Lawmakers back study to assess rising hunting pressure and access; amendment on private-lease data draws concern

Representative Courtney Sprunger introduced House Bill 568, titled “Montana Hunters First,” to request a formal study by Fish, Wildlife & Parks into hunting season structure, hunter distribution, block-management participation and the effects of rising nonresident hunting pressure.

Sprunger told the committee that resident license sales have surged and that license statutes cap antlered elk and deer at specified numbers; she said hunter success is declining while days afield have increased. The bill, she said, is intended as a stakeholder-driven, data-focused study to assemble harvest, license, access and human-dimensions information to support policy options for future sessions.

Proponents included conservation groups, hunting clubs and many individual hunters: Larry Sickerson (Helena Hunters and Anglers) asked the committee to include upland species; Ben Lamb (Montana Conservation Society) and Charlie Booher (Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation) supported the bill as a way to produce defensible data. Matt Leo (Montana chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers) and other proponents stressed that anecdotes are not adequate and that the study should collect location-of-effort, harvest and block-management enrollment data across regions.

Opponents or commenters with concerns included the Montana Outfitters and Guides Association, which supported the study concept but objected to a late amendment that would have required Fish, Wildlife & Parks to collect private-land lease acreage and duration information. The outfitter representative said private-lease inventories change rapidly, can be of limited value and raise private-property and liability questions; the sponsor subsequently explained she is willing to remove the private-lease acreage request to address those concerns and the related fiscal/technical notes.

FWP’s conservation policy chief appeared as an informational witness and said the department would rely on and expand existing harvest and human-dimensions survey methods, license-bureau sales data and targeted surveys to determine hunter locations, public- and private-land use and species-specific effort. The department and sponsor discussed scope and the prospect of including upland birds and waterfowl in the study.

Representative Sprunger closed by stressing constituent concerns and urging the committee to pass the bill so the department and stakeholders can develop data-driven policy proposals ahead of the 2027 session. Committee members asked technical questions about amendment choices and fiscal impacts; the sponsor and stakeholders signaled willingness to refine the bill language to remove the private-lease acreage request and to include upland/waterfowl where warranted.

No committee final vote was recorded in the hearing; the committee took testimony and asked for clarifying follow-up.