Montana Wildlife Federation

06/12/2026

Montanans own more than 5 million acres of state trust land. Decisions about those lands shouldn’t happen behind closed doors or be driven by those with the deepest pockets.

Last month, the Land Board approved sweeping changes to Montana’s land exchange process. Under the new rules, proposals can move forward without the same oversight from career DNRC staff, while consultants hired by applicants are given a much larger role in evaluating deals involving public lands.

Land exchanges can be a valuable tool when they serve the public interest. But they must be transparent, fair and based on the long-term value these lands provide to hunters, anglers, recreationists and Montana’s schools.

Montanans deserve a voice.

According to OnX, Montana has more than 1.5 million acres of inaccessible state lands. Many of these are acres that hunters, anglers and recreationists can’t get to, and may be less profitable for the state. Land swaps – or trades of isolated state parcels for private lands elsewhere – are, in...

06/11/2026

A newly proposed overhaul of BLM grazing regulations could increase livestock use on public rangelands while limiting opportunities for public involvement in grazing decisions.

Decisions affecting public lands should remain open to public input.

Comment period closes July 13.

Newly proposed BLM grazing rules would give ranchers plenty of flexibility for grazing livestock, while limiting public input.

06/10/2026

Senator Daines went on the record twice this morning to strip backcountry roadless protections from 6 million acres of public land in Montana, and 45 million across our country. We asked him to pressure the U.S. Forest Service to hold public hearings, which they have not, and he instead votes “Yea” on an 11th hour committee amendment back in Washington, D.C. Fortunately, anti-public land Senators will need to assemble 60 votes in the U.S. Senate to pass this legislation, and that is an unlikely threshold if hunters, anglers and all who value backcountry roadless public land in the United States pressure their Senators. How will our junior Senator, Senator Tim Sheehy cast his vote if this hits a full vote of the Senate?

06/09/2026

Utah Senator Mike Lee is up to his usual anti-public-land antics. On Wednesday, June 10th, he'll be proposing an amendment that would strip protections from 45 million acres of roadless backcountry, including 6 million acres of public land in Montana, without a single public hearing. For hunters, anglers, and outdoor enthusiasts, the stakes could not be higher.

Lucky for Montana, Senator Steve Daines serves on the Senate committee where he can stop this.

Call Senator Daines office at (202) 224-2651 and send him a message: Stop Mike Lee's attacks on our public lands, wildlife, and fisheries. Remind him that 90 percent of wildfires start a half-mile from a road.

“Montanans have consistently supported strong protections for our backcountry lands,” said Mike Mershon, board president of the Montana Wildlife Federation.

“Rolling back the Roadless Rule would not only put elk and native trout at risk, but it would also strip away the very opportunities that make Montana special. We need to ensure our voices are heard.”

06/09/2026

Attention Montana hunters & anglers. Please register to participate remotely by noon this Thursday, or plan on attending the Commission meeting on Friday in Helena. The docket includes elk management agreements, a new Fishing Access Site, and a large conservation easement in NW Montana, among many others.

Join the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission on Friday, June 12, 2026, at 8:00 a.m. at the Montana Heritage Center in Helena (225 N. Roberts St.) or virtually via Zoom.

-Public comment opportunities are available both before and during the meeting.
-The public comment period for Elk Hunting Access Agreements, MaltEurop Renewal, Beaver Translocations, Mountain Lion Regulations (CMR & ULB), and related amendments is open through June 7.

Comments can be submitted:
-Through the online public comment portal
-By mail to the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission
You can also provide comments during the meeting in person, at any FWP Regional Office, or virtually via Zoom.

Zoom commenters must register in advance. Registration opens May 29 and closes at noon on June 11.

Your input helps shape Montana's fish, wildlife, and outdoor recreation decisions. Learn more and submit comments through the meeting agenda page here: https://fwp.mt.gov/aboutfwp/commission/june-2026-meeting

06/08/2026

https://montanawildlife.org/news/plpw-update-corner-crossing-state-access-programs/

On June 1st and 2nd, the Private Lands Public Wildlife Council (PLPW) met to finalize their recommendations to lawmakers and the Montana Department of Fish,

06/05/2026

Remember last summer when Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) hatched his failed public land sell off scheme? Conservationists have been working on a legislative solution to prevent Lee’s gambit from happening again. Thanks to Congressmen Gabe Vasquez (NM-D) and Ryan Zinke (MT-R) for cosponsoring the Public Lands Integrity Act. Details in link in our profile. Have a great weekend, and always Photo: MWF Board Chair and President Mike Mershon with Congressman Zinke on Capitol Hill earlier this year.

06/04/2026

This week, MWF participated in a 2-day Private Lands Public Wildlife Committee meeting, where landowners, outfitters, and public land hunters shared their opinions, concerns, and ideas on how to continue unlocking Montana’s public lands. We covered a lot.

Among other issues, MWF provided testimony that questioned if public land grazers should be allowed to prohibit the public from accessing our own public lands. We believe public land leaseholders should be consulted and considered, but not given full control over who accesses public lands, a right they don’t possess or pay for.

We also flagged the state’s Land Banking program, which has made no new purchases since 2018, even though the account balance exceeds $41 million. This money could and should be used to purchase revenue-generating lands for the state trust, serving the dual purpose of opening and improving public access to previously inaccessible public lands.

You can read coverage in the Billings Gazette https://billingsgazette.com/outdoors/article_857cbb20-7611-49bf-a3d0-f85cfbf9fec8.html or watch the meeting recording https://fwp.mt.gov/plpw

06/03/2026

Bison, the Public Lands Rule, oil and gas royalties, grazing regs, sodium cyanide, and now an anti-public lands advocate in charge in Washington, D.C. It's Mayday for public lands.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages more than one-third of the nation’s public lands, including more than 8 million acres here in Montana. In recent weeks, actions have been taken to remove native bison — our national mammal — off of BLM public lands, to rollback a rule that would have given conservation a seat at the table in land management decisions, to ease grazing regulations on 155 million acres, reduce royalties paid by oil and gas developers, and to allow the use of sodium cyanide poisoning by government agencies – a practice previously banned because it was indiscriminately killing people’s pets and other wildlife.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages more than one-third of the nation’s public lands, including more than 8 million acres here in Montana. In recent

05/31/2026

Montanans: corner crossing and public access are on the agenda TOMORROW, Monday, June 1, and Tuesday, June 2.

FWP’s Private Land Public Wildlife Committee will discuss corner-to-corner public access scenarios in Glasgow, and the public can join remotely: https://fwp.mt.gov/plpw

MWF will be there encouraging FWP to use existing tools — including Public Access Land Agreements and Block Management/Block Corridors — to improve access in checkerboard landscapes.

Read more in the Missoulian: https://missoulian.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/article_15caca79-be88-421c-b25d-5e99111ce0f1.html?utm_source=missoulian.com&utm_campaign=news-alerts&utm_medium=cio&lctg=e1f30700e24be34b&tn_email_eh1=d0a17548acd178d4ff0d883cd5497b921418aacdd9d19d2187355feaa1b96bd4

Fish, Wildlife and Parks Director Christy Clark has tasked an advisory committee with finding improvements to its public access programs, two weeks after a legal challenge to FWP's corner-crossing policy.