Currently, millions of public land acres in Montana are inaccessible. Fish Wildlife & Parks new Public Lands Access Land Agreement encourages landowners to help open up and improve access to these isolated parcels of state and federal land for hunting and fishing. In exchange, landowners can receive a payment and other negotiated improvements.
Landowners who enroll parcels, must also hold the lease for the public land if a lease exists.
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Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks has completed the 10,072-acre Coal Creek Conservation Easement in Custer and Prairie counties.
The easement, which is located about 12 miles south of Terry, is adjacent to an existing conservation easement held by FWP. The easements, coupled with intermingled and adjacent public land, contribute to a large footprint of conservation and public access.
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Landowners interested in applying for Open Fields for Game Bird Hunters through the state Upland Game Bird Enhancement Program have until May 22 to submit an application. Open Fields is a voluntary, extra-incentive offering aimed at further conserving productive game bird habitat enrolled in the federal Conservation Reserve Program and expanding access.
Open Fields is offered through FWP’s Upland Game Bird Enhancement Program and is available to private landowners with existing and newly enrolled CRP that have a minimum of two years left on their federal contract. Landowners who participate in Open Fields receive a one-time payment based on $5 per CRP-acre each year the CRP is enrolled in the federal program. New this year, the Upland Game Bird Enhancement Program is offering incentives to producers who conduct beneficial management practices for their mid-contract management.
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The Governor’s Grizzly Bear Advisory Council will convene through video conference for its May meeting and the event will be streamed live online for the public.
The citizen council will meet May 11-13 via video teleconference. The meeting will start at 9 a.m. each of the three days and will conclude at 3 p.m. on May, 11, at 4 p.m. on May 12, and at noon on May 13.
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Mallard’s Rest Fishing Access Site will be closed from Wednesday, May 13, through Friday, June 5, for road improvements.
The Montana Fish & Wildlife Commission on April 23 approved the temporary closure for Mallard’s Rest while crews repair and improve the access road. There will be no public access to the site, boat ramp or campground during the closure, which was approved to ensure public safety during construction. The closure was also scheduled to happen during spring runoff to minimize impacts to recreationists.
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Brush Lake State Park, Region 6’s only state park, is not yet open for day-use or camping, and will remain closed through May 14, opening on May 15. Normally, the park is open May 1-Nov. 1. The gate into the park is signed and locked at this time.
“We apologize that the park has to be closed just as we are starting to get nice spring weather,” says Chris Dantic, park manager for Brush Lake and several other state parks in eastern Montana. “There is a new ranger hired for the park, but due to quarantine directives, they will not be able to work at the park at this time. With the need to clean bathrooms, collect litter, empty trash, collect fees, and enforce rules and regulations, we unfortunately can’t be open until we have a full staff onboard.”
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