Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

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69th Legislature 2025                                                                                           LC0517.1
                                      _____________ BILL NO. _____________
                   INTRODUCED BY _________________________________________________
                     BY REQUEST OF THE DEPARTMENT OF FISH, WILDLIFE, AND PARKS
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  A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: “AN ACT GENERALLY REVISING LAWS RELATED TO GRAY WOLVES
  AND FURBEARERS; DEFINING GRAY WOLVES AS FURBEARERS; CREATING FURBEARER TAGGING
  OFFENSES FOR GRAY WOLVES; CLASSIFYING WOLF LICENSES AS FURBEARER LICENSES;
  INCLUDING A WOLF LICENSE WITH A CLASS C RESIDENT TRAPPING LICENSE; EXCLUDING A WOLF
  LICENSE FROM A CLASS C NONRESIDENT TRAPPING LICENSE; REVISING THE PROCESS FOR GRAY
  WOLF MANAGEMENT FOLLOWING DELISTING; PREVENTING THE HUNTING OF FURBEARERS WITHIN
  CITIES OR TOWNS, FROM PUBLIC HIGHWAYS, FROM VEHICLES, OR WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF
  MOTION-TRACKING CAMERAS; FORBIDDING WASTE OF A GRAY WOLF HEAD OR PELT IN THE FIELD;
  AMENDING SECTIONS 87-1-901, 87-2-101, 87-2-127, 87-2-601, 87-2-602, 87-2-603, 87-4-1001, 87-5-131,
  87-6-101, 87-6-401, 87-6-402, 87-6-403, 87-6-405, 87-6-415, AND 87-6-603, MCA; AND REPEALING
  SECTIONS 87-2-523 AND 87-2-524, MCA.”
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  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
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          NEW SECTION. Section 1.         Furbearer tagging offenses -- gray wolves. (1) When a person kills a
  gray wolf under a license or tag, the person shall, before the carcass is removed from or the person leaves the
  site of the kill, take physical possession of the gray wolf by:
          (a)      electronically validating the license or tag pursuant to 87-2-119; or
          (b)      validating the license or tag by cutting out the date the animal was killed.
          (2)      When a gray wolf has been lawfully killed and the proper license or tag is electronically
  validated or accompanies the gray wolf that was killed, the gray wolf becomes the property of the person who
  lawfully killed the animal and may be possessed, used, stored, donated to another or to a charity, transferred to
  another person pursuant to 87-3-310, or transported.
          (3)      A person shall keep the license or tag accompanying the gray wolf or portion of the gray wolf
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69th Legislature 2025                                                                                              LC0517.1
  while the gray wolf is possessed by the person unless the license or tag was electronically validated.
          (4)      A person who is convicted of or who forfeits bond or bail after being charged with a violation of
  this section shall be fined not less than $50 or more than $1,000 or be imprisoned in the county detention
  center for not more than 6 months, or both. In addition, the person, upon conviction or forfeiture of bond or bail,
  may be subject to forfeiture of any current hunting, fishing, or trapping license issued by this state and the
  privilege to hunt, fish, and trap in this state or to use lands, as defined in 77-1-101, for recreational purposes for
  a period of time set by the court.
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          NEW SECTION. Section 2.         Class E-1--resident wolf license. (1) Except as otherwise provided in
  this chapter and in subsection (2) of this section, a person who is a resident, as defined in 87-2-102, and who is
  12 years of age or older or who will turn 12 years old before or during the season for which the license is
  issued, upon payment of a fee of $12, may receive a Class E-1 license that entitles a holder who is 12 years of
  age or older to hunt a wolf and possess the carcass of the wolf as authorized by commission regulations.
          (2)      A resident holder of a Class AAA combination sports license, regardless of whether it includes
  a Class A-6 bear tag, may purchase the first Class E-1 license the person obtains in that license year for $10.
          (3)      Fees collected pursuant to this section must be deposited and used in accordance with 87-1-
  623.
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          NEW SECTION. Section 3.         Class E-2--nonresident wolf license. (1) Except as otherwise provided
  in this chapter and in subsection (2) of this section, a person who is not a resident, as defined in 87-2-102, but
  who is 12 years of age or older or who will turn 12 years old before or during the season for which the license is
  issued, upon payment of a fee of $50, may receive a Class E-2 license that entitles a holder who is 12 years of
  age or older to hunt a wolf and possess the carcass of the wolf as authorized by commission regulations.
          (2)      A nonresident holder of a valid Class B-10 nonresident big game combination license or Class
  B-11 deer combination license may purchase the first Class E-2 license the person obtains in that license year
  for one-half the cost.
          (3)      Fees collected pursuant to this section must be deposited and used in accordance with 87-1-
  623.
