Below is a news release from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.
Hunting regulations often are the subject of debate, curiosity or even consternation with hunters around Montana. Hunters who want to see changes in regulations or have ideas to improve the regulations will have a great opportunity to make a difference in the coming weeks.
On odd years, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks does a complete run through of hunting regulations to consider both large and small changes. This process is called “season setting” and starts off with scoping meetings around the state to gather ideas from hunters and to answer questions about suggested changes that FWP staff are considering. These scoping meetings will be held in June and July.
FWP staff will look to hunters to provide broad input on regulation changes they’d like to see. Staff will also look for feedback on a few specific proposals.
These scoping meetings are not the same as public comment meetings. FWP staff will listen to the scoping meetings and capture the general themes. Staff will use this information to develop draft regulations, which will be released for public comment as proposals for the Fish and Wildlife Commission in October. FWP will hold additional public meetings in early November to answer questions about the draft regulation proposals. Comments on the draft regulation proposals will be collected through the FWP website during the fall public commenting period. The final decision on regulations will come at the December Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting.
We know hunting regulation changes are important for hunters, and we need your input early in the process to make sure any changes are made with careful consideration of what hunters think and what they want.
Scoping meeting schedule:
Biennial Season Setting Meetings to Discuss Concepts
All meetings are from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Region 1
June 23: Eureka – Timbers Lodge
June 24: Kalispell – Regional office
June 25: Thompson Falls – Thompson Falls High School Library
June 26: Libby – Ponderosa Room City Hall Building
Region 2
June 9: Philipsburg – Granite County Museum
June 10: Drummond – Drummond Community Center
June 11: Hamilton – Bitterroot River Inn
June 12: Missoula – Regional office
June 16: Deer Lodge – Powell County Community Center
June 17: Superior – Superior High School multi-purpose room
June 18: Anaconda – Metcalf Center
June 24: Ovando – Ovando School gym
June 25: Lincoln – Lincoln Community Hall
Region 3
June 10: Dillon – SAR building
June 11: Bozeman – Regional office
June 12: Helena – Montana Wild
June 16: Livingston – location TBD
June 17: Butte – location TBD
Region 4
June 10: Lewistown – Yogo Inn
June 23: Conrad – Pondera Shooting Sports Complex
June 24: Utica – Utica Community Center
June 25: Great Falls – Regional office
July 1: Stanford – Stanford City Hall
July 2: Fort Benton – Fort Benton Fire Department
July 2: Choteau – Choteau Public Library
Region 5
June 10: Billings – Region 5 Headquarters public meeting room
Region 6
June 18: Havre – Hensler Auditorium on the MSU Northern Campus
June 17: Malta – High School Cafeteria
June 24: Plentywood – Library Jubilee Room
June 26: Glasgow – Regional office
Region 7
July 8: Miles City – Regional office
July 9: Glendive – location TBD
(Photo credit: Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks)