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1 SENATE BILL NO. 427
2 INTRODUCED BY W. CURDY
3
4 A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: “AN ACT REVISING LAWS RELATED TO TRAPPING SETBACKS;
5 CREATING CERTAIN SETBACKS FOR TRAPPING ON PUBLIC LANDS; PROVIDING RULEMAKING
6 AUTHORITY; PROVIDING PENALTIES; AND AMENDING SECTIONS 87-1-301 AND 87-6-601, MCA.”
7
8 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
9
10 NEW SECTION. Section 1. Trapping setbacks. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), the
11 following setbacks are required for trapping on public lands:
12 (a) for furbearers, predators, and nongame wildlife, ground sets and snares must be:
13 (I) set back 50 feet from the edge of roads and hiking trails that are designated by administrative
14 signs or numbers; and
15 (II)SET BACK 1,000 FEET FROM A DESIGNATED CAMPGROUND OR RECREATION SITE THAT IS ACCESSIBLE
16BY A HIGHWAY VEHICLE AT ANY TIME OF THE YEAR, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO BOAT RAMPS OR FISHING ACCESS
17SITES THAT HAVE CONSTRUCTION IMPROVEMENTS; AND
18 (III)SET BACK 300 FEET FROM A DESIGNATED OR MARKED TRAILHEAD THAT IS ACCESSIBLE BY A HIGHWAY
19VEHICLE AT ANY TIME OF THE YEAR, EXCEPT THAT LETHAL GROUND SETS OR SNARES MUST BE SET BACK 1,000 FEET;
20AND
21 (b) for wolves, ground sets and snares must be:
22 (I) set back 150 feet from the edge of roads and hiking trails that are designated by administrative
23 signs or numbers. ;
24 (II)SET BACK 1,000 FEET FROM A DESIGNATED OR MARKED TRAILHEAD, CAMPGROUND, OR RECREATION
25SITE THAT IS ACCESSIBLE BY A HIGHWAY VEHICLE AT ANY TIME OF THE YEAR, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO BOAT
26RAMPS OR FISHING ACCESS SITES THAT HAVE CONSTRUCTION IMPROVEMENTS; AND
27 (III)SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF SUBSECTION (2), SET BACK 500 FEET FROM BOTH EDGES OF ANY
28TRAILS OR ROADS THAT ARE DETERMINED BY THE DEPARTMENT TO BE HIGH RECREATIONAL USE TRAILS OR ROADS.
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1 (2) Trapping setbacks may not be applied to roads that are closed year-round to motor vehicles
2 and off-highway vehicles, as defined in 23-2-801, including but not limited to kelly-humped roads that are
3 inaccessible by motor vehicles and off-highway vehicles but are lawfully accessible by snowmobile.
4 (3) The commission may:
5 (a) expand trap setback distances for roads and trails in high-use areas adjacent to urban
6 population centers; and
7 (b) establish trap setback distances for other areas, including campgrounds, recreational sites, and
8 public land trailheads.
9
10Section 2. Section 87-1-301, MCA, is amended to read:
11 "87-1-301. Powers of commission. (1) Except Subject to [section 1] and except as provided in
12 subsections (6) and (7), the commission:
13 (a) shall set the policies for the protection, preservation, management, and propagation of the
14 wildlife, fish, game, furbearers, waterfowl, nongame species, and endangered species of the state and for the
15 fulfillment of all other responsibilities of the department related to fish and wildlife as provided by law;
16 (b) shall establish the hunting, fishing, and trapping rules of the department;
17 (c) except as provided in 23-1-111 and 87-1-303(3), shall establish the rules of the department
18 governing the use of lands owned or controlled by the department and waters under the jurisdiction of the
19 department;
20 (d) must have the power within the department to establish wildlife refuges and bird and game
21 preserves;
22 (e) shall approve all acquisitions or transfers by the department of interests in land or water, except
23 as provided in 23-1-111 and 87-1-209(2) and (4);
24 (f) except as provided in 23-1-111, shall review and approve the budget of the department prior to
25 its transmittal to the office of budget and program planning;
26 (g) except as provided in 23-1-111, shall review and approve construction projects that have an
27 estimated cost of more than $1,000 but less than $5,000;
28 (h) shall manage elk, deer, and antelope populations based on habitat estimates determined as
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1 provided in 87-1-322 and maintain elk, deer, and antelope population numbers at or below population estimates
2 as provided in 87-1-323. In developing or implementing an elk management plan, the commission shall
3 consider landowner tolerance when deciding whether to restrict elk hunting on surrounding public land in a
4 particular hunting district. As used in this subsection (1)(h), "landowner tolerance" means the written or
5 documented verbal opinion of an affected landowner regarding the impact upon the landowner's property within
6 the particular hunting district where a restriction on elk hunting on public property is proposed.
7 (i) shall set the policies for the salvage of antelope, deer, elk, or moose pursuant to 87-3-145;
8 (j) shall comply with, adopt policies that comply with, and ensure the department implements in
9 each region the provisions of state wildlife management plans adopted following an environmental review
10 conducted pursuant to Title 75, chapter 1, parts 1 through 3; and
11 (k) shall review and approve the issuance of an either-sex or antlerless elk license, permit, or
12 combination thereof to a landowner or a landowner's designee pursuant to 87-2-513.
13 (2) The commission may adopt rules regarding the use and type of archery equipment that may be
14 employed for hunting and fishing purposes, taking into account applicable standards as technical innovations in
15 archery equipment change.
