LAUREL — A Laurel teenager is being recognized by Governor Greg Gianforte for demonstrating exceptional hunting ethics during her elk hunt over Thanksgiving a part of the Governor's Youth Hunting Story Contest.
Eliana "Ellie" Johnston, who spends her time perfecting her aim and precision shooting, took those skills to northeastern Montana for an elk hunting expedition that would test more than just her marksmanship.
Watch Ellie Johnston talk about the hunt:
"We went out to this landowner, and I was talking with her, and she was just like, yeah, I've got two elk out there," Ellie Johnston said Sunday.
While lying in the snow, Johnston came across the two elk. However, the landowner informed her that one of the animals was injured.
"It gave us a chance to talk about ethics and how important it is to make that decision when the time comes," Ellie Johnston said.
That moment of decision arrived when Johnston realized the injured elk's fate.
"It's either I take this elk or he's gonna starve, and he'll either starve or he'll be killed in the winter. He won't last through the winter," Ellie Johnston said.
Filled with adrenaline after making the ethical choice, Johnston successfully harvested the elk.
"Oh my goodness, this is my first elk," Ellie Johnston said.
Her father, Ben Johnston, was by her side throughout the hunt and praised his daughter's decision-making.
"She set up and, you know, made an excellent shot, you know, a quick ethical kill, and she did really well, I'm very proud of her," Ben Johnston said.
Ben Johnston emphasized that hunting extends beyond pursuing trophy animals.
"Sometimes the animal that you want to harvest and the animal that you should harvest are not necessarily the same thing," Ben Johnston said.
In Montana, hunters play a crucial role in wildlife management, which sometimes requires difficult decisions.
"Sometimes that makes, involves making hard decisions like I'm going to harvest this injured animal and spare it the, you know, the, going through, you know, not making it through the winter and dying from starvation or depredation," Ben Johnston said.
Ellie Johnston agrees with this conservation-minded approach to hunting.
"During a kind of difficult situation, I'm learning how to be ethical and conserve the population and stuff like that by making a more ethical choice," Johnston said.
Her ethical decision-making is why Gov. Greg Gianforte is recognizing her achievements.
"I thought this year I had a chance to show what it means to be a good hunter and to show my ethics and respect to not only the landowners, but also the animals and the other hunters because I had to learn to not be upset when another hunter took a shot at the elk I had hiked out five miles to get," Ellie Johnston said.
