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Montana bill would require self-reporting of deer and elk harvest; sponsor says amendment eases penalties
Summary
Representative Marilyn Marler introduced House Bill 564 to require mandatory hunter harvest reporting for deer and elk; sponsors and proponents emphasized modernizing reporting methods and building public trust while an amendment removed fines and bonus-point penalties and left a requirement to report before purchasing the next hunting license.
Representative Marilyn Marler, sponsor of House Bill 564, told the House Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee she wants Montana to move from a telephone-based hunter survey to mandatory self-reporting for deer and elk harvest. "If it's the legislature's intention to bring harvest data into a modern age, we need to tell the department to do it," Marler said.
The bill would extend existing mandatory self-reporting (now required for mountain goats, bighorn sheep and mountain lions) to deer and elk and direct Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) to set reporting deadlines. Marler said the bill originally used a “carrot and a stick” approach but committee amendments remove a fine and the proposed bonus-point reward while keeping the requirement that a hunter complete a harvest report before buying the next year’s license.
Why it matters: FWP uses harvest and effort data to set seasons…
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