Montana's New Game-Changer: House Bill 635 and Four Other Proven Strategies to Maximize Hunting Opportunities for Non-Resident Landowners

NEW HB635: Landowner Preference (Applies to landowners owning more than 2,500 acres of contiguous land):

In the 2023 legislature, non-resident landowners of Montana got a big win with the passing of HB635.

The bill states that a portion of available licenses will be placed in landowner preference, set aside for non-resident landowners that own at least 2,500 contiguous acres in a general license area. For each additional 2,500 contiguous acres owned, the landowner or the landowner's immediate family members may receive an additional license, up to a maximum of five licenses, with no more than one license held per individual. These licenses grant elk hunting opportunities on the land the non-resident owns or land that they lease for agricultural purposes.

It's essential to highlight that HB635 specifically addresses general licenses and not special permits. Nevertheless, for non-resident landowners with a minimum of 2,500 acres of contiguous land within a special hunting district, HB365 remains beneficial. This is because a general license is a prerequisite for eligibility to draw a special permit.

Elk Hunting Access Agreement (Applies to landowners owning land in a general license or special permit 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 (For the purposes of this article, this strategy would apply to landowners owning less than 2,500 acres of contiguous land in a general license area):

Montana uses a preference point system for non-resident general licenses and a bonus point system for special permits. For non-resident sportsmen and women, successfully obtaining a general license drives the ability to also draw a special permit. Regardless of whether a non-resident 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. Those who own land in a special hunting district 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 non-resident landowner (or non-landowner) is to apply for a general license through a party application. In another episode of Land Investor podcast, Hunting and Wildlife Management, Rob Arnaud mentioned, "Montana recognizes fractured points." That means a non-resident 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 75% of these 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 to landowners owning land in a general license area):

A few benefits of doing this as a non-resident 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 non-resident 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.

Landowner Preference Permits (applies to landowners owning land in a special permit area):

Landowners who own or are contracting to own land in a special hunting district 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 Landowner Preference Permit.

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.

Navigating the non-resident hunting tag process in Montana can be a complex endeavor. I highly recommend checking out the relevant episodes on the Land Investor Podcast, featuring an insightful discussion with Rob Arnaud, as well as a recent episode, Montana Hunting Tags: Resident and Non-Resident Applications, with myself and my co-host Matt Henningsen. In these episodes, we dig a little deeper and attempt to further demystify the process. Additionally, you can refer to my article, Applying For A Non-Resident Elk License | Montana, offering valuable insights into successfully maneuvering through the application process.