral and perfectly usable angler.

fisherman,

fishermen

Unless the angler is a known male, use the gender-neutral angler or anglers. Avoid the clumsy fisher or fisherperson.

fishing

Compound words with fishing are written as two words: fly fishing, ice fishing, sport fishing, spin fishing, bait fishing.

fishing access site

FWP lands next to streams, ponds, rivers, lakes, and reservoirs that allow anglers to access those waters, either by shore fishing, by wading, or via watercraft. They are also used as parks for bird watching, dog walking, nature study, hiking, and more.

Lowercase unless part of the name: Mallards Rest Fishing Access Site. Plural of two or more sites would be fishing access sites: We visited Selkirk and Craig fishing access sites. Abbreviate as FAS and FASes. Also, don’t add the before the full name of an FAS: FWP has closed Mallards Rest FAS until further notice.

FishMT

An app developed by FWP and Montana State University that provides easy access to information on fish surveys, sampling records, stocking reports, and other data about more than 20,000 waterbodies across the state.

Flathead Lake State Parks

Plural when referring to all five parks, and State Parks is capitalized to indicate that all five are organized as one entity. For individual parks on the lake, use the park’s name, such as Big Arm State Park and Finley Point State Park.

floodplain

A flat area of land near a river or stream subject to regular flooding. It stretches from the banks of the river to the outer edges of the valley.

fly, flies

Mostly tiny imitations of aquatic insects—tied by hand using thread, feathers, and other materials on a small hook—used to catch trout. Larger flies may imitate bait fish such as shiners and sculpins and are used to catch large trout and other game fish such as northern pike.

flies (names, sizes)

The names of all flies are proper nouns and thus capitalized. Sizes are numerical, with the smaller the number, the larger the fly: We used size 12 Gold-Ribbed Hare’s Ears and size 14 Purple Hazes most of the day. For big browns, we favor size 4 or larger Woolly Buggers. Lowercase when writing about generic nymphs, dries, and streamers.

fly fish, fly fishing, fly angler

Dictionaries use a hyphen for fly-fish and fly-fishing, but that’s illogical because spin fishing, ice fishing, and bait fishing don’t take a hyphen. Also, don’t use fly fisherman unless specifically referring to a male fly angler.

fly line

Refer to line weights numerically: a 5-weight fly line.

fly rod

Refer to rod lengths and weights numerically: a 9-foot 5-weight fly rod.

foreign words or terms

Don’t italicize if it’s a common word found in the dictionary: “We had wild trout hors d’oeuvres before our big dinner.” But italicize if it’s a new term: “The Chippewa Indians called the lake Kandiyohi.” Also, when saying that something means something else, put the second something else in quotes: “The scientific name for burbot, Lota lota, is Latin for “beard” and refers to the fish’s single chin barbel.”

Franklin’s grouse

The technically correct name for what is commonly called spruce grouse. Use whenever possible. Reference to the old name in parentheses is acceptable on first reference: They were out hunting for Franklin’s (spruce) grouse.

Freezout Lake, Freezout Lake Wildlife Management Area

The U.S. Geological Survey spells the lake Freezeout, but FWP style drops the middle “e” to be historically accurate.

Front, the Rocky Mountain

The Rocky Mountain Front is the region of Montana where the plains meet the mountains, running roughly from Browning south to Helena. Use the Front on second reference.

frontcountry (noun and adjective)

Areas of the outdoors near roads, parking areas, running water, electrical hookups, designated camping sites, and toilets. The term is used mainly in reference to campgrounds. See backcountry, page 14.

fry

A tiny mosquito-size fish newly hatched from an egg.

n G

game bird

Bird species that may be legally hunted. The vast majority of birds in Montana are not game species, making it illegal to kill them.

game check station

See hunter check station, page 34.

game fish

Fish species targeted by anglers and protected with laws regulating harvest, fishing seasons, and angling methods.

gender

Do not presume maleness when constructing a sentence by defaulting to he, his, or him. The easiest way around this is to rewrite the sentence, usually in the plural.

INCORRECT: A game warden must always double-check his facts.

CORRECT: Game wardens must always double-check their facts.

Do not use the awkward he/she or his/her constructions. Note that it is becoming increasingly acceptable in American usage to use they/their/them as a substitute for he/she and him/her: If an angler breaks the law, a game warden will not hesitate to issue them a ticket.

Use chair rather than chairman or chairwoman for the Fish and Wildlife Commission and Montana Parks and Recreation Board leader.

geographical regions (Montana)

Regional descriptors are lowercase: northwestern Montana (note “ern”; not northwest Montana), southeastern Montana, south-central Montana (note the hyphen when using central). The “ern” is added just as it is for southern Montana and northern Montana (not south Montana and north Montana).

Giant Springs

Singular because it’s a place, a site, a single entity: Giants Springs is one of Montana’s most amazing sites. Yet springs is plural in the generic sense: The mountain springs were a welcome relief for the thirsty hikers.

grasslands

Vast open areas dominated by grasses and forbs (flowering plants); referred to as prairies in the Midwest. The types of grasslands that dominate central and eastern Montana are short- and mixed-grass prairies, the latter mostly along the North Dakota border. See prairie(s), page 47, and rangeland(s), page 50.

Gravelly Range

The Gravellys is acceptable on second reference.

gray partridge(s)

The official common name of the small non-native upland game bird Perdix perdix, commonly called Hungarian partridge. Use the correct name whenever possible, though you may slip in “also known as Hungarian partridge” on first usage. Avoid the use of Hun, considered derogatory to some Germans and Protestants.

Great Plains

The semiarid region of North America, once almost entirely covered in prairie, generally described as stretching from the Rocky Mountains east to the lower Missouri River. The northern Great Plains (northern not capitalized) refers to eastern Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, the Dakotas, and Nebraska.

ground water (noun), groundwater (adjective)

grouse

Montana is home to five species of these native mid-sized birds: sharp-tailed grouse, sage-grouse, dusky grouse (commonly known as blue grouse), Franklin’s grouse (commonly called spruce grouse), and ruffed grouse. The dusky, Franklin’s, and ruffed are known collectively as mountain grouse. Note that only sage-grouse is hyphenated.

guide

A person employed by a licensed outfitter who accompanies and assists a hunting or angling client. See outfitter, page 44.

gutpile

The mound of viscera left after a hunter field-dresses an animal. One word.

H

half-hour

Or half an hour. Never a half an hour.

half-mile

Or half a mile. Never a half a mile.

hares

Montana is home to three hare species: snowshoe (varying) hare, white-tailed jackrabbit, and black-tailed jackrabbit. Hares differ from rabbits in several ways: they are larger; their coat changes to white in the winter; they nest above ground (rabbits nest in underground burrows); and they are born with fur and sight (rabbits are born hairless and blind). See rabbits, page 49.

HB

Short for House Bill, which is a bill introduced in the Montana House of Representatives. Always followed by a number: HB 755

headwaters

Takes a singular verb, because the meaning, “the source of a river,” is singular, as in The headwaters of the Missouri wasn’t (not weren’t) discovered until much later.

