Plan Ahead and Hunt Responsibly on Block Management Lands

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Hunters interested in heading afield on Block Management lands this fall are reminded to plan ahead and review land use rules for each area.

Private landowners voluntarily enroll in Block Management — a cooperative program between Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) and landowners — and in turn hunters gain access to private lands and FWP helps patrol the areas.

The program grants hunter access to more than eight million acres of private lands statewide and about 790,000 acres in west-central Montana.  

Bart Morris, FWP’s Region 2 Block Mangement Coordinator, reminds hunters that if they are hunting on a Block Management Area (BMA), they are hunting on private land.  

  “BMAs provide great opportunities for public hunting, but in order to ensure continued access, it is the hunter’s responsibility to know the rules of the BMA and to respect the land and the landowner,” Morris said.

Hunters should pick up trash, take measures to help prevent the spread of noxious weeds, drive only where allowed, follow all specific landowner requests and demonstrate courteous, legal and ethical hunting behavior.

“Last year we had a few cases where hunters did not respect the landowners requestsand the lands they were hunting on, which in turn resulted in the loss of a valuable BMA,” Morris added.

BMAs each have their own rules for securing access and some only allow a limited number of hunters per day.   Hunters should be prepared to, depending on the BMA, make a reservation in advance, sign-in as they enter the area, and cancel reservations if unable to hunt on a day reserved.

To find a listing of BMAs in west-central Montana and learn how to obtain permission to hunt on these areas, stop by the Block Management self-help station at the Missoula FWP office, 3201 Spurgin Road, or call 406-542-5530.  

The Missoula office has booklets that list all BMA lands in western and central Montana.   Hunters can also request maps of specific BMAs in west-central Montana.  

To find out more about BMAs in other parts of the state, contact the FWP regional office where you plan to hunt.

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