The Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission is now seeking public comment on the proposed annual rule that will set the prices for nonresident elk and deer hunting licenses in 1999. Commissioners tentatively adopted the rule at their October 2 meeting in Havre. As was the case in 1998, the proposed rule for 1999 would permit nonresident hunters to purchase a Big Game Combination License that does not include a deer license. Senate Bill 394, passed by the 1997 Montana Legislature, allows the Commission to separate the deer license from the Big Game Combination License to adjust the way elk and deer licenses are currently sold to nonresidents and, thereby, enable more flexibility in deer management. It also gives the Commission the authority to set the prices for any deer licenses separated from the Big Game Combination License, as well as for the Elk Combination Licenses that result. Included in the tentative annual rule is a discussion of how separated deer licenses are to be reissued. Presently, 17,000 Big Game Combination Licenses are available to nonresident hunters. A Big Game Combination License consists of an elk, deer, upland game bird, and full-season fishing license. This is the only license with which a nonresident can legally hunt elk in Montana. Therefore, until the passage of S.B. 394, all nonresident elk hunters also had to purchase a deer license. In August, an advisory committee including hunters, outfitters and landowners made a number of recommendations to the Commission regarding how elk and deer licenses should be allocated for the 1999 big game season. Based on those recommendations, the management objectives of FWP and comments from sporting groups, outfitters, landowners and the general public, the following schedule of proposed prices and license numbers was tentatively adopted: Category Price Quota/Target General Public 11,500 Big Game Combination* $475 Elk Combination** $425 Deer Combination*** $245 2,300 Outfitter-Sponsored (Market-Based) 5,500 Big Game Combination $835 Elk Combination $735 Deer Combination# $745 2,000 Landowner-Sponsored Deer Combination $250 2,000 * The Big Game Combination License includes elk, deer A, upland game bird, fishing and conservation licenses. ** The Elk Combination License includes elk, upland game bird, fishing and conservation licenses. *** The Deer Combination License includes deer A, upland game bird, fishing and conservation licenses. # The $745 price is an increase of $25 over the 1998 price for these licenses. If fewer than 2,000 of these licenses are sold by March 15, they would then be sold on a first-come- first-served basis up to the 2,000 license target. The fees charged to hunters who have written certification of having booked the services of a licensed Montana outfitter are set at a market rate intended to sell a combined average of 5,500 outfitter-sponsored Big Game and Elk Combination licenses (in aggregate) and 2,300 outfitter-sponsored Deer Combination licenses each year, over a five-year period. For 1999, the target quota for outfitter-sponsored Deer Combination licenses is 2,000 to compensate for exceeding the five-year average in 1996 and 1997. Commissioners also tentatively adopted a change in the policy by which license fees are refunded to nonresident hunters who find themselves unable to use the licenses they purchase. Under the revised policy, 100 percent of the cost of a license would be refunded, as is the case now, in the event of the death of the purchaser. Ninety percent of the purchase price would be refunded in the event of medical emergencies or the death of family members, and 80 percent of the cost would be refunded to a hunter for any reason who requests the refund prior to August 1. After August 1 and until the opening of the general hunting season, refunds of 50 percent of the license purchase price would be granted for reasons other than death and medical emergencies. Persons desiring complete copies of the proposed license rule should contact FWP’s License Section in Helena at 444-2950. Comments on the proposed rule should be sent to the License Section, 1420 East 6th Ave., PO Box 200701, Helena, MT 59620-0701 by November 20, 1998.
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