Hi-Line

Not High Line. The region of northern Montana along U.S. Highway 2.

highways

Can be federal, state, or county—U.S. 15, Montana Highway 15, Choteau County Road 15—and should be designated as such. See interstate, page 36.

historic/historical

Historic describes something momentous or important in history: The 2011 flood was historic. Historical describes anything related to the past: The archaeologists found several arrowheads and other historical artifacts at the dig. Compare to: That was the year archaeologists discovered the Clovis point. This historic find revolutionized our understanding of early American culture.

When referring to fish and wildlife species’ range or habitat, use historical: The project restored martens to their historical habitat in the Little Belts.

hook

Preferred over fishhook. State size as: a No. 8 hook, not #8 hook.

horns

Permanent and found on male and female bighorn sheep, mountain goats, and bison. Antlers are shed then regrown each year. Exception: pronghorns, which shed their horn sheath each year. See antlers, page 13.

horseback

No hyphen, one word: horseback riding, ride horseback.

horsepacking

Traveling on horseback and then camping for one or more nights.

human-powered watercraft

Generic term for canoes, kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, and other nonmotorized water vessels (except sailboats).

hunter check station

Preferred over game check station. The latter perpetuates the misconception that only hunters with harvested game animals in their vehicle need to stop at these stations, when in fact all passing hunters must stop.

Hunter Education Program, Bowhunter Education Program

Official names of FWP programs. Hunter Ed or Bowhunter Ed is acceptable on subsequent usage (not Hunter’s Ed or Bowhunter’s Ed). Instructors are Hunter Education (or Hunter Ed) instructors and Bowhunter Education (or Bowhunter Ed) instructors.

Note that Hunter Education is sometimes referred to incorrectly as the Hunter Safety Program. Education is a more holistic term and differentiates Montana’s program from those in many other states.

hyphenating compound modifiers

Do not hyphenate when the noun modifier is a standard compound word or term that presents no confusion:

CORRECT: walleye fishing tournament, grizzly bear attack, block management area, big game hunting

INCORRECT: walleye-fishing tournament, grizzly-bear attack, block-management area, big-game hunting.

But hyphenate when you combine two words that, in themselves, don’t form a compound word: well-respected landowner, wildlife-friendly fences, wind-powered generators.

Don’t hyphenate when the compound modifier comes after the noun: The landowner was well respected. The fences are wildlife friendly. The generators are wind powered.

Also, don’t hyphenate words ending in “ly”: a completely finished project. Hyphenate whenever not doing so could confuse the reader:

NO: She had a concealed weapons permit. (Reads like she was hiding a weapons permit.)

YES: She had a concealed-weapons permit.

n Iice age

Lowercase because it denotes a series of cold periods, not a single one.

ice fishing

i.e.

See e.g./etc./i.e., see page 26.

impact

A vague and mostly useless word, often used as a substitute for “affect” (as a verb) or “effect” (as a noun), both also vague words. Use a more accurate word, term, or phrase:

VAGUE: The perched culvert impacted trout connectivity.

CLEAR: The perched culvert blocked fish from swimming upstream.

VAGUE: Agricultural operations impacted wetland wildlife values.

CLEAR: The developer drained the wetland, thus eliminating the waterfowl habitat there.

Impact is meaningless because it doesn’t describe whether the effect is harmful or beneficial: The new development will likely impact the stream. Does that mean the new development might actually help the stream? Probably not, yet the reader has no idea.

implement

Bureaucratese (see page 63). Use “carry out” instead: We carried out the plan. imply/infer

Imply means to hint at something or give information vaguely. Implying is done by the speaker. Infer means to make an educated guess from the information presented: By his tone, he implied that he was disappointed in the results. Or did he? I guess that’s just what I inferred from his tone.

Indians, American

See Indigenous people.

Indigenous people

Capitalize Indigenous but not people in reference to the original inhabitants of a place: The spear heads were additional clues that Indigenous people had developed sophisticated killing tools.

American Indian or Native American are acceptable when referring to two or more people of different tribal affiliations. First People(s) and First Nation(s) are the preferred terms for native people and tribes in Canada and are generally not American usages. Exception: First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park.

See tribe, tribal, page 56.

inner-tube

An inner-tuber is a person who floats down a river (inner-tubing) in an innertube.

instream

Means “within a stream” and is used most often in instream flow (the amount of water running in a stream at any one time).

insure

See assure, ensure, insure, page 14.

internet

Lowercase

Interstate

Capitalize as in Interstate 15. Use I-15 on subsequent references.

irregardless

Not a word. The correct word is regardless. People often get confused because the similar-sounding irrespective is a synonym for regardless.

its/it’s

Its describes something that belongs to it: The dog chased its tail. It’s is a contraction of it is or it has: It’s going to be a great night for burbot fishing. It’s been a long time since I saw my uncle. The confusion comes because all other possessives (David’s boat, FWP’s leadership, the grizzly’s den) take an apostrophe and an s.

n J

jackrabbit

Montana is home to two species: black-tailed and white-tailed. Jackrabbits are hares, not rabbits. See hares, page 33.

jet boat

A type of motorboat propelled by a jet of water ejected from the back of the craft. Unlike conventional propeller-driven boats, a jet boat draws water through an intake under the craft or a modified foot on an outboard motor and into a pump-jet inside the boat or motor and out through a nozzle at the stern. Because they lack a propeller, jet boats can be used in shallow and rocky areas of rivers. Personal watercraft (PWC) are a small type of jet boat.

jury-rig

To improvise in an emergency (not jerry-rig). We jury-rigged a raft to get across the lake.

n K

kokanee

Not capitalized. A small landlocked Pacific sockeye salmon, possibly native to the far northwestern part of Montana in the Kootenai River drainage, but introduced elsewhere in the state. Popular with anglers for its delicious red meat.

n L

lake/reservoir

Though the official USGS names are Canyon Ferry Lake and Fort Peck Lake, FWP fisheries biologists prefer to use the term Reservoir to emphasize the true nature of these and several other impoundments. Reservoir water levels fluctuate widely, drowning or drying out shallow vegetation used by bait fish and young game fish. This makes fisheries management more challenging than on lakes, which are natural and have relatively stable water levels that allow for abundant aquatic plant growth. Exception: Lake Koocanusa, a reservoir, is still called a lake by FWP staff.

lakebed, lakefront, lakeshore, lakeside

All one word.

legislators

Individuals elected to the state Legislature, serving in either the Montana House of Representatives or the Montana Senate. Also knowns as lawmakers. Lowercase. We saw many Montana legislators at the meeting. FWP staff often emphasize the -tor in the name to differentiate it from the similar-sounding Legislature (ledj-ih-SLAY-chur)

Titles: See political titles, page 47.

Legislature

The law-making body of elected state senators and representatives.

Legislature, Montana

Capitalize Legislature in all cases. Use Montana Legislature on first reference, then Legislature afterward: The Legislature adjourned on Friday.

When referring to a specific legislative session, use the years as so: The department fared well during the 2020-21 Legislature. Or The bill was passed by the 199899 Legislature.

lek, leks

Areas of open space in prairies and sagebrush-steppes where male sage-grouse or sharp-tailed grouse gather in spring to perform mating activities that attract females.

Lewis and Clark Expedition

Explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and their crew came through Montana in 1805-06 en route to and from the Pacific Ocean: During the time of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the region was home to far more bison. Also called the Corps of Discovery, which on subsequent usage should be Corps (capitalize). See Corps of Discovery, page 23.

Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park

The official park name has an ampersand. Subsequent use can be the Caverns: FWP officials said infrastructure upgrades for the Caverns were long overdue. Note that the Caverns takes a singular verb because it is a singular place: The Caverns is one of the most popular sites in southwestern Montana. See cavern, caverns, page 20.

license

An FWP document that, when purchased and signed, allows the holder to harvest the species for which the license is valid, in compliance with restrictions detailed in the FWP hunting, fishing, and trapping regulations booklets.

licenses, permits (capitalization)

When writing about a specific type of license, capitalize: He remembered to bring his General Deer License. But when referring to generic licenses or permits, lowercase: She realized she’d forgotten to apply for an antlerless permit.

licenses/permits (differences)

See permits, page 45.

lifejacket

Preferred over personal floatation device, PFD, or lifevest. See PFD, page 46.

lightning

The flash followed by thunder is spelled lightning, not lightening (which means reducing the weight of something or increasing illumination).

like (adjective and adverb)

No hyphen—clawlike, doglike—except when it creates a double “l” (such as camel-like), or if it comes after a long word with three or more syllables, like dinosaur-like.

like/such as

Either is okay: The ramp was filled with watercraft such as (or like) canoes, rafts, and SUPs.

limits (daily and possession)

A daily limit is the number of fish, waterfowl, upland birds, or other game species legally allowed during a single calendar day. A possession limit is the number of those game species a person may possess at any time in any form: fresh, stored in a freezer, dried, canned, and such. For instance, the daily limit for rooster pheasants is three, while the possession limit is nine. That means that if you have nine roosters at home in the freezer, you may not legally harvest any more until you consume some.

literally

Literally means “actually” or “without exaggeration.” When someone says, “His rants literally made my head explode,” they are saying their head actually blew up, with pieces of skull and brains flying across the room. Obviously they don’t mean that. They mean their head figuratively exploded, which means it exploded in the metaphorical sense that their mind was severely agitated. People often use literally for emphasis. Avoid.

little-known

Hyphenate before a noun when used as a compound modifier: a little-known stream. But not after a noun: The campsite is little known.

livewell

A cooler-size tank found on fishing boats used to keep caught fish alive. It works by pumping fresh water and oxygen into the tank.

logo

A visual symbol for an organization. FWP’s logo consists of a circle containing the words “MONTANA FISH, WILDLIFE & PARKS” and a drawing of a grizzly

bear head. For guidance on how to correctly use the FWP logo, see the FWP Visual Style Guide, located in the online FWP Brand Library.

lower

Lowercase when referring to a portion of a river, such as the lower Madison.

Lower 48

Refers to all 48 contiguous states of the United States (excluding Alaska and Hawaii). Capitalize Lower 48 but not the lower 48 states:

• Montana has the largest grizzly population in the Lower 48.

• Montana has the largest grizzly population in the lower 48 states. Note that the continental United States includes Alaska but not Hawaii.

-ly

When an adverb ending in ly modifies an adjective, there is no hyphen between the words: federally owned land, completely finished project, happily married man.

n M

madtom

Montana’s smallest member of the catfish family.

marten, martens

Montana is home to two marten species: Pacific (Martes caurina) and American (Martes americana). Best just to use the word marten. Never pine marten. Also, note the “s” in the plural.

mayfly, mayflies

One word (though, confusingly, caddis fly and caddis flies).

me/I

Without getting too grammatical, you generally use I toward the start of a sentence before the verb—I drove to the office. Eileen and I lifted the test nets—and use me toward the end of sentences after the verb: Carl gave the award to me. Micah said you should go with Tyler and me.

Some people get confused with examples like that last sentence, where they are tempted to write, incorrectly, Micah said you should go with Tyler and I. This often comes from being scolded at an early age for usages such as Me and Tyler went to the park, causing people to think that me is always incorrect.

An easy rule when combining yourself with another person is to drop the other person and see if me/I stands alone. Example: Micah said you should go with Tyler and I is wrong, because Micah said you should go with I is wrong.

measurement (hyphenate)

Hyphenate the number with its unit of measurement when the term precedes a

noun: A 12-foot boat, a 3-mile run. No hyphen after the noun: I ran 3 miles that day. See numbers, page 43. NOTE: For races done in kilometers, the style is 5k run.

measurement (hyphenating a range)

This one is tricky. When describing a measurement range not using compound adjectives, no hyphen is needed: We hiked 4 to 6 miles. We caught several trout ranging from 12 to 15 inches.

But when measurements are compound adjectives, the style is: We went on several 4- to 6-mile hikes. We caught many 12- to 15-inch trout (note space after the first hyphen and after to.)

INCORRECT: We went on several 4-to-6-mile hikes. We caught many 12-to-15-inch trout.

measurement (spell out)

Spell out terms of measurement in text: 600-pound elk, not 600-lb. elk.

mid/mid-

Sometimes mid takes a hyphen when used as a prefix, as in mid-1990s, but sometimes it does not, as in midsummer and midstream. Check the dictionary for specific words.

migratory game birds

These huntable species, protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, are managed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in cooperation with state wildlife agencies. In Montana, migratory game birds include ducks, geese, swans, coots, cranes, snipe, rails, and gallinules.

minnow

Can refer to any small fish. But technically minnows are a family of fish that includes large species such as carp and pikeminnows and small species like shiners, dace, and chubs.

Missouri River Breaks

On second reference the Breaks is acceptable.

monofilament

Another name for the clear fishing line used in spinning reels. Commonly called mono.

Montana MyFWP

A secure and convenient digital service through which FWP customers can access their licenses, permits, and related information. Montana MyFWP has two components. One is a webpage, located on the FWP website home page, where users can log into their profile and view their licenses and permits and check permit drawing status, bonus points, and other personal account information. The other is a mobile phone app, available on Apple and Android devices. The

app’s initial version, released in 2022, provides users with a digital wallet for storing hunting, fishing, and trapping licenses and permits, as well as digital carcass tags, known as E-Tags, which hunters can validate in the field. Users can also link to regulations and connect to the web version of Montana MyFWP.

See E-Tag, page 27.

Montana Outdoors

See page 6.

Montana WILD

See page 6.

more than/over

Either is acceptable. We caught more than 20 fish on the trip and paddled over 30 miles.

mosquito, mosquitoes

mountain grouse

Montana’s three native grouse species, found mostly in forested mountain areas: ruffed grouse, Franklin’s (spruce) grouse, and dusky (blue) grouse.

mountain lion

On subsequent uses, just lion is okay. The terms puma, panther, and cougar are rarely used in Montana.

mountains, range

Capitalize: Big Belt Mountains, Gravelly Range. For the correct name, consult the Montana State Highway map. Shortened forms are okay on second reference: the Big Belts, the Gravellys.

mouth

Where a stream or river enters a larger stream or river or a lake or reservoir.

mustangs

Feral horses, originally from domesticated stock, found in the Pryor Mountains south of Billings.

muzzleloader

A type of rifle into which a pre-measured charge of loose (non-pelletized) gunpowder is poured into the barrel muzzle (end), followed by the lead ball or elongated projectile (bullet), which is then tapped down with a long rod. When the shooter fires a modern in-line muzzleloader, a metal “striker” hits an ignition “cap” in the breech that ignites the powder and fires the bullet. The hammer on a traditional muzzleloader is on the side of the breech and holds a piece of flint that strikes metal, creating a spark that ignites powder in a priming pan, also outside the breech. The spark, through a hole in the breech, ignites the main powder charge in the barrel.

national park

Capitalize only when part of a proper name: Glacier National Park, but the national park. Use Glacier, not Glacier Park, on subsequent reference. Abbreviate as GNP. Same with Yellowstone National Park and YNP.

