Montana lawmaker proposes 10% surtax on leased hunting access to fund block management

Representative Tom France introduced House Bill 857 on the House Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee’s agenda, proposing a new surcharge on leases of private land used for hunting that would fund the state’s Block Management Program.

France, sponsor of the bill, told the committee the measure is “not a finished product” but is intended to address two related concerns: the rise in leasing of private land for exclusive hunting and the rising cost of the Block Management Program. “It’s a bedrock principle of wildlife management that wildlife belongs to the people. It’s a public resource,” France said, arguing that leasing can effectively privatize public wildlife and diminish hunting opportunity for the broader public.

France said the bill would add a checkbox to the Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) conservation license form for license-holders to declare whether they lease land for hunting. If they indicate they lease land, they would report the lease amount and remit a 10% surtax that would be deposited directly into Block Management funding.

The sponsor cited recent Block Management cost increases, saying the program’s annual cost rose by roughly $4 million between 2022 and 2023 after FWP increased per-day landowner payments from $13 to $17. France said the state currently pays about 30% of Block Management program costs and that continued growth in lease activity threatens long-term funding and public access.

FWP representative Lina Havron testified in opposition, saying that “as written, House Bill 857 creates a surcharge that’s attached to the purchase of a conservation license,” and that treating the charge as a license fee would create a new earmark that federal and state rules prohibit. Havron described that effect as a “diversion” from the general license account and said FWP must oppose the bill as drafted.

Industry witnesses and landowner groups also opposed the bill. Charles Denowh of United Property Owners of Montana said the draft does not distinguish clearly between lessees and lessors and could unintentionally apply the fee to both parties. Will Israel of the Montana Outfitters and Guides Association said the measure “forces disclosure of private lease details and adds government tax to confidential agreements,” and warned it could make access less affordable and spur landowners to stop leasing. Fishing outfitter Scott Vollmer described the bill as “punitive” toward people who pay one-day rod or access fees and said higher costs would push more hunters onto public land.

Committee members asked questions about who the bill would target (long-season leases versus daily access or per-hunter fees), how to draft exemptions for outfitters, and whether the proposal could be amended to avoid federal diversion rules. FWP said it had not provided a revenue estimate because it lacks the records to determine the number of leases and that the mechanism would largely operate on an honor system with no easy way to verify compliance.

France closed by saying the bill was a starting point for committee discussion and that the diversion concerns are “fixable” by amendment.

Ending: The committee held a hearing and received public testimony for and against HB 857; no committee action or vote was recorded in the transcript.