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Fish and Game committee clears several hunting bills, advances wolf‑management changes
Summary
The committee concurred on multiple House bills — including HB 244 (service member license change), HB 259 (wolf management as amended), HB 307 (donated licenses to disabled veterans) and HB 328 (senior elk license) — while House Bill 283 (auction vs. lottery for sheep/moose tags) failed and was tabled.
The Montana Senate Fish and Game Committee on an unspecified date handled a batch of concurrence requests and amendments for hunting‑related bills, approving most to move to the floor and rejecting one proposal to change tag allocation methods.
Committee business opened with a unanimous voice concurrence for House Bill 244, which staff described as changing the definition of deployment for deployed armed service members from "outside the Continental United States" to a deployment of at least two months outside the state, a change intended to clarify eligibility for hunting licenses for deployed service members.
The committee took a more developed vote on House Bill 259, a Grey Wolf Management bill amended to replace mandatory language with permissive language and to address the use of infrared and thermal‑imagery scopes. After discussion — including senators who said thermal imagery felt like an unfair hunting advantage and staff clarifications that some permissions are limited to private property — the committee adopted the amendment and passed the bill 9–3 on roll call.
House Bill 307, which updates rules for donating hunting licenses to disabled veterans (allowing a donor to designate an organization but not a specific recipient), passed by voice with proxy votes recorded. House Bill 328, which would allow a resident 75 or older to use a general elk license to harvest antlerless elk on privately owned land in districts where youth are permitted similar antlerless harvest, passed 12–0.
One high‑profile measure failed. House Bill 283, which would have permitted mountain sheep and certain moose tags to be issued through either auction or lottery, prompted extended debate. Supporters said adding an auction-or-lottery option could increase revenue or broaden access; opponents argued the existing auction process funds research and recovery work and that the system has functioned for years. The roll‑call vote was 4 ayes and 8 nays and the bill failed; later, the committee moved to table it.
The committee recessed briefly to await sponsor paperwork and then opened hearings on additional bills (see separate reports for HB 354, SB 533 and HB 568). Proxy and roll‑call votes were recorded in committee minutes for each concurrence.
