Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks’s Block Management hunting access program is an important element of Montana’s hunting scene. Since 1985 it has helped maintain public hunting access to private and isolated public lands.

In 2012, more than 1,260 landowners are expected to participate in the program, providing hunters with access to approximately 8 million acres of land.

FWP has periodically asked landowners and hunters to evaluate the program through surveys conducted by FWP’s Human Dimensions Unit—a team of human dimension research professionals—most recently in 2009. These surveys show that hunters have noticed and appreciated improvements made to the program.

The average hunter who responded to the 2009 survey hunted on four or five different BMAs and spent about 10 days hunting. Of the hunters surveyed, 75 percent hunted on BMAs exclusively, most of the time, or half of the time.

Of hunters who participated in the survey, 89 percent said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the Block Management Program. In other hunter survey results:

• Eighty-five percent of hunters reported they were satisfied or very satisfied with the hunting opportunities provided.
• Fifty percent of the hunters who responded to the survey said game animals on BMAs they hunted met or exceeded their expectations.
• Sixty percent were successful in harvesting game in 2009 on a BMA.
• Eighty-eight percent were satisfied or very satisfied with the BMA rules.
• Sixty-four percent of hunters said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the number of other hunters they met on Montana’s BMAs.

Most landowners who responded to the survey also said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the program overall. Here are some examples of what landowners had to say:

• Seventy-eight percent said it is an important or very important way for them to manage game numbers on their land.
• Ninety-two percent said the Block Management program is an important or very important way for them to manage hunter activities.
• Sixty-three percent said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the results of the program in managing game numbers for them in 2009.
• Seventy-nine percent were satisfied with the number of hunters who hunted on their BMAs.
• Commenting on hunter behavior, 89 percent rated it good or very good. That compares to 90 percent in 2003 and 77 percent in 1996.

Landowners have generally been satisfied with the benefit they receive through the program and most have continued participating year after year.

For a summary of the most recent Block Management Landowner & Hunter survey, visit FWP's website at fwp.mt.gov. Click "For Hunters", and then click "Block Management" then "Reports & Surveys".