When mentioning two or more parks, it’s Glacier and Yellowstone national parks.

Native (adjective)

Capitalize when used in reference to Indigenous people: FWP officials acknowledged the Native community. In these contexts, Native is short for Native American. Do not use Native (uppercase or lowercase) as a noun: The pioneers encountered Natives throughout their journey. See Indigenous people, page 36.

Native American

See Indigenous people, page 36.

Nature Conservancy, The (TNC)

NGO

Abbreviation for nongovernmental organization, or a group independent of government, commonly known as a “nonprofit.” That term has fallen out of favor among the organizations. Though NGO is easy shorthand, the acronym and term are unfamiliar to most people. In FWP media, use “conservation groups” or “citizen groups.”

non

No hyphen for nongame, nonhunter, nonresident, and most other uses of this prefix, but use a hyphen for non-native to avoid the double n.

Northern Rockies

The Rocky Mountains in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming (can include Alberta and British Columbia). Note that Canadians consider these U.S. mountains to be the Southern Rockies.

number one

No hyphen: The Madison is the number one fishing destination for many out-ofstate anglers. Never No. 1 or #1.

numbers

Spell out zero through nine (except for measurements); use numerals for 10 and above (and all measurements).

Spell out million and billion, preceded by the numeral: The mountains were roughly 4 billion years old.

Aways use numerals for measurements (mainly linear and weight): After walking nearly 2 miles, I caught several minnows that were more than 4 inches long, some of which weighed more than 3 ounces.

numbers (consistency)

In a single sentence, when enumerating things with some numbers less than 10 and other numbers 10 or greater, use numerals for all: We saw 6 deer and 22 elk that afternoon.

nymph

The larval form of mayflies and other aquatic insects. Also a type of wet (underwater) fly used by fly anglers to imitate that larval form and catch trout. To nymph (verb) is to fly fish using a nymph fly, which is drifted underwater with the current along the river or stream bottom. See fly/flies, page 30.

OHV (off-highway vehicle)

Also known as an all-terrain vehicle or ATV. OHVs include motorcycles, ATVs, quads, and side-by-sides. Refer to the FWP website for OHV regulations and licensing details.

OK

Spell out as okay: Taylor was okay with the decision.

online

orientated

Not a word. The correct word is oriented, which means “to point or align something in a particular direction” or “to adjust or tailor something to specified circumstances or needs.” The confusion comes from the word orientation (like in FWP new employee orientation), which means “guiding one in adjusting to new surroundings, employment, activity, or the like.”

outdoor/outdoors

No “s” when used as an adjective: outdoor recreation, outdoor life. But include the “s” when describing places not inside or natural areas far from human habitation : We went outdoors. Amber loves the outdoors. See outside, page 45.

outdoorsman, outdoorsmen

Use the gender-neutral angler(s) or hunter(s). Outdoors-Woman is acceptable only for the name of the Becoming an Outdoors-Woman program.

outfitter

Outfitters are business owners licensed by the state to provide guided hunts or fishing to paying customers. Hunting or fishing guides are not licensed but must work for licensed outfitters.

out-of-state (adjective)

Similar to nonresident: We saw many out-of-state visitors. Out-of-staters is considered more casual than nonresidents and should be used sparingly.

outside

Traditionally, this word is used as an adverb to define places not indoors: We went outside to see the sunset. Starting in 2015, FWP began using the outside as a fresh take on the term the outdoors, especially in the tagline The Outside Is In Us All.

Outside Is In Us All, The

The FWP tagline used to express the department’s brand, or public image, since 2015. It means that the desire to connect with the natural world is in everyone, and everyone connects in their own way—hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, bird watching, kayaking, mountain biking, and so on. This slogan positions FWP as an agency 1) that recognizes the commonality among all people to relate to nature, and 2) where people can learn more about outdoor activities and how to conserve and protect the natural world.

paddlesports

Water recreation that uses a paddle, such as canoeing, kayaking, rafting, and stand-up paddleboarding.

panfish

An unofficial category of smaller game fish species caught mainly for “the pan” (to eat): mostly sunfish, crappie, and perch.

park

A grassy open area on a mountain where elk often graze. Parks also are recreational areas managed by local, state, and federal agencies.

passerine

Birds of the order Passeriformes. Passerines, or perching birds, comprise most bird species in Montana.

percent

Spell out except when space is limited, such as in brochures, web pages, and regulations booklets. In those cases, use the % sign when paired with a numeral with no space: 15%.

perched culvert

A culvert under a road with a downstream outlet that sits higher than the streambed, creating a small waterfall too high for upstream-moving fish to enter.

permits

Used with a hunting license to enhance a hunting opportunity (most are allocated by drawings). A permit allows a person to use a General Deer License or General Elk License to hunt a specified animal class or sex in an area or time period with harvest restrictions. This combination of opportunities is unavailable to hunters without the permit. A permit is not a second license for killing

an additional elk or deer. It must be used in conjunction with a General Elk License or General Deer License.

Names of specific permits or licenses are capitalized, but not when writing about generic versions. He finally received his HD 380 Either-Sex Elk Permit in the mail on Thursday. But: She left all her hunting licenses and permits in the glove compartment.

personal watercraft (PWC)

Use rather than Jet-ski, because there are multiple brands and this is the generic (all-encompassing) term. See jet boat, page 37.

PFD (personal flotation device)

Once the preferred name for lifejacket or lifevest. But starting in the 2020s, the U.S. Coast Guard and National Safe Boating Council began promoting the term lifejacket instead. So use that.

phone numbers

The style is: 406-495-3255, not (406) 495-3255.

plant names

Those that include berry, brush, grass, and weed tend to be written as closed compounds: huckleberry, rabbitbrush, bunchgrass, knapweed.

poacher

A slang term that refers to a person who intentionally unlawfully kills or attempts to kill fish or wildlife species. See criminal activity, page 23.

NOTE: A hunter or angler is a person engaged in legal hunting or fishing activity and is not a term to be used in association with poaching.

NO: FWP officials said they were looking for the hunter seen shooting deer from the highway.

YES: FWP officials said they were looking for the individual seen shooting deer from the highway.

POAM-T

Developed by CommEd, POAM-T (communication Problem, Objective, Audience, Message, Tool) is a systematic way of determining the most effective way to solve a communication problem. In its simplest form, POAM-T keeps the focus on the communication objective rather than the communication tool.

