As another hunting season gets underway, the annual question arises for sportsmen and women: “Where can I hunt and where is it restricted?”
While the question is simple on its face, the answer is not always obvious, particularly when the hunter is confronted by a half-open gate or a lack of signage, or if it’s unclear whether the land is public or private.
That’s why for weeks now, game wardens like Ben Chappelow have been visiting road entrances throughout the Flathead to make sure signs are posted prominently detailing whether the area is open to motorized use.
“They need to just pay attention to the signs on each gate,” Chappelow said. “If it’s gated, it’s closed; if there’s no gate, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s open – just look for the posting.”
Vandalism on public lands is a regular occurrence. Take, for example, the Murray Lake access road, which remains closed due to heavy vandalism until the damage can be fixed. While the vandalism wasn’t caused by hunters, such closures can make for confusion when state or federal agencies repair road entrances where a gate may have been damaged.
“A lot of people can get the impression that something’s newly closed because there’s a new sign or new gate,” Chappelow said, advising hunters on federal lands to shell out $2 for copy of the travel plan for the area in which they plan to visit, which will make clear what’s open and what’s closed.
The rules can differ slightly, however, on private land. The F.H. Stoltze Land & Lumber Co. allows motorized vehicles like four-wheelers, motorbikes and snowmobiles on its roads even if they are gated, but Plum Creek Timber Co. does not.
In Northwest Montana, Plum Creek and Stoltze are the two biggest landholders in the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks’ Block Management program, which allows public access to private property. More than 99 percent of block management land in FWP’s Region One is Plum Creek, for which regulations are posted. Plum Creek lands are identified on Forest Service maps.
While the amount of Stoltze land open to hunters is much smaller, access issues are slightly more complicated. Stoltze only has two parcels of land in the block management program, one in the Haskell Basin area and the other in the Swan Valley – but these lands are surrounded by other private land, so hunters must seek additional permission to access the Stoltze land.
“They need to legally be able to get to our lands,” Paul McKenzie, lands and resource manager for Stoltze, said. “They have to get permission from adjacent landowners to get to us.”
Vandalism, dumping garbage and misuse of land is also a problem for Stoltze, particularly when motorized vehicles depart from roads, causing soil erosion and damage to timber-producing areas.
“Every time they do that, it takes more land out of production,” McKenzie said. “Some days you get pretty frustrated and think it might be easier to close it all off.”
But McKenzie said there are no plans to close off any Stoltze lands any time soon, and programs like their Handicap Hunting opportunity, which special access for the disabled, remain in place, with details, maps and basic rules on Stoltze’s Web site.
Hunters caught trespassing on restricted land will receive a misdemeanor charge, which is punishable by a fine up to $500, Chappelow said, and he invites hunters with access questions to call him at 250-2098 to discuss what’s open or closed.
“I’d rather do that than have to write a ticket,” he said.