Montana legislation · 2025 Regular Session
Montana HB568: Provide for the Montana Hunters First Act
Status: Signed into law, May 13, 2025
What the bill says
An act establishing the montana hunters first act; creating a study of impacts on montana's hunting seasons related to block management, season structure, and resident and nonresident license allocation; assigning responsibility for the study to the department of fish, wildlife, and parks; defining the scope of the study; requiring a published report that includes recommendations; and providing an immediate effective date and a termination date.
From the engrossed text:
AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE MONTANA HUNTERS FIRST ACT; CREATING A STUDY OF IMPACTS ON MONTANA'S HUNTING SEASONS RELATED TO BLOCK MANAGEMENT, SEASON STRUCTURE, AND RESIDENT AND NONRESIDENT LICENSE ALLOCATION; ASSIGNING RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE STUDY TO THE DEPARTMENT OF FISH, WILDLIFE, AND PARKS; DEFINING THE SCOPE OF THE STUDY; REQUIRING A PUBLISHED REPORT THAT INCLUDES RECOMMENDATIONS; AND PROVIDING AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE AND A TERMINATION DATE. WHEREAS, there has been a steady growth in nonresident hunting license sales and hunting pressure on publicly accessible lands; and WHEREAS, Montana's significant population growth necessitates a detailed assessment of hunting season structure after 40 years; and WHEREAS, there has been a decline of roughly 1 million acres in the amount of private land enrolled in the block management program over the past 10 years, concentrating hunters on smaller amounts of publicly accessible lands; and WHEREAS, hunter success rates have been steadily falling, while hunter use days have been steadily increasing; and WHEREAS, public sentiment indicates that Montana's wildlife resources are being strained by a variety of factors; and WHEREAS, landowner fatigue with the current hunting season structure relative to elk hunting opportunities is setting in; and WHEREAS, the wildlife of Montana belongs to all citizens; and WHEREAS, the process of finding solutions to the issues surrounding the current management of hunting seasons, including resident …
Sponsors
- Sprunger, Courtenay (R, 7) · primary sponsor
Latest actions
- : Chapter Number Assigned
- : (H) Signed by Governor
- : (H) Transmitted to Governor
- : (S) Signed by President
- : (H) Signed by Speaker
- : (H) Returned from Enrolling
- : (H) Sent to Enrolling
- : (H) 3rd Reading Senate Amendments
- : (H) Scheduled for 3rd Reading
- : (H) 2nd Reading Senate Amendments
Votes
- Do Concur (April 16, 2025): 97 yea, 1 nay, passed
- Do Concur (April 15, 2025): 96 yea, 1 nay, passed
- Do Concur (April 7, 2025): 48 yea, 1 nay, passed
- Do Concur (April 5, 2025): 45 yea, 1 nay, passed
- Do Pass (March 5, 2025): 97 yea, 1 nay, passed
- Do Pass (March 4, 2025): 97 yea, 2 nay, passed
Subjects: Fish
Common questions
- What is HB568?
- HB568 is a bill in the Montana Legislature (2025 Regular Session): Provide for the Montana Hunters First Act.
- What does HB568 do?
- In its own words: An act establishing the montana hunters first act; creating a study of impacts on montana's hunting seasons related to block management, season structure, and resident and nonresident license allocation; assigning responsibility for the study to the department of fish, wildlife, and parks; defining the scope of the study; requiring a published report that includes recommendations; and providing an immediate effective date and a termination date.
- What is the status of HB568?
- Signed into law as of May 13, 2025. Latest action: Chapter Number Assigned (May 13, 2025).
- Who sponsored HB568?
- Sprunger, Courtenay (R, 7).
- Where is the official record for HB568?
- On the Montana Legislature website: https://bills.legmt.gov/#/laws/bill/2/LC1323
Source: official Montana record. Tracked by Delilah, AI for legislation across all 50 states and Congress.