Using POAM-T, a group of FWP employees including CommEd staff identifies the communication problem it wants to solve, the objective it wants to achieve, the audience it will communicate to, and the message that will best resonate with that audience. Only after all this has been discussed does the group identify the most effective tools or techniques (such as a press release, billboard, website, social media, one-on-one conversation, and such) to deliver that message to the particular audience. See communication plan, page 21.

political titles

Titles of elected officials such as legislator, senator, governor, and county commissioner are lowercase unless before a person’s name: Representative Johnson, Senator Williams, Commissioner Smith. Don’t abbreviate as Sen., Gov., or Rep. Exception: FWP press releases.

ponderosa pine possessives

Add an apostrophe and an “s” (the technician’s concerns) or, for most plurals, just an apostrophe: the two bears’ histories. Note that the possessive for species adds only the apostrophe (the species’ decline) because it is a noun that is plural in form but singular in meaning. For words or names that end in “s,” add ’s for the possessive (Harris’s) if the normal way to say the word includes the two “ess” sounds.

P-R

Short for Pittman-Robertson, which refers to federal funds from an excise tax on firearms and ammunition sales that are distributed to state fish and wildlife agencies for wildlife, access, hunter education, and shooting range projects and programs.

prairie(s)

Vast ecosystems of mostly flat grasslands with little rainfall and few trees. Almost all of the prairie in Montana is dry shortgrass prairie, dominated by blue grama, buffalograss, greasegrass, and sideoats grama. Generally synonymous with grassland. Prairie that is grazed by livestock is known as range or rangeland. The plural can be prairie or prairies. See grasslands, page 32.

prepositions (ending a sentence)

It is okay to end a sentence with of, with, in, and other prepositions in casual communication. But in more formal documents, such as letters to elected officials, it’s best to restructure the sentence.

CASUAL: Which town did your constituent live in?

FORMAL: In which town did your constituent live?

prescribed fire

The controlled application of fire by a team of experts under specified weather conditions to restore health to ecosystems that depend on fire. Also known as a prescribed burn.

printed materials

In addition to the year and copyright symbol (see copyright, page 22), state law requires that all FWP printed materials include this language: XX,XXX copies of this public document were published at an estimated cost of $0.XX per copy, for a total estimated cost of $XX,XXX. Alternative accessible formats of this document will be provided upon request. Contact Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks at 406-444-2535.

If the printed material receives federal funding, this must be added, too:

This program receives federal financial assistance from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, sex, or disability. If you believe that you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility, or if you need more information, please write to: Office of Civil Rights, Department of Interior, 1849 C Street, NW, Washington, DC 20240.

pronghorn (singular and plural)

The official common name of the speedy prairie ungulate Antilocapra americana, commonly called antelope. Because the pronghorn is unrelated to true antelopes (none of which live in North America), the nickname is misleading. Try to use the actual name whenever possible, though in longer documents you may slip in “also known as antelope.” Acceptable on first reference to write pronghorn (antelope), though pronghorn antelope should never be used.

EXCEPTION: Because “antelope” is in state statutes, FWP must use the term in the Deer/Elk/Antelope Hunting Regulations Booklet.

put in (verb)

To enter a river: You can put in at Craig FAS.

put-in (noun)

A place of river access. We used the put-in near Glendive.

n Q quota

The maximum number of deer, elk, mountain lions, or other big game animals that can be harvested in a given hunting district each season. FWP wildlife biologists recommend harvest quotas based on factors such as population trends, winter severity, habitat quality and abundance, guidance provided within management plans, and landowner depredation concerns. The Fish and Wildlife Commission has final authority to establish quotas. For some species, such as wolves and mountain lions, the commission sets quotas for areas and then closes the season when the area quota is reached.

quotation marks (double versus single)

All quotation marks are double except when quoting someone within quotation marks: “One hunter told me, ‘This was my best day of elk hunting ever’ when I met him while patrolling that area,” said the warden.

quotation marks (and punctuation)

Commas and periods should be contained within quotation marks: “I’m tired,” Bryan said. “But not too tired to eat pie.”

For question marks at the end of a quote, it depends on whether the whole sentence is a question or just the quoted part:

• What do you think Michelle meant when she said, “Let’s all put our shoulder to the wheel”?

• He turned to the warden and said, “Where are all the big bucks in this area?”

FWP’s responsibility to use correct animal names

This guide urges department staff to use the correct names of pronghorn (not antelope), dusky grouse (not blue grouse), and gray partridge (not Hungarian partridge) whenever possible*. Similarly, use the actual names of white-tailed prairie dog, black-tailed prairie dog, pocket gopher, and various ground squirrels rather than the vague term gopher, and avoid using rock chuck or whistle pig for hoary marmot or yellow-bellied marmot.

Some employees maintain that using, for instance, pronghorn instead of the commonly used antelope makes FWP come across as out of touch with regular people. Good point. Yet it is our responsibility, as the state’s wildlife agency, to help the public learn the correct names of fish and wildlife species. Why? Because if people don’t learn it from us, who will they learn it from?

Years ago, Montanans commonly used incorrect names including Dolly Varden (for bull trout), German brown trout (brown trout), speckled trout (brook trout), spoonbill cat (paddlefish), Chinese ringneck pheasant (ringnecked pheasant), sparrow hawk (kestrel), fish hawk (osprey), fisher cat (fisher) and others. Over time, by example, FWP helped people learn to use the correct common names for those species. We can do the same for pronghorn, dusky grouse, gray partridge, and others.

* It is not always possible. For instance, antelope, Hungarian partridge, blue grouse, and spruce grouse are in state statutes and must be listed that way in the hunting regulations booklets. But in many other cases, FWP employees should use correct animal names whenever possible.

n R

rabbit family

Montana is home to eight species in the rabbit family Leporidae: eastern cottontail, mountain cottontail, deser t cottontail, snowshoe hare, white-tailed jackrabbit, black-tailed jackrabbit, pygmy rabbit, and American pika.

rabbit(s)

Montana is home to four rabbit species: eastern cottontail, mountain cottontail, desert cottontail, and pygmy rabbit. See hares, page 33.

rabbitbrush

Species of the genus Ericameria including, most commonly, rubber rabbitbrush and green rabbitbrush.

radio collar (noun), radio-collar (verb)

rancher

Someone who raises cattle, bison, sheep, goats, and other livestock. Sometimes known specifically as cattle ranchers or bison ranchers. Also known as stockgrowers. People who raise sheep are sometimes known as woolgrowers. See stockgrower, page 55.

rancher-farmer

Someone who raises livestock and grows crops.

range, mountains

Capitalize: Bitterroot Range, Big Belt Mountains. For correct names, consult the Montana State Highway map.

rangeland(s)

Open areas—usually but not always grasslands and shrublands—used for livestock grazing. Also called range. See prairie(s), page 47.

raptor

Any bird of prey, including owls. See bird of prey, page 16.

recreationists

A permissible all-encompassing word for people who recreate outside: Hikers, backpackers, and other recreationists use the trail year round. It’s not the greatest word, but no one has come up with something better. Do not use recreators.

recruitment

A concept in wildlife and fisheries management that refers to the percentage of young animals that survive to adulthood (breeding age), which for most species is 1 year old.

regulations booklets

The publications issued by FWP each year are titled the Upland Game Bird Regulations Booklet, Trapping Regulations Booklet, Deer/Elk/Antelope Hunting Regulations Booklet, Fishing Regulations Booklet, and so on. Using the term booklet helps differentiate these publications from the hunting, trapping, and fishing regulations themselves, which are the laws in the booklets.

