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Lawmakers hear HB202 to restrict aircraft and drone scouting for big-game hunting
Summary
Sponsor Courtney Sprunger said HB202 would extend waiting periods after aircraft flights, ban carrying drones while hunting, and raise penalties to curb aerial scouting. Fish, Wildlife and Parks law enforcement and multiple hunting-conservation groups testified on enforcement limits and fair‑chase concerns.
Representative Courtney Sprunger opened the House hearing on House Bill 202 as a response to reports of increased use of both manned and unmanned aircraft to scout big-game, particularly in Montana’s unlimited sheep hunting zones. "This is a bill to revise laws related to the unlawful use of aircraft for hunting," Sprunger said, and summarized three primary changes: extending a waiting period after commercial flights, banning possession of drones while hunting or attempting to hunt, and increasing fines and penalties.
Proponents—including the Montana Wild Sheep Foundation, Wolves to the Rockies, Bold Visions Conservation, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers and other conservation and hunting groups—said aerial scouting undermines fair-chase ethics and gives a disproportionate advantage to hunters who can afford flights or drone services. Ty Stubblefield, executive director of the Montana Wild Sheep Foundation, urged a due pass and called unlimited sheep units a unique resource that must be protected from aircraft-aided scouting.
Ron Howell, chief of law enforcement for Fish, Wildlife and Parks, appeared as an informational witness and acknowledged enforcement challenges. Howell said the existing law’s enforcement burden is high and the department often relies on public reporting and evidence-gathering by sportsmen to pursue cases. He also clarified statutory definitions: unmanned aerial vehicles fall under the department’s definition of "aircraft," and the current statutory waiting period language has been interpreted as a calendar day (midnight-to-midnight).
Legislators pressed Howell on practical questions: how many citations have been issued for aircraft-related hunting violations (Howell said the department has issued one citation in the last ten years, reportedly involving a helicopter) and whether the law targets private pilots or commercial charters (Howell: current language speaks to the aircraft itself, not explicitly to pilot status). He also said routine ranch uses of drones for checking livestock or irrigation would not ordinarily fall within the department’s enforcement concerns.
Several representatives raised concerns about drafting and intent—asking how the bill distinguishes ordinary transport (a hunter being flown into a backcountry strip) from aircraft deliberately used to scout animals for harvest. Sprunger said the sponsor amendment circulated at the hearing was intended to target commercial operations that circle and locate animals rather than ordinary transport and that she preferred a 48‑hour wait but compromised to avoid unintentionally penalizing legitimate transport.
The hearing drew no in-room opponents. After questions and discussion, Sprunger closed the hearing and asked the committee to advance the bill. The hearing record closed with the sponsor reserving the right to close and the committee moving on to the next scheduled item; no final committee vote on HB202 was taken during this session.
