On April 1, 2026, a Lewis and Clark County District Court judge looked a 23-year-old Wisconsin man in the eye and said, “From here on out, people can call you a poacher.” Dylan Charles Boyer walked out of that Helena courtroom with a 10-year loss of all Montana hunting, fishing, and trapping privileges, an eight-year trespass from the Marias River Wildlife Management Area, and over $20,000 in restitution. His co-conspirator Cameron Wyant took a near-identical hit. A third man, Maxwell Krupp, lost four years of privileges.

Spring bear season in the Bob Marshall country is open right now. Spring turkey season is days away across western Montana and the Yellowstone drainage. Thousands of hunters are actively in the field this week. There is no better moment to spell out exactly what Montana’s poaching laws will cost you — because the consequences are far more severe, and far more permanent, than most hunters realize.

The Boyer Case: What He Actually Did

Boyer wasn’t caught over a single bad decision. Between October 2022 and November 2023, he illegally hunted, killed, and transported game across Lewis and Clark, Jefferson, Toole, Pondera, Deer Lodge, and Broadwater counties. The charges that stuck included felony unlawful transport of illegally killed animals, fishing without a license on the Missouri River drainage, killing an elk without a license on the Ueland ARCO Block Management Area in Deer Lodge County, killing a white-tailed deer over limit on the Marias River WMA, and — critically — wasting four brow-tined bull elk on that same block management area by removing only the head and backstrap and leaving the rest to rot.

That last charge matters enormously. Wanton waste isn’t a technicality. Under Montana Code Annotated §87-6-301, it is a criminal offense to needlessly destroy edible game meat. Four bull elk carcasses left in the timber near the Ueland block management area isn’t a mistake — it’s a statement about intent, and Montana courts treat it that way.

What Triggers Long-Term or Permanent Loss of Privileges in Montana

Montana operates on a points-based revocation system administered by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, but certain offenses carry mandatory minimum revocations that go far beyond a slap on the wrist. Here’s what every hunter needs to understand before this spring season gets any further along:

• Felony wildlife violations — such as Boyer’s unlawful transport charge — carry mandatory privilege revocation of at least five years on a first offense and can extend to permanent loss on subsequent convictions.
• Wanton waste of game animals is a misdemeanor, but it adds mandatory revocation points that stack on top of other charges and can tip a borderline case into long-term loss territory.
• Hunting or fishing without a license, even as a misdemeanor, carries automatic revocation points under FWP’s administrative process.
• Over-limit violations on big game, particularly elk and deer, trigger both criminal fines and civil restitution — Montana’s wildlife restitution schedule values a trophy bull elk at a significant premium, which is why Boyer and Wyant each owe close to $20,000. (Confirm current FWP restitution schedule value before publishing.)
• Trespass combined with poaching — as in hunting block management or WMA land outside permitted conditions — compounds charges rapidly and frequently results in the property-specific trespass orders Boyer received at the Marias River WMA.

The Interstate Compact: You Can’t Outrun This

Here’s what out-of-state hunters sometimes misunderstand and what Montana residents should know about reciprocity: Montana is a member of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact (IWVC), a multi-state agreement that means a privilege revocation in Montana follows you home. (Verify current IWVC member count against the compact’s official roster before publishing.) Boyer loses hunting rights in Montana for a decade — but Wisconsin, as a compact member, is obligated to recognize that revocation. He cannot simply buy a Wisconsin license and hunt. The same applies in reverse: a violation serious enough to trigger revocation in Wyoming, Idaho, or Colorado will land on FWP’s radar and can result in Montana privilege loss as well.

This is not theoretical. FWP enforcement works closely with game wardens across the Northern Rockies, and social media — Facebook posts bragging about kills, as referenced in the Boyer charging documents — has become one of the most reliable tip sources available to investigators.

Digital Tagging and Reporting: Get This Right Now

Montana requires electronic licensing and digital game tagging. If you’re heading into the Elkhorn Mountains or the Big Belts for spring bear, or working the timber edges along the Bitterroot for Merriam’s turkeys, know your reporting obligations before you pull the trigger:

• Spring black bear must be registered within 24 hours of kill through FWP’s online licensing portal or by phone. Failure to register is a violation.
• Spring turkey requires a signed and dated tag attached to the bird immediately upon kill — before moving the bird from the kill site.
• Block Management Areas like Ueland ARCO, where Boyer committed two of his violations, have specific entry and hunt reporting requirements posted at access points. Read them. Sign in. Follow them exactly. Violating BMA terms doesn’t just get you kicked off that property — it can result in criminal trespass charges that compound other violations.
• Meat salvage requirements apply to all big game. For elk, deer, antelope, and moose, you must remove all edible meat from hindquarters, front shoulders, backstraps, and tenderloins. Leaving meat to waste — as Boyer did with four elk — is prosecutable even if the animal was legally taken.

What This Means for You This Season

The Boyer case isn’t about a hard-luck story or a minor mistake. It’s about serial violations across multiple counties, multiple species, and multiple seasons. But the legal framework that took him down applies equally to first-time violations that might seem minor in the moment. A spring bear taken without proper tagging. A turkey over limit. An elk quarter left behind because your pack was already heavy. Any of these can trigger points, fines, restitution, and revocation.

Montana’s hunting opportunities are among the best in the country, and access through Block Management and Wildlife Management Areas is a privilege that depends on collective compliance. Know the rules. Follow them precisely. And if you’re tempted to cut a corner — remember that a 10-year loss means missing a decade of springs in the Bob Marshall, a decade of elk bugles in the Crazies, and a decade of explaining to your kids why you can’t take them hunting.

The courtroom is not where you want to learn what Montana poaching actually costs.