ridgeline ridgetop

rifle

A type of long-barreled firearm that shoots a single cylindrical pointed projectile called a bullet. Spiraling grooves in the barrel, known as “rifling,” cause the bullet to spin, which increases its accuracy and trajectory. Rifles are categorized by the diameter of the barrel’s interior, called the bore, either in millimeters (such as 7 mm) or inches (such as .270). See bullet, page 18.

ring-necked pheasant, ring-necked duck

Not ringneck pheasant or ringneck duck.

riverbank, riverbanks

See stream bank, page 55.

riverbed

See stream bed, page 55.

river bottom

riverfront

river names (forks)

If a particular fork of a river has its own name, such as the West Fork of the Flathead River, capitalize short forms of the name in subsequent references: the West Fork. Also acceptable: the West Fork Flathead River (omitting of the).

river names (plural)

When naming two or more rivers, the word rivers is lowercase: Biologists were concerned about the water levels on the Big Hole and Beaverhead rivers.

riverway

roadkill (noun), road-killed (adjective)

roadless (adjective)

rod

Used for fishing, with a reel. Preferred over the word pole.

rough fish

Catchable-size species—such as carp, freshwater drum, and goldeye—that anglers generally don’t target but can still offer fine sport and are often edible when prepared correctly. Rough fish are not protected and thus have no limits, seasons, or other regulations governing their capture.

roundtrip (noun), round-trip (adjective)

runoff (noun, adjective)

Not run-off.

RV (recreational vehicle), RV hookup

A motor vehicle or trailer that includes living quarters. Types include motorhomes, campervans, coaches, caravans, fifth-wheel trailers, popup campers, and truck campers. Full or partial RV hookups are connections at campsites to electricity, water, or sewer systems, or all three.

S

sage-grouse

This is the only hyphenated grouse species name. Yes, it is odd. Apparently, the

people who gave it this name added the hyphen to emphasize the bird’s essential dependence on sagebrush.

sagebrush-steppe

A native plant community dominated by sagebrush and shortgrass prairie grasses and forbs. In Montana, it is dominated by Wyoming sagebrush and western wheatgrass.

says

When attributing quotes, use present tense in most cases: “It’s the most exciting project we’ve ever done,” Johnson says. Can be interchangeable with says Johnson. Exception is in press releases, when the past tense is used: “The wombat was captured and returned to the zoo,” Lemon said. Another exception is when quoting someone from a definite past time period: I ran into the game warden again on Sunday. “What, you again?” he said. See verb tense, page 58.

SB

Short for Senate Bill, which is a bill introduced in the Montana Senate. Always followed by a number: SB 717.

seasons (use of “the” beforehand)

There’s no hard and fast rule regarding use of the article the before a season. Go with whatever sounds best to you: In spring, the snow geese arrive around April 10, while in the fall they show up the first week of November.

sharp-tailed grouse

Shortened form is sharptail or sharpie. We shot three sharp-tailed grouse on Saturday. My daughter says sharptails are her favorite game bird.

shorebirds

Refers to the broad category of small to medium-sized birds with thin bills and long legs found along open shorelines. Common species included kildeers, various plovers, American avocets, various sandpipers, and common snipe. Not to be confused with wading birds, page 59.

shot, shotgun

Shotguns are firearms used primarily for upland bird, mountain grouse, and waterfowl hunting. Unlike a rifle, which fires a single bullet, shotguns shoot multiple small BBs, known as shot. Most shotguns have a smooth bore (barrel interior), whereas a rifle has a spiral-grooved (rifled) bore. Some shotguns used for big game fire thumb-size lead projectiles called slugs and have a rifled barrel, which spins the slug like a spiraling football, allowing it to be accurate to 100 yards.

Refer to the shotgun gauge as 12-gauge, 20-gauge, and such, and the shot for shells as number 6 shot, BB shot, and so one (not #6 shot). Note that a shotgun fires multiple BBs from a shell, while a rifle fires a single bullet from a cartridge. A shotgun can be a single barrel, a side-by-side, or an over-and-under. They also come in a variety of other action types.

size/sized

If something is actually or closely the size of something else, use -size: We used thumb-size crankbaits to catch the big trout. We bought a pocket-size phone. It was a life-size decoy. Note that the words paired with -size are nouns: thumb, pocket, life. In usages where the adjective is not actually or closely the size but rather a general descriptor, go with sized: They ended up with an undersized vehicle. We chose the mid-sized mattress. In these cases, for instance, the vehicle is not “the size of an under,” nor is the mattress “the size of a mid.”

slough

In western states, slough refers to a river side channel where water flows slowly, like Poindexter Slough or Mitchell Slough. In the Midwest, a slough is a marsh. This can be confusing for Midwesterners who move to Montana.

small game

Smaller hunted animals such as rabbits, hares, and squirrels. Not hyphenated, even when used as a compound adjective before a noun (small game hunter, not small-game hunter).

smartphone

snowcat

A large enclosed-cab, truck-size, full-track vehicle designed to move across deep snow. Mainly used at downhill ski areas. It is not a snowmobile.

snowmobile

Preferred over snowmachine.

snow sled

A plastic dish or trough used mainly by kids to slide down snow-covered hills.

songbird species

Both singular and plural: We saw just one warbler species but all four chickadee species. There is no such thing as an animal specie.

species (possessive)

Takes an apostrophe but no “s”: Mountain plovers were in trouble because the species’ habitat was disappearing fast. Same for two or more species: All the different shorebirds scattered. One of the species’ predators—a bald eagle—had arrived from nowhere.

species (description)

When describing an animal, envision a single representative of the species, even if the subject of the sentence appears to be plural. This prevents weird phrasing such as Mountain lions have long tails—as if the cats have multiple tails.

CORRECT: Mountain lions have a tawny coat with a long tail, large paws, and a long, streamlined body.

INCORRECT: Mountain lions have tawny coats with long tails, large paws, and long, streamlined bodies.

Species of Concern

A state designation of species that are not federally threatened or endangered, but are declining in number, face threats to their habitat, or for which little information is available, especially about population and range.

spin fishing

A method of fishing in which an angler uses a spinning rod and reel to cast lures and bait.

split infinitives

Years ago, grammarians said it was not okay to split an infinitive—a verb that includes “to,” such as “to fish”—as in I decided to quickly fish the stream. This is an out-of-date rule, based on Latin verb construction, and results in usages such as I decided to fish quickly the stream. It is okay to put an adverb such as quickly within an infinitive—in other words, to split it—because doing so often sounds and reads better. The classic example is from Star Trek: To boldly go where no one has gone before sounds better than To go boldly where no one has gone before.

springtime springs

See Giant Springs, page 32.

sportsman, sportsmen

Don’t use. Use the gender-neutral angler(s) or hunter(s).

sportsmens clubs

Unless sportsmens is part of an official name, use rod-and-gun club or conservation club to make gender neutral.

squawfish

Derogatory toward Native American women. Since the early 2000s, the accepted name has been northern pikeminnow.

