Just a short drive from Kalispell or Missoula, the Flathead Indian Reservation offers phenomenal hunting and fishing opportunities for Montanans. This is no secret.
But what might be overlooked is how big a privilege this really is. These are tribal lands, with fish and wildlife resources retained by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. Under the 170-year-old Hellgate Treaty, tribal members have exclusive rights to hunt and fish, and subsequent litigation has clarified and upheld those rights. The tribes aren’t required to allow non-tribal members to hunt or fish these lands but for more than three decades, through the Montana-CSKT Fishing and Bird Hunting Agreement, they’ve offered us that privilege, and we’re incredibly thankful.
However, that opportunity is at great risk. Montana House Bill 216, sponsored by Rep. Tracy Sharp, R-Polson, would undermine tribal sovereignty and risk the upland bird and waterfowl hunting and fishing privileges enjoyed by non-tribal members. The bill seeks to allow non-tribal landowners within the Flathead Reservation to hunt deer and elk on private inholdings.
The problem, of course, is that these inholdings are still within the Reservation and under CSKT jurisdiction. Private landowners knew this when they purchased these lands but now they’re looking to rewrite the rules for their own benefit.
Tribal leaders have strongly suggested that if HB 216 were to become law, they would challenge it in court, and they would likely win based on legal precedent. It’s also a possibility, if this bill were to pass, that we could see the Montana-CSKT Fishing and Bird Hunting Agreement crumble, meaning the Tribes would be under no obligation to provide hunting, fishing and recreational privileges on any of their lands.
If this all sounds familiar, that’s because it is. During the 2021 session, Rep. Joe Read (R – Ronan), sponsored the very similar HB 241, which died in committee. Then in 2023, the Environmental Quality Council held a hearing on a proposed ballot initiative that sought the same outcome. The EQC failed to support the placement of the proposed text of this initiative, but the effort was still able to proceed to collect signatures to get on the ballot. However, in another show of unpopularity, the initiative failed to collect enough signatures to even be considered. History has shown this to be an unpopular and self-centered proposal that would benefit only a small few, at the great expense of many.
Finally, enabling a red herring argument to be brought by the bill sponsor, Chronic Wasting Disease was also recently discovered on Flathead Reservation lands for the first time. Even though this was discovered after the bill was introduced, proponents will argue this as a reason why they want to hunt deer and elk on their inholdings. That’s baloney! The reality is the CSKT wildlife managers are well equipped and prepared to deal with CWD, and they’ve developed excellent monitoring and sampling plans. They’ve kept the disease at bay for a long time and have all the tools they need to monitor and manage the spread. If they end up deciding that one of those tools should be opening the door for non-tribal members to hunt deer and elk, the CSKT already has the authority to do that. But that’s their decision, period.
Please join our organizations in opposing this bill, which has a hearing in the House Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee on Tuesday, Jan. 28 at 3 p.m.
Dale Becker, Kalispell, Board Member, Montana Wildlife Federation; Jim Vashro, Kalispell, President, Flathead Wildlife, Inc.; Andrew Gorder, Missoula, Board President, Hellgate Hunters & Anglers; Josh Liljedahl, Missoula, Board Member, Montana Chapter of BHA; Jock Conyngham, Evaro, Board Member, Montana Sportsmen Alliance.