Posted: Thursday, February 16, 2023
Author: Ryan Bramlette, ALC, Ranch Sales | Licensed in MT
I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Rob Arnaud, who is finishing his 8th year on the Montana Board of Outfitters and is arguably the most knowledgeable resource in Montana regarding the application process for Montana Big Game hunting licenses and special permits.
During our discussion, we thoroughly explored the options that Montana resident and nonresident landowners have for obtaining big game licenses and permits and some of the levers an educated landowner can pull to maximize their success in getting these tags.
We first touched on the low-hanging fruit, over-the-counter licenses. Black Bear, Wolf, and Mountain Lion are available over the counter for both resident and nonresident landowners. In addition, for a resident that owns land in a general license hunting district, a bull elk, whitetail, or mule deer buck license can be purchased over the counter. A nonresident who owns land in a general hunting district must still apply for the general elk and deer licenses. If you are unfamiliar with the Montana nonresident application process, I recommend reading my previous article, Apply for a nonresident elk license in Montana. This may provide needed clarity as you continue below.
From there, we dove into the nuances a Montana landowner needs to understand, related explicitly to elk and deer tags, to maximize their opportunity at these pursuits on the land they own.
Landowner Preference Permit (applies to landowners owning land in a special permit area): One of the most common misperceptions I hear when showing a ranch is that after a landowner purchases a ranch, they can put in for and automatically receive a “landowner tag.” That is not the case in Montana. Landowners who own or are contracting to own land in a special hunting district (think of that line East of the Rocky Mountain front) of at least 160 acres for mule deer, or 640 acres for elk, can apply for a Landowner Preference Permit.
Each special hunting district is managed and has an allocated number of permits for that area. Fifteen percent of these permits are set aside for landowners. For example, if a special hunting district allocated 100 bull elk tags, 15 would be available to landowners. If there were 20 landowners that applied, resident or non-resident, 15 of them would be successful. The applicant can be the owner, a blood-related family member, or a W2 employee. These Landowner Preference Permits only apply within the special hunting district where the landowner owns the land. Therefore, if a landowner owns land in a general draw area such as HD 334, where the Arrow Ranch is located, there is no reason to apply for a special permit through Landowner Preference.
While Landowner Preference Permits do not guarantee a landowner a tag, they do increase the odds of a landowner drawing a special permit for the area in which they own the land.
Elk Hunting Access Agreement (Applies to landowners owning land in a special permit or general license area). Also known as a 454, this tool became available to landowners around 2001 but has been more commonly utilized recently. One of the main reasons for this uptick in interest is a change in the number of public hunters that must be granted access to hunt a landowner's land in exchange for that landowner receiving an elk permit or license.
Before 2021, the 454 agreement stated that a landowner must allow access to four public hunters in order for that landowner to be granted a permit or license. Today, this agreement states that a landowner may apply for an elk license, permit, or combination thereof, in exchange for allowing hunting access to a minimum of three public hunters, one of which the landowner can select, while the Montana FWP randomly chooses the other two public hunters. In addition, a landowner may designate the license/permit benefit to an immediate family member or an authorized full-time employee of the landowner. For each license or permit issued to a landowner, family member, or authorized full-time employee, three public hunters will be selected to hunt the land included in the agreement. While these agreements are designed to provide public access and landowner permits in special hunting district areas where tags are otherwise difficult to draw, they are also available for a nonresident landowner, owning land in a general hunting district.
Party Applications (Applies only to a general license area): Montana uses a preference point system for non-resident general licenses and a bonus point system for special permits. For nonresident sportsmen and women, successfully obtaining a general license drives the ability to also draw a special permit. Regardless of if a nonresident owns land in a general license district or a special hunting district, they must first draw a general license. For those in whose land is in a general hunting district, this is all they will need to hunt on their land and other lands also located in a general hunting district. For those that own land in a special hunting district, they will need to not only draw a general hunting license, but also apply for and draw a special permit for the special hunting district in which their land is located in order to hunt on that owned land or other lands located within that special hunting district.
One way to minimize this confusion while maximizing your odds as a nonresident landowner (or non-landowner) is to apply for a general license through a party application. “Montana recognizes fractured points,” Arnaud says. That means a nonresident can apply with up to four other hunters, pooling their points to accumulate a higher average of preference points than they would have otherwise had. In Montana, you can have no more than three preference points, and most licenses are given to those with greater than one preference point, awarded in descending order to those with the most points. For example, three hunters make a party application; one hunter has 1 point, a second hunter has 2
points, and the third has 1 point. The points are added together to equal 4 points and then divided by the number of applicants, averaging 1.33 points for each hunter. They will all receive tags before anyone with just one preference point.
Hire an Outfitter (Applies only to a general license area): A few benefits of doing this as a nonresident landowner exist. First, this is an effective way to learn your land and how to hunt it most effectively and efficiently. Hiring a professional outfitter will expedite your learning curve and enhance your sporting opportunities on your land. Second, hiring an outfitter to guide you as a nonresident landowner allows you to purchase two preference points in any year you are hunting with the outfitter. If you choose to hire an outfitter every year, you can buy and receive two preference points, essentially guaranteeing a general hunting license every year. Outfitters' guides must guide outfitter clients, and all lands hunted must be put in the outfitter operation plan.
It can be argued that Montana is the most rewarding place to own land. Taylor Sheridan chose to film his hit series Yellowstone and the prequels 1883 and 1923 because the landscape here is as real as the wildlife that lives on it. As a Montana landowner who enjoys sporting pursuits, you must know how to maximize your opportunities.
Stay tuned for the Land Investor podcast interview with Rob Arnaud coming soon and refer to the table below, which visually breaks down hunting tag options for resident and nonresident landowners in Montana. Finally, I would tell you that as I write this article, there are some legislative proposals being brought forth in Helena that may impact landowner sporting options.
If you are interested in reviewing your options as a landowner (or staying updated on current legislation), you can contact myself or the Fay Ranches broker that you are currently working with.