SUP (stand-up paddleboard)

A relatively new type of watercraft on which people stand on an inflatable or solid board that floats on water and use a long paddle to propel themselves. Spell out in first usage and include the abbreviation in parentheses.

state of Montana

Use this and the state for all usages except when referring specifically to the governmental body: The State of Montana added another 1,000 residents to its health plan. But The state of Montana comprises nearly 150,000 square miles.

state statutes

Bills passed by the Montana Legislature and signed into law by the governor. When someone says, “We need to check the statutes on this,” they are referring to the precise wording of a law, found in the Montana Code Annotated (MCA).

stockgrower

Another term for rancher (page 50).

stream bank

The land that runs along a stream or river channel between the stream bed and the level of rooted vegetation.

stream bed

The substrate between the banks of a stream or river (also known as the stream bottom). Note that dictionaries have this as one word, but FWP style uses two words to be consistent with stream bank and stream bottom.

stream bottom

See stream bed, page 55.

streamside

steppe, sagebrush

Steppe is another name for shortgrass prairie. Sagebrush-steppe is a shortgrass prairie dominated by sagebrush. Steppe is both singular and plural. Sagebrush steppe are widespread across central Montana.

n T

telephone numbers

Use the form 406-495-3255. For toll-free numbers, use the form 800-678-6668. No need to add 1- beforehand.

temperature

See Fahrenheit, page 28.

tent site

But campsite.

tepee

Not tipi or teepee.

they’re/their/there

They’re is always a contraction of they are: They’re driving the boat way too fast. Their describes something belonging to two or more people: They forgot their PowerPoint presentations.

There is a place: The bobber is over there, by the log.

though/although

See although/though, page 11.

timberline

The point of altitude on a mountain above which no trees grow. Also, don’t use the before the word: The elk ended up above timberline. Synonymous with tree line. (Yes, it’s weird that one is two words and the other is one word.)

time

Use 2 p.m. not 2:00 p.m. But 2:30 p.m. or 2:15 a.m. is correct.

tip-up

A device that holds fishing line in a hole in the ice and signals when a fish takes the bait.

too

Set off with a comma or commas. We like seafood, too. They, too, arrived late. toward

Not towards, which is British English: We walked toward the trailhead.

traveler, traveled, traveling

Single l. Not traveller, travelled, travelling.

Travelers’ Rest State Park

Apostrophe at the end: Travelers’.

tree line

See timberline, page 56.

tree names

Not capitalized unless the name contains a proper noun: ponderosa pine but Douglas fir.

trespass

To knowingly enter private property without permission.

tribe, tribal

Capitalize tribe only when part of an official name: the Northern Cheyenne Tribe. In all other cases, lowercase. FWP officials met with the tribe in February. The adjective tribal is also lowercase. The policy was reviewed by federal, state, and tribal officials. Lowercase when mentioning the combined names of two or more tribes: Both the Northern Cheyenne and Crow tribes were involved in the negotiations. Note that the Blackfeet use the term Nation rather than Tribe.

For individuals, use the name of the tribe if known: She is a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. He is chief of the Crow (Apsáalooke) Tribe.

Within Montana’s borders are eight Indian tribes recognized by the state and the United States as sovereign nations:

• Blackfeet Nation of the Blackfeet Reservation

• Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy’s Reservation

• Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (Bitterroot Salish, Kootenai, and Pend d’Oreilles) of the Flathead Reservation

• Crow Tribe of the Crow Reservation

• Fort Belknap Tribes (Assiniboine and Gros Ventre) of the Fort Belknap Reservation

• Fort Peck Tribes (Assiniboine and Sioux) of the Fort Peck Reservation

• Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Reservation

• Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians.

See Indigenous people, page 36.

U

underwater

The snorkelers had an underwater adventure. We found the crayfish underwater.

United States

Spell out when used as a noun. Abbreviate as an adjective and use periods: The wolves stayed on the U.S. side of the border.

University of Montana

Not The University of Montana. The institution tried to include the capitalized The for a few years in the early 2010s, but capitalization never caught on and has since been abandoned: My niece visited the University of Montana.

upland

game bird

This category of huntable species includes ring-necked pheasants, gray (Hungarian) partridge, sharp-tailed grouse, sage-grouse, wild turkeys, and “mountain grouse”—ruffed, dusky (blue), and Franklin’s (spruce).

upper

Lowercase when referring to the upstream portions of river systems: The conservation work focused mainly on the upper Big Hole.

URL

Acronym for Uniform Resource Locator, also known as a web address. You don’t need the http://www: Visit the FWP website at fwp.mt.gov. For long URLs, you will need to break it at some point to fit onto two lines. Try to break at a forward slash (/). Another option, instead of listing a long URL, is to write Find the website by typing “xxx.yyy.zzz” into your search engine. Or Visit xxx.yyy.zzz.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

May use Corps in subsequent usage. Note that this differs from other federal and state agencies in that Corps is capitalized (because there is only one Corps as a federal agency). Always include “the” before the agency name or acronym when used as nouns.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS)

Like Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, the official name uses an ampersand. On subsequent use, you may use the acronym or the Service (capitalized): Officials with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service declined to comment on the proposal. Later, a citizen group argued that the Service was required to respond to public inquiries. Always include “the” before the agency name or acronym when used as nouns.

U.S. Forest Service (USFS)

Not USDA Forest Service. On second reference you may use Forest Service or USFS but not the Service, which is reserved for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Always include “the” before the agency name or acronym when used as nouns.

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

Often incorrectly called the U.S. Geographical Service. Use the acronym on subsequent use. Always include “the” before the agency name or acronym when used as nouns.

use/utilize

The former is preferred, sounds less jargonistic, and takes up less space.

Valley

Uppercase: Big Hole Valley. But not Big Hole River Valley. However, basin is not capitalized—upper Big Hole basin—except in the one case of Powder River Basin. venison

Technically the meat of deer, elk, pronghorn, moose, and other wild ungulates. But the term is most often used for deer meat: They braised venison shanks. For other species, most people say or write, We ate elk steaks, moose burger, and pronghorn roasts all winter.

verb tense (with quotes)

Use present tense: “Darters are related to perch,” says Smith. Exception is in FWP press releases, where the past tense is used to conform to the Associated Press Style Guide, used by newspapers: “Darters are related to perch,” said Smith. See says, page 52.

visitor center

Not visitor’s center

n W

wading birds

Refers to the broad category of large birds with long, sharp bills and long legs that frequent river, stream, lake, and reservoir shorelines. Montana species include the great blue heron, great egret, black-crowned night heron, and white-faced iris. Not to be confused with shorebirds, page 52.

walleye (singular and plural)

Walleye as plural for this non-native member of the perch family is the American Fisheries Society’s and FWP Fisheries Division’s usage. Note that the state’s major walleye fishing group, Montana Walleyes Unlimited, uses walleyes.

water

Use two words when the first simply describes the water—cold water, warm water, rushing water—and one word when used in a compound adjective: coldwater species, warmwater fishing.

waterbody, waterbodies

Generic term for a stream, river, pond, lake, reservoir, or other body of water

watercraft

A generic term for a boat, canoe, or other vessel used to move across or along a lake, river, pond, stream, or reservoir.

watershed

The surface area from which rain or melting snow runoff is collected and drained through a common point. Lowercase: South Fork of the Flathead River watershed. Also known as a drainage or drainage basin. See drainage, page 25.

waterway

Generic term for a stream or river.

website

See URL, page 57.

well-

Hyphenate a compound adjective with well before a noun: This was a well-known campsite. But no hyphen after the noun: This campsite is well known for its views.

west, western

Lowercase when used to indicate directions or a region of a state: The gusty winds came from the west as he photographed the colorful wildflowers in western Montana. See direction, page 24.

