Committee hears House Bill 96 to create trapping apprentice certificate program

Representative Frank Fielder introduced House Bill 96 on behalf of the Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, describing it as a proposal to create an apprentice certificate program to allow people to try hunting or trapping before completing formal education courses.

The bill would revise the existing apprentice hunting certificate program to include trapping and establish mentor eligibility and program limits. “This bill creates a trapping apprentice certificate program,” Representative Fielder said. He told the committee the apprentice certificate would be available to people 10 years of age or older, would be valid for up to two years, and require apprentices to be accompanied by a mentor who is at least 21 and holds the relevant hunting or trapping qualifications.

Quentin Kujala, chief of conservation policy for Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, told the committee the department requested the bill and recommended a due pass. “The hunter apprentice program has been successful. We think the same sort of expectation is a reasonable one to have for the trapper apprentice,” Kujala said.

Representatives of conservation and hunting groups also supported the bill. Ben Lamb of the Montana Conservation Society called it “a good program,” and Matt Leow of the Montana chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers recounted serving as a mentor for his son: “It was a really meaningful experience for myself, also for him.” Frank Szollosi, executive director of the Montana Wildlife Federation, said the federation supports “prepping based on sound data, education, and certification.”

Committee members asked procedural and program questions. Senator Vance asked whether the apprentice certificate would extend beyond the youth-only opening days; Fielder replied that apprentices could use the license throughout the hunting and trapping seasons while accompanied by a mentor. Committee discussion also covered license fees: department staff confirmed a $5 fee associated with the apprentice license and noted a separate reduced youth trapper license that applies only to muskrat and mink for certain ages.

Fielder noted the bill previously passed out of the House Fish and Wildlife Committee by a vote of 20-0 after amendments that left the existing hunting apprentice program unchanged. At the Senate hearing no formal committee vote on HB 96 was recorded.