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Bill would expand permits for landowners to control beaver and muskrat damage; department supports measure
Summary
House Bill 95 would broaden the Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks' damage-control definition and allow landowners or employees to trap beaver and muskrat causing damage, with permit exemptions from June 1–Aug 31 and an effective date of Sept. 1, 2025.
Representative Paul Fielder presented House Bill 95, a Department-requested measure to expand the definition of beaver damage beyond irrigation districts and stock ponds to other rural and urban structures. Fielder said the bill would permit landowners and employees of affected organizations to control beaver and muskrat damaging property either with a department permit or without a permit during the dispersal window from June 1 through Aug. 31. He said the bill would take effect Sept. 1, 2025.
Quentin Kujala, representing the director of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, testified in support and reiterated that the bill expands permit availability and damage definitions. Kujala also said the department is continuing work on a beaver restoration guidance document and that the bill provides administrative capacity to address damage while restoration planning continues.
Committee members asked technical questions about allowed methods and whether the bill permits use of particular trap types; Representative Fielder said the bill does not specify permitted equipment and that landowners should be able to use effective methods tailored to situations. Fielder described prior professional experience trapping beaver and muskrat at utility facilities and said the bill is intended as a straightforward damage-control tool.
The sponsor closed and asked for a "do pass." The committee closed the hearing; no executive action or vote took place during the session.
