Allow FW Commission to issue deer and elk hunting licenses to private landowners within the Flathead Indian Reservation
Summary
HB 216 would require the Fish and Wildlife Commission to adopt rules creating a process to issue deer and elk hunting licenses to owners of fee land within the exterior boundaries of the Flathead Indian Reservation. The licenses would be limited to hunting only on land owned by the license holder inside the reservation, and the bill directs the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks to seek an agreement with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes to transfer revenue from the sale of those licenses to the tribal council.
The bill also amends the commission’s general rulemaking statute to add this Flathead Reservation landowner-license program to the list of wildlife management authorities. In addition, it requires the secretary of state to send copies of the act to each federally recognized tribal government in Montana. The measure is framed as a targeted hunting-license exception tied to private property ownership within a tribal reservation boundary, rather than a broader statewide change to hunting law.
Impact
HB 216 would change Montana law by expressly authorizing and directing the Fish and Wildlife Commission to create a new deer and elk licensing category for private landowners inside the Flathead Indian Reservation. It would also add a new subsection to 87-1-304, MCA, expanding the commission’s statutory duties and rulemaking authority in this specific context. The bill could affect landowners on fee land within the reservation, the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes through the proposed revenue-transfer agreement.
Sentiment
The available vote history suggests the bill had some support in committee, but not enough to advance, as the House Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee voted 17-3 to table it. With no committee transcript provided, there is no detailed record of debate, but the tabling vote and the bill’s final status as dead in process indicate that the proposal did not gain sufficient momentum to move forward.
Contention
The likely point of contention is the bill’s treatment of hunting rights and wildlife management on land within the Flathead Indian Reservation, especially the interaction between state-issued licenses, private landownership, and tribal interests. Supporters appear to have viewed the bill as a narrow accommodation for reservation landowners, while opponents may have been concerned about jurisdiction, precedent, and the relationship between state authority and tribal sovereignty. The proposed transfer of license revenue to the tribal council also suggests the bill was designed to address tribal concerns, but the committee’s decision to table it shows that agreement was not reached.