Title 87, Title 87

The principal offices of the commission, the board, and the department must be located in or near Helena, and suitable and adequate space therefor together with janitor services, light, heat, and water must be furnished by the state of Montana.

The legislature, mindful of its constitutional obligations under Article II, section 3, of the Montana constitution protecting the inalienable rights of a person to pursue life's basic necessities, enjoy the person's life and liberties, and pursue happiness in all lawful ways, an…

(1) The department shall develop a remedial hunter education program for hunting law violators. (2) The program must be funded through money collected by a court pursuant to 87-6-905 through 87-6-908. (3) The department shall determine the qualifications for instructors, hire the…

(1) The use of exploding targets on properties managed pursuant to this title is prohibited when the department of natural resources and conservation determines that fire danger is high, very high, or extreme. (2) For the purposes of this section, "exploding targets" means commer…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (13), the department shall supervise all the wildlife, fish, game, game and nongame birds, waterfowl, and the game and fur-bearing animals of the state and may implement voluntary programs that encourage hunting access on private lands and tha…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), annual and biennial rules adopted by the commission setting seasonal hunting, fishing, trapping, and land use regulations or by the board setting seasonal land use regulations must be published in a pamphlet format that is made available …

All orders and rules and regulations for the enforcement of the powers granted to the department shall take effect and be in force after publication and posting as prescribed in this chapter and when so published or posted shall constitute legal notice.

While retaining the right to vote as the employee pleases and to express opinions on all political questions, an employee of the department may not use the employee's official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with an election or affecting the results of an el…

(1) The department shall pay bounty claims for wild animals that have been filed with and approved by the board of livestock. The department shall pay out of the state fish and game funds, other than those funds derived from license fees paid by hunters and anglers, bounties on p…

(1) Pursuant to subsection (2), the department is authorized to establish checking stations when considered necessary to inspect licenses of hunters and anglers and to inspect any game animals, fish, or fur-bearing animals in the possession of hunters and anglers. (2) The departm…

(1) (a) Subject to 87-1-218 and subsection (8) of this section, the department, with the consent of the commission or the board, may acquire for the purpose listed in subsection (1)(b): (i) land or water by purchase, lease, agreement, gift, transfer, or devise. In the case of lan…

(1) The department may enter into cooperative agreements with educational institutions and state, federal, or other agencies to promote wildlife research and to train personnel for wildlife management. It may enter into cooperative agreements with federal agencies, municipalities…

(1) Except as provided in subsections (2) through (5) or as otherwise provided by law, the department may not release wildlife location data or telemetry frequencies, whether collected by the department or held by the department, of hunted or trapped animals. (2) Wildlife locatio…

(1) Except for information that is required by law to be reported to state or federal officials, the department may not disclose any information that may identify any person who obtains a permit or license to take a large predator as defined in 87-1-217 or who lawfully takes a la…

(1) The legislature finds that significant potential exists for the spread of contagious disease to persons or livestock in Montana and for damage to persons and property by wild buffalo or bison. It is the purpose of this section: (a) to designate publicly owned wild buffalo or …

(1) In managing large predators, the primary goals of the department, in the order of listed priority, are to: (a) protect humans, livestock, and pets; (b) preserve and enhance the safety of the public during outdoor recreational and livelihood activities; and (c) preserve citize…

(1) For all land acquisitions proposed pursuant to 87-1-209, the department shall provide notice to the board of county commissioners in the county where the proposed acquisition is located. (2) The notice must be provided at least 30 days before the proposed acquisition appears …

The department may: (1) acquire by gift, purchase, capture, or otherwise any fish, game, game birds, or animals for propagation, experimental, or scientific purposes; (2) provide for the importation of game birds and game and fur-bearing animals and for the protection, propagatio…

(1) The department shall furnish plans for, direct, and compel the construction, installation, and repair of fish ladders upon dams and other obstructions in streams. The fish ladders shall be installed and maintained at the expense of the owners of the dam or other obstruction. …

The department may control the waters of any lake, pond, or stream that lies wholly within the limits of land owned by the state so far as the use of that lake, pond, or stream for the breeding and propagation of game fish is concerned. Before the right to control any lake, pond,…

(1) When a complaint is made to the department of environmental quality that beaver are obstructing the free flow of a stream flowing through a settled area and into which stream sewage of a town or city is dumped and the obstruction endangers public health, the department of env…

(1) Subject to the provisions of subsection (2), a landowner is eligible for game damage assistance under subsection (3) if the landowner: (a) allows public hunting during established hunting seasons; or (b) does not significantly reduce public hunting through imposed restriction…

(1) The meat of all animals killed or destroyed pursuant to 87-1-225 by the department or the authorized landholder shall be conserved and given to state institutions, school lunch programs, the department of public health and human services, or charitable institutions. The depar…

(1) The department shall negotiate for and enter into written agreements with owners, lessors, lessees, or others having control of areas, tracts, or parcels of land adjoining or contiguous to any United States federal wildlife preserve, including any wildlife refuge for migrator…

(1) Whereas, by treaty of July 16, 1855, between the United States of America and the confederated tribes of the Flathead, Kootenai, and Upper Pend Oreille Indians, the tribes have certain rights to fish and hunt; and whereas, it appears to be to the common advantage of the state…

It is the policy of the department to meet with and work cooperatively with individual private landowners on policies regarding entry of the department to private landowners' land and to work with public and private land managers to resolve and reduce user conflicts.

