Hunters traveling to Montana this coming fall could be shelling out more money for a hunting license than ever before. The proposed price increase is part of a legislative bill that has passed both the Montana Senate and the House of Representatives and is now headed to Governor Greg Gianforte's desk for a signature. If signed into law, the base hunting license fee for all nonresidents will jump from just $15 to $100.
Sponsoring lawmakers say the bill is an attempt to bolster Montana's flagging Block Management Program, a system that provides public hunting access on private lands across the state. Established 40 years ago, the program allows Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) to compensate working ranchers and other large landowners who are willing to open their lands to licensed hunters each year. But landowner enrollment has been declining for well over a decade.
Since 2011, roughly 1 million acres of private lands have been withdrawn for Block Management, even though FWP increased the compensation price cap for participating landowners from $25,000 to $50,000 in 2023. As of 2024, there was a total of 1,314 landowners enrolled in the the program.
“The idea of identifying these dollars to go to block management is a concerted effort to try to open up more lands for the public in Montana,” bill sponsor Rep. Gary Parry told the House Fish Wildlife and Parks Committee earlier this session, the Daily Montanan reports. According to the bill's fiscal note, the nonresident price increase is expected to generate as much as $7.2 million in annual revenue. Of that, $6.8 million would be funneled directly to the Block Management Program.
The Montana Outfitters and Guides Association (MOGA) openly opposed the bill with a lobbyist for the group calling the increase "drastic" and advocating for upping the base non-resident license fee from $15 to $50 instead of $100. But the Montana Wildlife Federation (MWF), the Big Sky State's oldest wildlife conservation organization, showed up in support. A representative with MWF said the increase would better align with the higher fees that other Western state are already charging for non-resident hunting licenses. Idaho, Utah, and Oregon, for example, charge $185, $144, and $160, respectively.
If signed, the bill won't have an impact on the additional tag prices that nonresident hunters pay, which vary by species. Currently, out-of-state hunters fork out $1,278 for a combination big game license, $1,078 for an elk tag, and $744 for a deer-only tag.
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During the recent hearing, Rep. Parry claimed the increase was little more than "lint in the pocket" for non-residents who travel to Montana to chase big game with the help of local outfitters and guides. “These folks do come here to hunt in our places," he told the House Fish Wildlife and Parks Committee. "If it’s too much, they can stay in their own states. We need to look out for the people of Montana, and this bill pushes that forward.”