16 (3) The commission may adopt rules regarding the establishment of special licenses or permits,
17 seasons, conditions, programs, or other provisions that the commission considers appropriate to promote or
18 enhance hunting by Montana's youth and persons with disabilities.
19 (4) (a) The commission may adopt rules regarding nonresident big game combination licenses to:
20 (i) separate deer licenses from nonresident elk combination licenses;
21 (ii) set the fees for the separated deer combination licenses and the elk combination licenses
22 without the deer tag;
23 (iii) condition the use of the deer licenses; and
24 (iv) limit the number of licenses sold.
25 (b) The commission may exercise the rulemaking authority in subsection (4)(a) when it is
26 necessary and appropriate to regulate the harvest by nonresident big game combination license holders:
27 (i) for the biologically sound management of big game populations of elk, deer, and antelope;
28 (ii) to control the impacts of those elk, deer, and antelope populations on uses of private property;
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1 and
2 (iii) to ensure that elk, deer, and antelope populations are at a sustainable level as provided in 87-
3 1-321 through 87-1-325.
4 (5) (a) Subject to the provisions of subsection (5)(b), the commission may adopt rules to:
5 (i) limit the number of nonresident mountain lion hunters in designated hunting districts; and
6 (ii) determine the conditions under which nonresidents may hunt mountain lion in designated
7 hunting districts.
8 (b) The commission shall adopt rules for the use of and set quotas for the sale of Class D-4
9 nonresident hound licenses by hunting district, portions of a hunting district, group of districts, or administrative
10 regions.
11 (c) The commission shall consider, but is not limited to consideration of, the following factors:
12 (i) harvest of lions by resident and nonresident hunters;
13 (ii) history of quota overruns;
14 (iii) composition, including age and sex, of the lion harvest;
15 (iv) historical outfitter use;
16 (v) conflicts among hunter groups;
17 (vi) availability of public and private lands; and
18 (vii) whether restrictions on nonresident hunters are more appropriate than restrictions on all
19 hunters.
20 (6) The commission may not regulate the use or possession of firearms, firearm accessories, or
21 ammunition, including the chemical elements of ammunition used for hunting. This does not prevent:
22 (a) the restriction of certain hunting seasons to the use of specified hunting arms, such as the
23 establishment of special archery seasons and the special muzzleloader heritage hunting season established in
24 87-1-304;
25 (b) for human safety, the restriction of certain areas to the use of only specified hunting arms,
26 including bows and arrows, traditional handguns, and muzzleloading rifles;
27 (c) the restriction of the use of shotguns for the hunting of deer and elk pursuant to 87-6-401(1)(f);
28 (d) the regulation of migratory game bird hunting pursuant to 87-3-403; or
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1 (e) the restriction of the use of rifles for bird hunting pursuant to 87-6-401(1)(g) or (1)(h).
2 (7) Pursuant to 23-1-111, the commission does not oversee department activities related to the
3 administration of state parks, primitive parks, state recreational areas, public camping grounds, state historic
4 sites, state monuments, and other heritage and recreational resources, land, and water administered pursuant
5 to Title 23, chapter 1, and Title 23, chapter 2, parts 1, 4, and 9."
6
7Section 3. Section 87-6-601, MCA, is amended to read:
8 "87-6-601. Trapping and snaring offenses. (1) A person may not use a trap or snare for the
9 purpose of trapping or snaring a fur-bearing animal, a predatory animal, or a nongame species unless:
10 (a) the trap or snare is tagged with a metal tag bearing an individual identifying number issued by
11 the department or the owner's name and address unless the person is trapping or snaring on the person's land
12 or an irrigation ditch right-of-way contiguous to the person's land; and
13 (b) the trap or snare is set in a manner, including in accordance with any setback requirement
14 established pursuant to [section 1], and at a time so that it will not unduly endanger livestock. A person who
15 injures livestock in a trap or snare is liable for damages to the owner of the livestock.
16 (2) A person may not use a trap or snare for the purpose of trapping or snaring a fur-bearing
17 animal, a predatory animal, or a nongame species on private property without obtaining permission from the
18 landowner, the lessee, or their agents.
19 (3) A person may not at any time willfully destroy, open or leave open, or partially destroy a house
20 of any muskrat or beaver, except that trapping in the house of muskrats is not prohibited when authorized by
21 the commission.
22 (4) A person shall set a trap in accordance with any setback requirement established pursuant to
23 [section 1].
24 (4)(5) (a) A person may not destroy, disturb, or remove any trap or snare belonging to another person
25 or remove wildlife from a trap or snare belonging to another person without permission of the owner of the trap
26 or snare, except that from March 1 to October 1 of each year a person may remove any snare from land owned
27 or leased by the person if the snare would endanger livestock.
28 (b) This subsection (4) (5) does not apply to a law enforcement officer acting within the scope of
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1 the officer's duty.
2 (5)(6) A person convicted of a violation of this section shall be fined not less than $50 or more than
3 $1,000 or be imprisoned in the county detention center for not more than 6 months, or both. In addition, the
4 person, upon conviction or forfeiture of bond or bail, may be subject to forfeiture of any current hunting, fishing,
5 or trapping license issued by the state and the privilege to hunt, fish, or trap in this state or to use state lands,
6 as defined in 77-1-101, for recreational purposes for a period of time set by the court.
7 (6)(7) A violation of this section may also result in an order to pay restitution pursuant to 87-6-905 and
8 87-6-906."
9
10 NEW SECTION. Section 4. Codification instruction. [Section 1] is intended to be codified as an
11 integral part of Title 87, chapter 3, part 1, and the provisions of Title 87, chapter 3, part 1, apply to [section 1].
12 - END -