Montana's Spring Black Bear Season Begins April 15

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Montana’s spring black bear hunting season begins April 15. A ll spring black bear hunters must purchase their licenses on or before April 14.  Licenses purchased after April 14 can only be used for the fall black bear season. Black bear hunters are limited to only one black bear license a year.

Black bear hunters must successfully complete the Montana bear identification test before purchasing a black bear license to avoid accidental taking of grizzly bears. Grizzly bears, still a federally protected, threatened species in the northern portion of Montana, cannot legally be hunted anywhere in Montana.  

To take the bear identification test, go to fwp.mt.gov and click on Bear Identification Test under Online Services and complete the training and test. The training and test are also available on paper with a mail-in answer card at all FWP regional offices. 

The 2008 black bear regulations are online at fwp.mt. gov and printed copies will be available at FWP license providers and FWP regional offices by March 25 .