(1) The department shall maintain a record of each animal reported to it pursuant to 87-6-701. The record shall indicate: (a) the person by whom the animal was captured or is held in captivity; (b) the location of the capture or captivity; (c) the date the animal was tattooed; (d…

If any bear, wolf, tiger, mountain lion, or coyote that is held in captivity or that escapes from such captivity causes any damage to the personal property of another person, compensation for such damage must be paid by the person holding or who held the animal in captivity.

Sections 87-1-232, 87-1-233, and 87-6-701 do not apply to those animals: (1) captured and released as part of an ongoing game management program or an ongoing predator control program unless the animals have been involved in livestock killing; or (2) captured and released as part…

(1) Before acquisition of any interest in land for the primary purpose of securing wildlife habitat the commission shall by rule establish a policy for making such acquisitions. With regard to any specific acquisition the policy shall provide for a comprehensive analysis of: (a) …

(1) The amount of money specified in this subsection from the sale of each hunting license or permit listed must be used exclusively by the commission to secure, develop, and maintain wildlife habitat, subject to appropriation by the legislature: (a) Class B-10, nonresident combi…

The amount of money specified in this section from the sale of each hunting license listed, excluding discounted licenses sold under 87-2-514, 87-2-522, 87-2-525, 87-2-526, 87-2-801, 87-2-803, and 87-2-805(1) and (2), must be used exclusively by the department to preserve and enh…

(1) Subject to subsection (2), revenue dedicated to the upland game bird enhancement program pursuant to 87-1-246 must be used by the department to: (a) prepare and disseminate information to landowners and organizations concerning the upland game bird enhancement program; (b) re…

(1) A project eligible for funding under the upland game bird release program must contain the proper combination of winter cover, food, nesting cover, and other upland game bird habitat components determined necessary to provide for establishment of a viable upland game bird pop…

(1) The department shall adopt rules for the administration of the upland game bird enhancement program created in 87-1-246 through 87-1-249. (2) The rules must: (a) provide for eligibility criteria for project applications, including project evaluation criteria that incorporate …

The department shall report to each regular session of the legislature, in accordance with 5-11-210, concerning upland game bird enhancement activities undertaken pursuant to 87-1-246 through 87-1-249 and 87-1-251 during the preceding biennium, including providing: (1) copies of …

(1) There is an upland game bird citizens' advisory council consisting of 12 members appointed by the director and serving staggered 4-year terms. The 12 members must include a public member representing each of the department's administrative regions. Council membership must inc…

The legislature finds that the conservation of rivers and their fisheries is of vital social and economic importance to Montana. The legislature further finds that some of our state's rivers and fisheries are diminished in value by water pollution, water shortages, and riparian e…

As used in 87-1-255 through 87-1-259, the following definitions apply: (1) "Account" means the river restoration account provided for in 87-1-258. (2) "Associated lands" means the beds, banks, and immediately adjacent lands associated with a river. (3) "Department" means the depa…

(1) The department shall administer a river restoration program. (2) The program may consist of physical projects to improve rivers and their associated lands in order to conserve and enhance fish and wildlife habitat, including but not limited to a change in appropriation right …

(1) There is a river restoration special revenue account administered by the department within the state special revenue fund established in 17-2-102. (2) There must be deposited in the account: (a) all proceeds earmarked for this account under 87-2-301, 87-2-302, and 87-2-711; a…

The amount of money specified in this section from the sale of each of the following licenses must be deposited in the account provided for in 87-1-258: (1) Class A--resident fishing license, 50 cents; (2) Class B--nonresident fishing license, $1; and (3) Class AAA--combination s…

(1) The Montana block management enforcement network is intended to establish a framework for assisting landowners enrolled in the block management program established under 87-1-265 with enforcing compliance by hunters with the landowner's rules and Montana law. (2) Landowners e…

(1) Subject to the provisions of subsections (2) and (3), on Veterans' Day, veterans may be given preference to use block management areas that require a reservation. (2) A reservation by a veteran to use a block management area pursuant to subsection (1) must be made at least 1 …

The legislature recognizes that the hunting access programs authorized in 87-1-265 successfully encourage landowners to increase public access to private and public lands for purposes of hunting, but that increased public access may also contribute to an increase in the spread of…

(1) There is established a block management program administered by the department to provide landowner assistance that encourages public access to private and public lands for hunting purposes. (2) The department may also develop and administer alternative programs to the block …