Bill would let FWP enforce private land access rules to help keep public hunting lands open

HELENA — Senate Bill 83, sponsored by Senator Denley Loge, would enable the Fish and Wildlife Commission to adopt private landowners’ access rules for properties enrolled in block management and other public access agreements so that FWP wardens can enforce those rules year‑round.

Loge said many landowners who open property for public hunting want their rules enforced but lack the time to police trespass or other violations themselves. "What this does, it just allows FWP to come in and kind of enforce those ranch rules," he said, explaining the intent is to help landowners keep their properties open to public hunting by giving wardens an enforcement tool.

FWP’s law enforcement chief Ron Howell testified the department supports SB 83 and would use the authority to protect partnerships with private landowners that provide public access. Howell said the change would not create novel rules but would allow enforcement of landowners’ existing posted rules (for example, staying on the road, parking areas, walk‑in only) outside the hunting season when current statutory tools are limited.

Conservation groups and hunting organizations endorsed the bill as an access‑preserving measure. Tom Jacobson (Montana Wildlife Federation), Ben Lamb (Montana Conservation Society) and Backcountry Hunters and Anglers cited lost acres from block management programs and said stronger enforcement would encourage more landowners to remain partners.

Committee members pressed FWP on administrative burden and legal authority. Several representatives asked whether the commission would have to adopt each landowner’s rules individually, creating an unwieldy administrative task. Jeff Hindoyne, chief legal counsel for FWP, described a simpler approach: the commission would adopt a short administrative rule stating that participants in private access programs must follow the landowner’s posted rules, and violations of those landowner rules would be enforceable as commission rule violations.

FWP said the rules are already posted on sign‑in boxes and available on the agency website and that the bill would give wardens a clearer tool to address off‑season problems such as unauthorized fires or vehicles off designated tracks. Loge said maps and ranch rule sheets are already used by cooperating landowners and would remain the primary notice mechanism.

What’s next: The committee closed the hearing on SB 83; lawmakers signaled general support while asking for clarifying language on the rulemaking and enforcement mechanics.