Region 4 - Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks

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Smith River Floating

Welcome to FWP Region 4

FWP Region 4 Office
4600 Giant Springs Road
Great Falls, MT 59405

Phone: (406) 454-5840
Fax: (406) 761-8477
E-mail: fwprg42@mt.gov

Office Hours:
M - F, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Lewistown Area Resource Office
215 W Aztec Drive
P.O. Box 938
Lewistown, MT 59457

Phone: (406) 538-4658
Fax: (406) 538-3249

Office Hours:
M - F, 10:15 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Region 4 is made up of 12.5 counties in north central Montana with a combined area of 30,677 sq. miles, 19.5 millions acres (about 20.8% of Montana). The Region has a population of about 180,000 people. According to the current highway map there are 94 communities in Region 4 – 26 are incorporated. Close to 50% of the people in Region 4 live in Cascade County. About 8,460 sq. miles or 27.6% of Region 4 is public domain managed by the federal government – 44% by the US Forest Service, 23% by the Bureau of Indian Affairs/Blackfeet Nation and 17% by the Bureau of Land Management. In Region 4 there are 2, 044 sq. miles of School Trust Land (6.7% of Region 4) managed by the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.

This region offers the most diverse flora and fauna in Montana – 64 of Montana’s 89 fish species; 75 of Montana’s 109 mammals; 338 of the state’s 389 birds; and 7 of the 14 plants and animals listed as “Threatened” or “Endangered”. The region is currently managing populations of all ten of the state’s common big game animals.

Region 4 has 63 Fishing Access Sites, 133 lakes and reservoirs totaling over 61,000 acres; 3,700 miles of fishable running water; two managed recreation corridors – the Smith & Missouri Rivers; and 17 reservoirs with over 5,000 acre-feet of storage capacity.

Region 4 has eight Wildlife Management Areas with a total of 94,238 acres. The Region contains the “Rocky Mountain East Front” one of the richest wildlife areas in the U.S. Region 4 monitors four Conservation Easements: Bay Ranch, Paul & Helen Edwards, Harris Land & Cattle, and the Lewis & Clark Heritage Greenway.

In 2004, Region 4 had 116 Block Management Areas (199 contracts) with 984,977 private acres and 441,456 public acres. 1,426,433 acres in Block Management supported 62,730 hunters (about 91,000 hunter days).

The Region 4 Parks Division operates five State Parks: Ackley Lake, First Peoples Buffalo Jump, Giant Springs/Heritage – with Sulphur Springs addition, Sluice Boxes, and Tower Rock. Region 4 also runs the 61 miles Smith River Float Program and the Missouri Corridor Recreation Program.

Recent Region 4 News

Work in Giant Springs State Park

Three improvement projects are under way in Giant Springs State Park next to Great Falls. The largest project is a complete replacement of the irrigation system in the main portion of the park. The work by Wadsworth Construction of Great Falls will continue into the fall. All park facilities are open during the construction. The project is necessary to replace the aging irrigation system, which has been experiencing frequent problems and leaks. Total cost is about $258,000. (September 29)

First Peoples Buffalo Jump Goes to Winter Hours

First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park, southwest of Great Falls, switched to winter hours Oct. 1. From Oct. 1 to March 31, the state park formerly known as Ulm Pishkun, will be open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday, and noon to 4 p.m., Sunday. The top of the buffalo jump remains open everyday and is only closed during deep snow events. First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park is located 13.5 miles southwest of Great Falls, MT. (September 29)

Bird Hunters, Archers Watch Out for Grizzlies

Hunters, whether bird hunters or bowhunters, along the Rocky Mountain Front should be aware that grizzly bears are out and active. “It’s best to avoid riparian areas with dense cover,” says Mike Madel, Fish, Wildlife and Parks bear management specialist in Choteau. “Hunt the edges,” he says, “don’t get into the dense cover.” Grizzlies have been found this fall along Dupuyer Creek east of Dupuyer and along the Sun River near Simms, east of Augusta. (September 26)

Missouri River Electro-Fishing Dates Set

State fisheries crews will be working nights starting Oct. 1 to gather brown trout population estimates on the Missouri River. Twice a year – spring and fall – members of the fisheries division of Fish, Wildlife and Parks electro-fish three sections of the Missouri: downstream of Holter Dam and near the towns of Craig and Cascade. In the spring the work focuses on the river’s brown trout population, because many rainbow trout are in tributaries spawning. (September 26)

Grizzly Caught Near Simms

State and federal wildlife officials captured a 575-pound male grizzly Tuesday night just outside of Simms, west of Great Falls. The 4 and half-year-old bear had been raiding beehives in the area and was caught in a snare. “It was kind of surprising cause it was so far out from the Rocky Mountain Front,” says Mike Madel, Fish, Wildlife and Parks bear management specialist. Simms sits on the Sun River 21 miles east of Augusta and about 30 miles west of Great Falls. (September 26)

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