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69th Legislature 2025                                                                                               LC0517.1
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             Section 4. Section 87-1-901, MCA, is amended to read:
             "87-1-901.   Gray wolf management -- rulemaking -- reporting. (1) Except as provided in subsection
  (3), the commission shall establish by rule hunting and trapping seasons for wolves with the intent to reduce the
  wolf population in this state to a sustainable level, but not less than the number of wolves necessary to support
  at least 15 breeding pairs. Trapping seasons must allow for the use of snares by the holder of a trapping
  license.
             (2)    For game management purposes, the commission may apply different management
  techniques depending on the conditions in each administrative region with the most liberal harvest regulations
  applied in regions with the greatest number of wolves. In doing so, the commission may authorize:
             (a)    the issuance of more than one Class E-1 or Class E-2 wolf hunting license to an applicant;
             (b)    the trapping or snaring of more than one wolf by the holder of a trapping license;
             (c)    the harvest of an unlimited number of wolves by the holder of a single wolf hunting or wolf
  trapping license;
             (d)    during the wolf trapping season, the use of bait while hunting or trapping wolves as long as no
  trap or snare trap is set within 30 feet of exposed bait visible from above; and
             (e)    the hunting of wolves on private lands outside of daylight hours with the use of artificial light or
  night vision scopes.
             (3)    The commission shall adopt rules to allow a landowner or the landowner's agent to take a wolf
  on the landowner's property at any time without the purchase of a Class E-1 or Class E-2 wolf license when the
  wolf is a potential threat to human safety, livestock, or dogs. The rules must:
             (a)    be consistent with the Montana gray wolf conservation and management plan and the adaptive
  management principles of the commission and the department for the Montana gray wolf population;
             (b)    require a landowner or the landowner's agent who takes a wolf pursuant to this subsection (3)
  to promptly report the taking to the department and to preserve the carcass of the wolf;
             (c)    establish a quota each year for the total number of wolves that may be taken pursuant to this
  subsection (3); and
             (d)    allow the commission to issue a moratorium on the taking of wolves pursuant to this subsection
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69th Legislature 2025                                                                                             LC0517.1
  (3) before a quota is reached if the commission determines that circumstances require a limitation of the total
  number of wolves taken.
             (4)     Public land permittees who have experienced livestock depredation must obtain a special kill
  permit authorized in 87-5-131(3)(b)(2)(b) to take a wolf on public land without the purchase of a Class E-1 or
  Class E-2 license.
             (5)     The department shall report annually to the environmental quality council in accordance with 5-
  11-210 regarding the implementation of 87-5-131, 87-5-132, and this section."
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             Section 5. Section 87-2-101, MCA, is amended to read:
             "87-2-101.   Definitions. As used in Title 87, chapter 3, and this chapter, unless the context clearly
  indicates otherwise, the following definitions apply:
             (1)     "Angling" or "fishing" means to take or harvest fish or the act of a person possessing any
  instrument, article, or substance for the purpose of taking or harvesting fish in any location that a fish might
  inhabit.
             (2)     (a) "Bait" means any animal matter, vegetable matter, or natural or artificial scent placed in an
  area inhabited by wildlife for the purpose of attracting game animals or game birds.
             (b)     The term does not include:
             (i)     decoys, silhouettes, or other replicas of wildlife body forms;
             (ii)    scents used only to mask human odor; or
             (iii)   types of scents that are approved by the commission for attracting game animals or game
  birds.
             (3)     "Fur-bearing animals" means marten or sable, otter, muskrat, fisher, mink, bobcat, lynx,
  wolverine, gray wolf, northern swift fox, and beaver.
             (4)     "Game animals" means deer, elk, moose, antelope, caribou, mountain sheep, mountain goat,
  mountain lion, bear, and wild buffalo.
             (5)     "Game fish" means all species of the family Salmonidae (chars, trout, salmon, grayling, and
  whitefish); all species of the genus Sander (sandpike or sauger and walleyed pike or yellowpike perch); all
  species of the genus Esox (northern pike, pickerel, and muskellunge); all species of the genus Micropterus
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69th Legislature 2025                                                                                              LC0517.1
  (bass); all species of the genus Polyodon (paddlefish); all species of the family Acipenseridae (sturgeon); all
  species of the genus Lota (burbot or ling); the species Perca flavescens (yellow perch); all species of the genus
  Pomoxis (crappie); and the species Ictalurus punctatus (channel catfish).
           (6)     "Hunt" means to pursue, shoot, wound, take, harvest, kill, chase, lure, possess, or capture or
  the act of a person possessing a weapon, as defined in 45-2-101, or using a dog or a bird of prey for the
  purpose of shooting, wounding, taking, harvesting, killing, possessing, or capturing wildlife protected by the
  laws of this state in any location that wildlife may inhabit, whether or not the wildlife is then or subsequently
  taken. The term includes an attempt to take or harvest by any means, including but not limited to pursuing,
  shooting, wounding, killing, chasing, luring, possessing, or capturing.
