PRIA Logo™
MontanaHB 10669th Legislature, Regular Session (2025)HouseWALLET

Revise laws related to shooting preserve requirements

Sponsored By: Eric Albus (Republican)

Became Law

Fish and WildlifeRevenue, StateProperty

Your PRIA Score

Score Hidden

Personalized for You

How does this bill affect your finances?

Sign up for a PRIA Policy Scan to see your personalized alignment score for this bill and every other piece of legislation we track. We analyze your financial profile against policy provisions to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.

Free to start

Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

5 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 3 costs, 2 mixed.

Hunters: tagging, forms, and penalties

You must have a shooting preserve license to hunt on a preserve. All game taken on a preserve must be tagged as required and kept with a department harvest form until it is eaten. The department gives preserve operators harvest forms for free and provides self‑sealing tags at a nominal cost. If you hunt or harvest without the required license, tags, or forms, you can be fined $50 to $1,000, jailed up to 6 months, or both. The court may also take your hunting, fishing, or trapping licenses or ban you from state lands for a time it sets. Preserve operators must keep the required records.

Shooting preserves: size cap and signs

Shooting preserves must be entirely on private land. Each preserve is limited to 2,560 contiguous acres. A preserve cannot substantially reduce public hunting areas, as decided by the department. Operators must post boundary signs at least every 1/4 mile, with at least two signs total.

Preserves: species, releases, and limits

You may release and hunt only these species: ring-necked pheasants (no color mutations), chukar partridges, Merriam’s turkeys, Hungarian partridges, and other department‑approved species. You must release at least 100 birds total each year during the preserve season. Released upland birds must be at least 14 weeks old and marked before release. You must keep release and harvest records by species and source, including wild birds taken, and allow department inspection. If your license is from before July 1, 2003, you set your own age/sex/number limits; for newer licenses, the department can add limits in native‑bird areas when needed, based on sound biology.

Preserve license: five years, $250 fee

A shooting preserve license costs $250. It stays valid until February 28 of the fifth year after it is issued, unless revoked. Apply to renew before it expires. The department renews your license when you pay and you followed all recording and reporting rules.

Recoverable game rule repealed

The law repeals the prior rule that set how much game could be recovered from preserves (MCA 87-4-523). This changes the legal baseline for recoverable game. What it means in practice depends on future department rules or guidance.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Sponsor

  • Eric Albus

    Republican • House

Cosponsors

There are no cosponsors for this bill.

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 479 • No: 13

House vote • 3/24/2025

Do Concur

Yes: 97 • No: 0

House vote • 3/21/2025

Do Concur

Yes: 97 • No: 0

House vote • 3/18/2025

Do Concur

Yes: 47 • No: 2

House vote • 3/17/2025

Do Concur

Yes: 47 • No: 2

House vote • 1/29/2025

Do Pass

Yes: 97 • No: 3

House vote • 1/28/2025

Do Pass

Yes: 94 • No: 6

Actions Timeline

  1. Chapter Number Assigned

    4/7/2025House

  2. Signed by Governor

    4/7/2025House

  3. Transmitted to Governor

    3/31/2025House

  4. Signed by President

    3/31/2025Senate

  5. Signed by Speaker

    3/28/2025House

  6. Returned from Enrolling

    3/25/2025House

  7. Sent to Enrolling

    3/24/2025House

  8. 3rd Reading Passed as Amended by Senate

    3/24/2025House

  9. 2nd Reading Senate Amendments Concurred

    3/21/2025House

  10. Returned to House with Amendments

    3/18/2025Senate

  11. 3rd Reading Concurred

    3/18/2025Senate

  12. 2nd Reading Concurred

    3/17/2025Senate

  13. Committee Report--Bill Concurred as Amended

    2/19/2025Senate

  14. Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred as Amended

    2/18/2025Senate

  15. Hearing

    2/4/2025Senate

  16. Referred to Committee

    2/4/2025Senate

  17. First Reading

    1/30/2025Senate

  18. Transmitted to Senate

    1/29/2025House

  19. 3rd Reading Passed

    1/29/2025House

  20. 2nd Reading Passed

    1/28/2025House

  21. Committee Report--Bill Passed

    1/17/2025House

  22. Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed

    1/16/2025House

  23. Hearing

    1/9/2025House

  24. First Reading

    1/6/2025House

  25. Referred to Committee

    12/20/2024House

Bill Text

  • As Amended (Version 3)

    3/24/2025

    PDF

  • Enrolled

    3/24/2025

    PDF

  • As Amended (Version 2)

    2/19/2025

    PDF

  • Introduced

    12/18/2024

    PDF

Related Bills

Back to State Legislation