FWP announces public comment opportunities
Mar 17, 2025 3:43 PM
HELENA – Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is currently seeking public comment on the following items. For more information, including how to submit comments, click on the links provided below.
Ray Kuhns WMA Forest Habitat Improvement & Fuels Reduction Project Draft EA
FWP proposes to implement a forest habitat improvement and forest fuels reduction project on the Ray Kuhns Wildlife Management Area (WMA). The project would improve forest habitat conditions and reduce hazardous fuels on portions of the Ray Kuhns WMA where the long-term health of the forest stand is declining and/or progressing toward a state that has relatively low value to wildlife.
Comment deadline: March 21.
The proposed project is the transfer of control over the Lewistown Armory building from the Montana Department of Military Affairs (DMA) to FWP. The building will be transferred from DMA to FWP for the appraised value of the building which was valued at $450,000. The purpose of this proposed action is to provide FWP staff with needed office and training space.
Comment deadline: March 21.
This environmental assessment focuses on a project that complements the fish passage restoration activities: the relocation of an existing riparian road and temporary storage of materials, adjacent to the instream and riparian improvements. The purpose of these improvements is to enhance natural resource values on the WMA, while maintaining public access and normal recreational opportunities on the WMA. The project is intended to support the instream restoration activities, which should benefit aquatic species through fish passage and reduced erosion. Anglers in the Clearwater River and Blackfoot drainages are expected to benefit from the improvements from the overall project, and the public accessing the WMA are expected to benefit from an improved road alignment. The proposed timeline for project implementation and completion is late winter or spring 2025 (stockpile) and fall 2025 (construction).
Comment deadline: March 21.
Baker Springs-Middle Pond License Review
A private landowner is applying for a Private Fish Pond License and proposes to stock rainbow trout in an unnamed private pond. The pond is 0.81 surface acre and located west of the Gallatin River near Manhattan. The pond is fed from groundwater recharge. This pond has no outlet. The water from this pond is pumped back up to an inlet channel that feeds the pond. The Gallatin River contains brown trout and rainbow trout. Rainbow trout are not native to the Gallatin River but were legally stocked. Rainbow trout could be removed from the pond via chemical treatments or through senescence. The project is sponsored by the private landowner, and the license would be active for a period of 10 years from the year of issuance (2025). The license can be renewed for additional 10-year intervals at the end of each term, and the license is transferable.
Comment deadline: March 21.
Upper Sureshot Lake Tiger Trout Introduction
FWP proposes to stock tiger trout into Upper Sureshot Lake, which is in the headwaters of North Meadow Creek near McAllister. The species is not indigenous to the drainage and has not been present historically. The primary goal of the tiger trout introduction is to provide a biocontrol on the existing brook trout population. Upper Sureshot Lake is an 8.7-acre lake that supports a wild brook trout fishery. Tiger trout are a hybrid between brown trout and brook trout. Although they are occasionally found in the wild, most tiger trout are sterile so self-sustaining populations are not possible and reports of wild tiger trout are rare.
Comment deadline: March 25.
Makoshika State Park Campground Expansion Draft EA
FWP is proposing to expand existing camping and recreational opportunities at Makoshika State Park by adding up to 16 RV sites with electric hookups, 4 primitive hike/bike campsites and day-use facilities in the Gunner’s Ridge area. The project is proposed to also include a campsite for park hosts, latrines and a playground. The proposed project was initiated in response to numerous visitor and local public comments received and FWP’s recognition of increased overnight visitation at the park. Public comments also identified the desire for access to electricity and water while camping. A draft EA has been prepared and is available for review.
Comment deadline: March 26.
Doney Lake Forest Habitat Improvement Project Draft Supplemental EA
FWP is proposing to implement a 1,136-acre forest habitat improvement project on the Ovando Mountain Unit (OMU) of the Blackfoot-Clearwater Wildlife Management Area (BCWMA) located north of the town of Ovando in Powell County. The purpose of the proposed project is to enhance forested wildlife habitat, restore forest conditions to more ecologically appropriate species composition and structure, enhance aspen habitat and reduce susceptibility to severe fire and uncharacteristic insect/disease mortality.
Comment deadline: March 27.