           (7)     "Migratory game birds" means waterfowl, including wild ducks, wild geese, brant, and swans;
  cranes, including little brown and sandhill; rails, including coots; Wilson's snipes or jacksnipes; and mourning
  doves.
           (8)     "Nongame wildlife" means any wild mammal, bird, amphibian, reptile, fish, mollusk, crustacean,
  or other animal not otherwise legally classified by statute or regulation of this state.
           (9)     "Open season" means the time during which game birds, game fish, game animals, and fur-
  bearing animals may be lawfully taken.
           (10)    "Person" means an individual, association, partnership, or corporation.
           (11)    "Predatory animals" means coyote, weasel, skunk, and civet cat.
           (12)    "Trap" means to take or harvest or participate in the taking or harvesting of any wildlife
  protected by the laws of the state by setting or placing any mechanical device, snare, deadfall, pit, or device
  intended to take wildlife or to remove wildlife from any of these devices.
           (13)    "Upland game birds" means sharp-tailed grouse, blue grouse, spruce (Franklin) grouse, prairie
  chicken, sage hen or sage grouse, ruffed grouse, ring-necked pheasant, Hungarian partridge, ptarmigan, wild
  turkey, and chukar partridge.
           (14)    "Wild buffalo or bison" or "wild buffalo" means a bison that:
           (a)     has not been reduced to captivity;
           (b)     has never been subject to the per capita fee under 15-24-921;
           (c)     has never been owned by a person; and
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69th Legislature 2025                                                                                                LC0517.1
           (d)        is not the offspring of a bison that has been subject to the per capita fee under 15-24-921."
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           Section 6. Section 87-2-127, MCA, is amended to read:
           "87-2-127.     Trapper education required. (1) (a) Except as provided in subsection (2), a Class C
  trapper's resident trapping license may not be issued to a resident unless the license agent processing the
  application determines proof of:
           (i)        the applicant's purchase of a trapper's trapping license in three prior trapping seasons; or
           (ii)       completion of a trapper education course established pursuant to this section or otherwise
  approved by the trapper education committee.
           (b)        Neither the department nor a license agent is required to provide records of past Montana
  trapper's trapping license purchases prior to 1990 or for trapping licenses purchased in another state.
           (2)        A resident is not required to complete a trapper education course if the resident:
           (a)        is trapping for the purposes of livestock or property protection; or
           (b)        completes the advanced level of the youth trapper camp offered by the Montana trappers
  association.
           (3)        The department shall provide a trapper education course that includes field instruction and
  classroom or online instruction and incorporates the trapper education manual from the Montana trappers
  association in the course resources. The course must:
           (a)        include but is not limited to instruction in trapping ethics, best practices, equipment, regulations,
  and avoidance of nontarget species;
           (b)        meet the requirements of rule or law for certification to trap wolves; and
           (c)        be reviewed and, as needed, revised by the trapper education committee established in
  subsection (6).
           (4)        To successfully complete a trapper education course, a person must pass a final exam. Upon
  successful completion, the department shall issue that person a certificate of completion.
           (5)        To be certified to teach a trapper education course established pursuant to this section, an
  instructor shall:
           (a)        pass a background check conducted by the department; and
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69th Legislature 2025                                                                                           LC0517.1
          (b)      be deemed competent by the trapper education committee established in subsection (6) to give
  instruction in ethical and humane trapping methods.
          (6)      The department shall establish a trapper education committee consisting of three active,
  certified trapper instructors, two of whom are members of the Montana trappers association, and three
  department staff knowledgeable in trapping. The committee shall review and revise trapper education course
  content and certify new trapper education instructors.
          (7)      As part of the department's trapper licensing procedures, the department shall notify the public
  of the requirements of this section."
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          Section 7. Section 87-2-601, MCA, is amended to read:
          "87-2-601.   Class C--trapper's resident trapping license. Except as otherwise provided in this
  chapter, a resident, as defined in 87-2-102, who is 12 years of age or older, upon making application and
  payment of a fee of $20 to the department, may receive a Class C license that authorizes the holder to trap fur-
  bearing animals within the state at the times and in the manner provided by law and the regulations of the
  commission and at the places that may be designated in the license. This license includes the Class C-4
  license to hunt bobcat, wolverine, and Canada lynx established in 87-2-606 and the Class E-1 license to hunt
  wolves as established in [section 2]."
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          Section 8. Section 87-2-602, MCA, is amended to read:
          "87-2-602.   Class C-1--landowner's landowner trapping license. Except as otherwise provided in
  this chapter, any individual who owns land in this state or any tenant or member of the immediate family of the
  owner or tenant, upon making application to the department and payment of th