2023 Legislative Summary: Bills Related to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks

The 2023 Legislative session has come and gone, leaving in its wake several important bills related to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks bills that passed and many more that didn’t. In our view, the biggest success was passage of SB 295.

This legislation is a critical step toward federal grizzly bear delisting, at least for the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem population, because it defines a portion of the state regulatory framework for managing and conserving bears required by the Endangered Species Act.

Among other things, SB 295 directs the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission to adopt “...