Committee hears bill to limit aircraft-based locating and same-day hunting; includes agricultural exception for herding elk

Senate Bill 106 drew a lengthy hearing in the House Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee, where supporters from ranching, hunting and conservation groups urged new restrictions on aircraft- and drone-assisted locating and hunting, and the sponsor included a narrowly drawn exception so agricultural operators can use aircraft to herd elk off pastures.

Sponsor Senator Logie opened the hearing saying the bill responds to complaints about aircraft and helicopter operators using flight to locate, bunch or harass elk and then land where they do not have permission to hunt. He also said some agricultural operations want the ability to use aircraft or drones to herd elk off irrigated hay fields or pastures to reduce crop losses.

Proponents from a multi-stakeholder “Devil’s Kitchen Management Team” described decades of local cooperation among hunters, ranchers and agency staff to manage elk populations, but said recent helicopter and aircraft activity has changed hunting ethics and harmed landowners’ ability to protect forage. Chase Hibbard, speaking for Seben Livestock Company, said the group drafted the bill to “clarify and strengthen current law” and to provide “new tools” for law enforcement.

Ranch witnesses described large elk herds well above objectives and told the committee that nonlethal measures—propane cannons, night herding and supplemental hunts—failed to stop crop damage. One ranch manager said thermal-imaging drones used by FWP technicians reduced elk use of hay fields for several days and estimated annual hay losses at roughly $105,000 before drones were incorporated into mitigation efforts.

Hunters’ groups urged the committee to protect “fair chase.” George Golley said, “If you have to have a drone or an airplane or a helicopter to spot your game for you, then you land and go shoot something like that…is it really fair chase?” Backcountry Hunters and Anglers and the Montana Wildlife Federation testified in support of the bill; the latter noted FWP had offered permitting clarifications for overlapping seasons.

FWP Chief of Law Enforcement Ron Howell testified as an informational witness and described enforcement challenges. He said the bill’s insertion of the word “spot” helps prosecutors by clarifying intent compared with prior language, and that some existing statutory provisions already address aircraft interference and hunter harassment (the transcript references MCA sections in the 87-6 series). Howell recommended evidence such as flight-tracking data could help establish intent in prosecutions.

Key drafting issues discussed included whether the bill should require a 24-hour delay between use of aircraft and hunting (sponsors and staff discussed same-calendar-day language versus an explicit 24-hour period), how the bill would interact with existing federal land-use rules (BLM landing restrictions), and how to avoid unintended impacts on legitimate flights. Sponsor Logie emphasized the bill’s agricultural exception allowing the use of manned and unmanned aircraft for herding elk during shoulder seasons to protect crops.

Ending: The committee heard significant testimony and detailed questions about enforcement and drafting; no committee vote or amendment was recorded in the transcript.