West (the), Western

Uppercase West only when used to identify the region of the United States mostly west of the Great Plains: Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

Capitalize Western only when referring to artistic concepts such as Western art, Western painting, and Western literature. The Western is a genre of various arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting, and others, devoted to stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American West. Here in the West, we sometimes take space for granted because there’s so much of it. Charlie Russell is Montana’s best-known Western artist.

wetland(s)

Wetlands are areas where water covers the soil or is at or near the surface all year or parts of a year. Types of wetlands include wet meadows, bogs, marshes (shallow and deep), temporary (ephemeral) wetlands, and swamps (which contain trees and shrubs). Usage is generally a wetland and many wetlands.

white-tailed deer

Shortened forms may be whitetail, whitetails, whitetail doe.

who/that

Use who when referring to people and that when referring to animals and inanimate objects. He’s the barber who cut my hair. We saw signs of the bear that broke into the cabin that Jack built.

who/whom

The use of whom has become increasingly stilted, or stiffly formal. Use who instead or recast the sentence:

CORRECT, THOUGH STILTED: To whom should you report game violations?

PREFERRED: Who should you report game violations to? Or Where should you report game violations?

who’s/whose

Who’s is a contraction of who is or who has: Pat is the hunter who’s had the best success shooting copper bullets.

Whose indicates that something belongs to someone or some thing: Whose cell phone is this? That was the bear whose tracks we saw earlier. Again we scaled the mountain, whose peak seemed well within reach this time.

Note that while who is limited exclusively to humans, whose has a broader range. That’s because the alternative is the clunky “of which” construction, as in Again we scaled the mountain, the peak of which seemed well within reach this time.

Wild Montana

The new name, introduced in 2021, of the Montana Wilderness Society. Not to be confused with FWP’s Montana WILD (page 6).

Wilderness Society, The (TWS)

Not to be confused with The Wildlife Society.

Wildlife Society, The (TWS)

The professional organization for wildlife biologists. Not to be confused with The Wilderness Society.

wildfire

A fire ignited by lightning or other natural cause.

wildflower

wildland fire

A term used by the National Interagency Fire Center to encompass all fires originating in wild places, including human-caused fires.

wildland-urban interface (WUI)

The zone where unoccupied forests and other naturally vegetated lands intersect with housing and other human development. In Montana these zones are mainly in forested mountain foothills surrounding urban areas and are where most wildfire damage to homes and conflicts between people and wildlife, especially bears, occur.

wildlife

A collective noun that takes a singular or plural verb depending on how it’s being used: Wildlife is important to most Montanans (wildlife as a concept). But: In eastern Montana, most wildlife are found on private land (wildlife as a bunch of animals).

wildlife management area

Lowercase unless part of the name: The area is home to several wildlife management areas, including Canyon Ferry Wildlife Management Area. Two or more would be Canyon Ferry and Freezout Lake wildlife management areas. WMA and WMAs are abbreviations: We visited the WMA on Thursday. Also, don’t add the before the full name of a WMA: FWP closed Blackfoot-Clearwater WMA while the fire continued to burn.

Wildlife Services

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agency that (from its website) “resolves wildlife interactions that threaten public health and safety, as well as agricultural, property, and natural resources” by trapping, shooting, and lethal removal, as well as with deterrents. Not to be confused with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

wild turkey

Preferred over turkey.

See ExploreMT, page 27.

n Y

year-class

A specific generation of fish: The 12-inch perch were from the 2004 year-class. Also known as cohort.

year-round

Refers to things that go on 12 months per year. Hyphenate as an adjective before the noun, but not after: Year-round adventures, but the park is open year round. Not to be confused with yearlong, which refers to something that lasts for a one-year period. We embarked on a yearlong freshwater drum research project. years (period of time)

When spanning more than two years, use the full form of both years, with the words from and to: The biggest changes came from 1960 to 1964, when lawmakers passed several new laws. When spanning two consecutive years, abbreviate the second year and use a hyphen between them (or, if your computer can do it, use an en-dash, which is slightly longer than a hyphen but shorter than a full dash): We could still see the damage caused by the 2010–11 winter and subsequent flooding. years (decades)

No apostrophe before the s:

CORRECT: Most of the laws were passed in the 1960s.

INCORRECT: Most of the laws were passed in the 1960’s.

years (abbreviations)

If naming two or three decades, the style is: Environmental activism increased throughout the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s. Note that it’s an apostrophe (single right quotation mark) before the numeral, not a single left quotation mark. INCORRECT: ‘70s and ‘80s. Word processing will automatically create the incorrect mark, so you need to find a true apostrophe elsewhere in the text, copy it, then paste it at the front of the numeral.

you’re/your

You’re is a contraction of you are: You’re going to miss the meeting. Your describes something that belongs to someone: Don’t forget your cell phone.

n Z zero

Spell out, as in Below-zero temperatures are common in Havre.

zooplankton

Pronounced ZOH-plank-tun. Tiny (less than 2 mm long) animals that float in water, usually near the surface, and are important foods for newly hatched game fish and for smaller “forage” fish such as dace and shiners.

Language to avoid

Make your language as clear and understandable as possible; your reader or listener will thank you. Never use a long word if a short one will do. If you can omit a word and preserve the desired meaning, do so. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, slang, or jargon if there is an everyday English equivalent. Avoid bureaucratese, a style of speech or writing common in government and business bureaucracies and characterized by jargon, euphemism, and abstraction. Examples contrasted with plain English:

BUREAUCRATESE PLAIN ENGLISH

finalize finish implement do, carry out utilize use impact harm, damage, change at this time* now* on a daily/yearly basis each day/year annually yearly approximately about, roughly enumerate list additionally also currently* now*

*Neither is needed when used with a present-tense verb: FWP is currently revising its hunting regulations booklets. Resist using buzzwords—trendy words or terms often of little or unclear meaning. Same with clichés—overused, unoriginal words or terms. Best to just say or write what you actually mean rather than use mental crutches such as: synergy, outside the box, break down the silos, incentivize, leveraging, optics, monetize, push the envelope, value-added, above my pay grade, paradigm shift, run it up the flagpole, pick your brain, win-win situation, drink the Kool-Aid, wow factor, dog-and-pony show, sideboards, low-hanging fruit, bandwidth, square the circle, circle back to this, back of the envelope, step up to the plate, thought leader, decision space, lots of moving parts, lots of balls in the air, core competencies, best practice, perfect storm, move the needle, lean in to it, a heavy lift, drinking from a fire hose, outside the box, reach out, actionable, value added, results oriented, or win-win.

Jargon is language shorthand used within specific fields to avoid having to explain words or terms to people already familiar with the concept. Internally, jargon is fine. But for public communication, jargon confuses lay readers and audiences.

FWP Language Style Guide