Montana Library’s Hunting Companion website helps sportsmen plan outings
Where should I hunt?
It’s a question every hunter faces as the season draws near. With archery and upland game bird seasons under way — and the start of the general deer and elk seasons opening Oct. 22 — the time to make a plan is now.
Fortunately, the Montana State Library and the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks have developed the Montana Hunting Companion (http://msl.mt.gov/hunting), an online resource designed to help hunters plan and carry out their hunting trips. The website includes sections on “What to Hunt,” “Where to Hunt,” “When to Hunt” and “How to Hunt.”
“I think a lot of times hunters may not know where to start,” said Jennie Stapp, digital library director for Montana State Library. “The Montana Hunting Companion is intended as a quick, ready reference to help hunters with their information needs.”
Stapp said many hunters visit libraries across the state each hunting season to acquire maps to plan their hunts. Their primary goal is finding public ground to hunt or approaching landowners to hunt private property, she said.
The library’s effort to map Montana’s public and private lands began in 1985 under a program called the Montana Natural Resource Information System. The library works in conjunction with state and federal agencies to produce two distinct mapping resources available through the Montana Hunting Companion.
The Public and Private Land Ownership Maps are U.S. Geological Survey topographic quadrangles that show land owned by the state, federal government, tribal reservations, other managed areas, private conservation lands and conservation easements. The maps are updated each August before the start of hunting season with parcel numbers indicating ownership of private lands. A private land listing document associated with each map lists the name of the landowner and the total acreage of the parcel.
The second mapping resource offered through the Montana Hunting Companion is the Montana Cadastral Mapping website. The website allows viewers to toggle layers showing ownership, conservation easements, roads, streams, emergency facilities, schools, topography and aerial photography, among other options. The website is updated throughout the year and offers the most up-to-date information on public and private land ownership in Montana.
Hunters can use the information provided through the Montana Hunting Companion to have a clear understanding of property boundaries, seek out landowners and ask permission to hunt.
FWP Region 3 Capt. Sam Sheppard said trespassing and failure to get landowner permission to hunt are common offenses during hunting season. He said it is the sole responsibility of hunters to know where they are and to obtain permission to hunt if hunting on private property.
“Trespass and hunting without permission is not doing due diligence and respecting private property,” Sheppard said. “There are a lot of places where if you approach a landowner the right way and ask, you can often get the permission to hunt.”
The Montana Hunting Companion features a section dedicated to the Hunter-Landowner Stewardship Project. The project aims to educate hunters about the potential to hunt private property and how to engage landowners in that discussion.
Thomas Baumeister, assistant chief of FWP’s Communication and Education Bureau, said the Hunter-Landowner Stewardship Project is about preserving a Montana tradition.
“Montana’s hunting history clearly relies heavily on access and use of private land for hunting.” Baumeister said. “When hunters make the effort and figure out how to meet landowners on their terms, that are respectful and know what they are doing, they are often granted permission to hunt private land.”
Baumeister said the Hunter-Landowner Stewardship Project has been well received by the Montana Stockgrowers Association and various landowner groups across the state. The Montana Hunting Companion includes a certification program that tests hunters on the goals of the Hunter-Landowner Stewardship Project.
Among other useful information, the Montana Hunting Companion provides harvest and hunting reports for hunting districts across the state. Visitors to the website can select a hunting district and view data on the number of hunters and types of game animals harvested in each district.
“If you see a particular hunting district has had a high success level, it indicates a good chance of success,” Baumeister said. “The reports give you information on the number of hunters in a particular district. Depending on what sort of hunting experience you are after, you may want to take that into account.
“You can glance at this information and have a good idea of whether an area is going to be a good deer district or elk district and there is a real difference because FWP manages the districts with different goals.”
Since the Montana Hunting Companion launched in 2010, it has become the library’s top website during hunting season. Stapp said she is excited that the library is able to offer the website’s information to the public.
“We know from our librarians that (the Montana Hunting Companion) helps folks understand our hunting information more easily,” Stapp said. “Our mission is to make this information broadly available.”
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- Be bear aware: Play it safe this season while hunting in grizzly country
- FWP reporting increased hunters, elk harvest in southwest Montana
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