It’s not just legislators meddling with our hunting and fishing heritage who bear watching this session; it’s the lobbyists and their funders who should really concern you.
In the last two sessions, multiple bills have been brought forward to allow outfitted clients and non-resident landowners to jump the line for coveted deer and elk tags in Montana. Others gave large landowners free elk permits.
The one thing these proposals have in common? They’re all being pushed by the lobbyists at the Taylor Luther Group and the guys now behind the newly formed and deceptively named “Montana Conservation Society.” The first lists clients like the Yellowstone Club, Montana Outfitters & Guides Association (MOGA), and the Wilks brothers; the latter’s executive director is past president of MOGA, and its policy director doesn’t even live here.
Sportsmen’s groups (the real ones) raised hell about these unfair allocations of hunting opportunity – clear violations of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, and not the traditional Montana way. Yet MOGA and its lobbyists succeeded in pretending these weren’t about monetizing public wildlife; they weren’t ‘guarantees.’
What do the numbers say?
Using Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks data, we now see that Rep. Joshua Kassmier’s (R-Fort Benton) HB 635 from 2023 led to non-resident landowners being 100% successful in the 2024 deer and elk draws. Every applicant drew, regardless of points.
Outfitters made out just as well. During the 2021 session’s final days, Rep. Seth Burglee’s (R-Joliet) HB 637 was shoved through both chambers without public comment and
signed by Gianforte. That bill established “preference” for out-of-state hunters who can afford an outfitter. We now see that it’s more than “preference” – it’s a near-guarantee. In 2024, outfitted non-resident clients had 100% success getting deer tags. Roughly nine in 10 guided non-resident elk hunters were successful in drawing a tag in their very first year applying, while those who applied the prior year were guaranteed.
A national hunting organization is now raffling off guided mule deer hunts for non-residents with “exclusive access to private ranches in Big Sky Country” with
“Montana non-resident deer combo license ($741.50) for both hunters included!” Tags once allocated by equitable lottery are now so assured for outfitters that they can be promised in raffles or sold to anyone with the most money.
The result? While outfitters and the largest landowners – and their lobbyists – change the rules, Montanans are asked to accept shorter hunting seasons, to pick a weapon, to pick a district, and to sacrifice parts of our heritage and family traditions.
Case in point: the Montana Conservation Society is pushing a controversial proposal that would drastically reduce resident hunting opportunities. They’re also introducing a bill that would make land exchanges easier for large landowners, and another that would allow landowners and outfitters to sell not one but three cow elk hunts per hunter each year. As with all other recent misguided elk regulation changes, the issue with abundant elk populations has nothing to do with license availability and everything to do with access. Ironically, this change would incentivize landowners and outfitters to block public access, decreasing public opportunities and perpetuating elk distribution issues. We all should be skeptical.
The next time you see something being pitched as a win for Montana hunters – whether as a bill or a proposal in front of the Fish and Wildlife Commission – find out who is pushing it. Often, that’s all you’ll need to learn who will benefit.
And if the Montana Conservation Society or the Taylor Luther Group is behind it, it’s clear the beneficiary ain’t you.