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Montana lawmaker proposes 10% surcharge on conservation licenses to shore up block-management funding
Summary
Rep. Tom France introduced HB 857 to add a 10% surcharge on conservation licenses when applicants declare they lease land for hunting; Fish, Wildlife & Parks warned the proposal would create an impermissible earmark and many landowners and outfitters opposed the measure as burdensome or privacy-invading.
Representative Tom France (House District 99) introduced House Bill 857, proposing that hunters who lease private land for seasonal hunting declare that lease on their Montana conservation license and pay a 10% surtax directed to the state’s block management program.
France told the House Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee the bill is intended to preserve public hunting opportunity as private leasing becomes more common, and to stabilize funding for block management, which he said has become more expensive. He said Fish, Wildlife and Parks increased per-day payments to landowners from about $13 to $17 and that the program’s cost rose from roughly 7.8 to 11.6 (figures referred to in testimony as millions), producing an estimated $4 million increase.
In the nut graf: the proposal drew immediate pushback from agency staff and landowner groups. Lena Havron,…
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