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Committee backs bill to simplify shooting-preserve rules, standardize fee and extend licenses
Summary
House Bill 106 would remove acreage minimums for shooting preserves, set a standard $250 five-year fee, remove certain bird-release and harvest recovery requirements, and replace tagging with a harvest reporting form; the committee gave the bill a unanimous do-pass recommendation.
The House Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee on voice vote recommended passage of House Bill 106 after hearing department testimony that the measure would clarify and reduce administrative burdens for shooting-preserve licensing.
The department’s chief of enforcement, Ron Howell, said the bill is part of a red-tape initiative and “is intended to clarify and simplify the laws and licensing requirements for shooting preserves.” Howell explained the bill would remove a 2,560-acre contiguous requirement, clarify that preserves must be on private property, and allow a single landowner to hold more than one preserve license for adjacent parcels.
Under the bill the current acreage-based fee formula would be replaced with a single $250 fee, and license terms would extend from one year to five years. The statute would also remove a prior requirement that a preserve release at least 100 birds cumulatively and a requirement that 80 percent of released birds be harvested. The bill would replace department-supplied self-sealing harvest tags with a free harvest form that operators must carry with harvested birds.
Peter Dudley, representing Montana Audubon, said the organization supported the bill as a “good bill that clarifies reporting, increases flexibility for owners, removes the release requirement and . . . the recovery requirement.” Scott Boulanger of the Montana Conservation Society also voiced support.
Representative Fielder asked whether the statute’s species listing would allow the department to authorize additional species—Kilbreath and Howell confirmed the department could authorize species under its rulemaking/authorization process. Representative Durham asked how many preserves exist; the department answered there are currently 128 licensed preserves in Montana. Representative Perry asked whether the $250 fee amounts to $50 per year; Howell confirmed the fee would be a one-time $250 payment for the five-year license.
With no opponents appearing, the committee conducted a voice vote and recorded a unanimous do-pass recommendation; the bill will advance to the House floor.