Richard Private Pond License Review Draft Environmental Assessment Checklist
A private landowner is applying for a Private Fish Pond License and proposes to stock largemouth bass. FWP is required to review the potential impacts of issuing a Private Fish Pond License. The pond was originally permitted in 1996 for rainbow trout, brook trout, brown trout and westslope cutthroat trout. The landowner is currently permitted to stock these species; however, a new permit is required to add largemouth bass to the species allowed to be stocked in this pond. The pond is located on an unnamed ephemeral tributary approximately 700-feet from Spring Coulee, which is a tributary of the Missouri River. Spring Coulee is an ephemeral stream and flows approximately 15 miles until it drains into the Missouri River, 5 miles upstream of Coalbanks Landing below Fort Benton. Largemouth bass are present in the Missouri River drainage.
Comment deadline: March 29.
The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission is looking for public comment on the following agenda items for their April 17 meeting. The comment deadline for all these items is March 26.
Elk Creek is a small stream in the Madison Valley in southwestern Montana and the proposed removal project aims to protect existing unaltered westslope cutthroat trout (WCT) from hybridized cutthroat or brook trout.
2025–2026 Migratory Bird Regulations and 2026–2030 federal zones and splits for Montana
Migratory bird hunting regulations pertain to cranes, snipe, doves, ducks, geese, swans, and coots, which are managed on a flyway basis. Two flyways occur within Montana, with roughly the eastern half of the state in the Central Flyway and the western half in the Pacific Flyway. Federal season and bag limit frameworks are established by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), but the Fish and Wildlife Commission retains the authority to establish seasons and bag limits for migratory birds within those frameworks. Other than normal calendar rotation, an increase in pintail bag limit, and modest increases in sandhill crane licenses, most aspects of the previous season are recommended to remain in place. In addition, every five years, the USFWS allows states to amend zones and splits for waterfowl. Based on public feedback, FWP is proposing a change to Central Flyway Zones to affect Sweet Grass and Stillwater counties, moving from Zone 1 to Zone 2, in southern Montana and corresponding dates associated with the split.
Ear Mountain Wildlife Management Area (WMA) Grazing Lease Renewal
FWP proposes to renew the existing grazing lease with the Salmond Ranch where the 2,210-acre South Pasture is grazed in a rest-rotation grazing system to continue managing vegetation for wildlife cover and forage.
FWP proposes to renew the lease, allowing up to 391 Animal Unit Months (AUMs) annually for six years beginning June 1, 2026, through Dec. 31, 2031. Public hunting access on the lessee’s property would also be incorporated as part of the grazing lease agreement.
The commission adopted the existing Fishing Access Site (FAS) Annual Rule in April of 2024, and it expires in April of 2025. The rule establishes the fees for public use at FASes, including camping fees, group use fees, and facility rental fees. It also establishes the special recreation permit fees for organized groups and competitive events for the Blackfoot and Madison rivers, organized and commercial group size limits for the Blackfoot River, and special commercial regulations for the Clark Fork – Alberton Gorge. In 2024, the commission approved changes to the FAS Annual Rule that were needed because of the department’s effort to consolidate public use rules for multiple types of sites (e.g., FASes, state parks, wildlife management areas). One example is removing language from the FAS Annual Rule that duplicated language in the Consolidated Public Use Rules. The department is not proposing changes for 2025 but is continuing to identify ways to consolidate and simplify public use rules.
2025 Commercial use permit fee rule
FWP has two commercial use permit fee rules. One rule establishes commercial use fees for fishing access sites (FASes), fisheries conservation areas (FCAs), wildlife management areas (WMAs), and FWP administrative sites. The other rule establishes commercial use fees for state parks. The existing commercial use fee rule for FASes, FCAs, WMAs, and FWP administrative sites expired at the end of 2024 and needs to be renewed for 2025. The department is not proposing any changes to the rule.
Gallatin WMA Winter Closure Date Variance
The Gallatin WMA comprises 8,611 acres of diverse habitats in four units (Porcupine, Buffalo Horn, Taylor Fork, and Elkhorn units) generally located south of Big Sky. The Gallatin WMA properties were purchased in a series of transactions from 1945 through 1999 using Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act and Habitat Montana funding for the purpose of protecting critical wildlife habitat. The area is important winter and calving habitat for elk, making it particularly sensitive to disturbance. The WMA experiences high levels of recreational activities, including dog walking, hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding. Recreational impacts include an extensive network of social trails that facilitate widespread use of the WMA. Public users are currently allowed to use the Gallatin WMA from May 15 to Dec 1. Extending the winter closure through June 15 would reduce the potential for recreational disturbance to elk during the calving season.
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