We are in the first week of the legislative session and the bills to change Montana hunting are already coming out. We knew this bill was on the docket and the final language just came out.
We already have the "Come Home To Hunt," the "Montana Native," and the "College Student" programs that allow selected non-residents to hunt here without having to draw, and they get to do so at a discounted price. This bill will allow a lot more people to hunt Montana, at a reduced price, and add beyond the 17,000 (really double that number) that they say is the non-resident cap. A ton of folks would qualify under this proposal.
This proposal expands the Montana Native program, essentially doubling that program. Anyone who is married to a Montana Native, would now get to buy a discounted non-resident license, the same as under the existing Montana Native program.
The amount of ways that the 17,000 cap is being circumvented grows every legislative session. This has the possibility to add a lot more to that. And, given the other big issues in this session, stuff like this is just more distraction.
Given the bill is currently in draft form, hopefully we can convince the sponsor of the problems resulting from this bill before he actually introduces it for a committee hearing.
If you have some comments on this proposal, please email the sponsor,
politely and professionally -
[email protected]
Link to the bill here -
https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2023/billpdf/LC0209.pdf
