MILES CITY, Mont.— Autumn may seem a long way off, but Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials are gearing up the Hunting Access Enhancement – Block Management Program for the fall 2014 hunting season.
FWP Region 7 Block Management Program is seeking landowners in southeastern Montana. Interested landowners may apply for enrollment in the program by requesting and returning an application by June 13, 2014.
“Funds are limited as always,” says Travis Muscha, FWP’s Region 7 Hunting Access Enhancement Program Coordinator. “But we are encouraging interested landowners to at least fill out an application as we have room for a few more new cooperators.”
Last year, 326 landowners in Region 7 took part in the program, accounting for 276 block management areas.
Not everyone who fills out and returns an application is guaranteed enrollment in the program.
“Each application is reviewed and evaluated individually and enrollment decisions are based on Regional priorities,” Muscha says.
For those landowners who maybe don’t understand all aspects of the program, be assured you don’t have to be overrun with hunters. FWP negotiates a sustainable level of use with each landowner and can offer many methods of monitoring and controlling hunters.
Finally, property size alone does not determine eligibility for the block management program. Some small landowners may be able to offer an access corridor to normally inaccessible public lands.
For more information or an application package contact Muscha, 8 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday at FWP’s Miles City office, 406-234-0929 or e-mail trmuscha@mt.gov.
(Report by Montana FWP; Feature photo via huntinggpsmaps.com)
