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Committee reviews bill giving residents 10‑day head start for certain upland bird seasons
Summary
The House Fish and Wildlife and Parks Committee heard Senate Bill 514, which would allow Montana resident hunters a 10‑day head start over nonresidents for certain upland bird seasons on private lands enrolled in access programs.
Senate Bill 514 would permit resident hunters in Montana to begin hunting upland game birds on certain private lands up to 10 days earlier than nonresidents, while Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) would retain authority to set season dates. Sponsor Senator Greg Hunter described the measure as a way to allocate recreational opportunity to residents in areas with high hunter crowding.
Ben Lamb of the Montana Conservation Society and Jeff Herbert of the Montana Sportsman Alliance testified in support, saying the measure helps address crowding and preserves resident access on private lands enrolled in public access programs. "This is a great bill," Ben Lamb said, urging a do‑pass recommendation.
FWP’s licensing bureau chief, Emily Cooper, and Chief of Law Enforcement Ron Howell appeared as informational witnesses. Cooper said the department would set dates in the usual way through the commission, and she did not have an exact count of how many nonresident bird license hunters would be affected at the hearing; she later reported the relevant number as "5" when asked but said that ringneck pheasant three‑day license mechanics mean the bill would not affect that specific permit type.
Committee members asked whether private landowners outside access programs could restrict access; FWP staff said landowners may set terms for private property but that the bill’s language excludes private lands not enrolled in access agreements from the delayed nonresident start. Questions also covered the likely fiscal effect on license revenue; Cooper said she did not expect a significant fiscal impact and that the change would not apply to certain pheasant three‑day licenses.
No opponents registered in the committee hearing record. Representative and committee questions included requests for clarification on how FWP would administer start dates and whether other states have used similar staggered seasons; the department said Montana previously experimented with brief resident priority windows and that the commission would ultimately set dates.
The committee closed the hearing; no formal vote on SB 514 was recorded at the session.
