New Montana hunting regulation aims to maintain female black bear population

GREAT FALLS, Mont. – New bear hunting regulations in Montana divided Fish, Wildlife and Parks’ Region 4 into smaller units, with the goal to avoid overharvesting female bears.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks said it was focusing on female black bears because of the important role they play in a stable, well distributed black bear population. They decided to implement a change after Region 4 biologists suggested that bear harvest in their area had reached an unsustainable level. 

The data collected by biologists showed especially unsustainable bear harvesting around the Little Belt and Snowy Mountains, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks said in an announcement about the change. 

By breaking Region 4 into smaller Bear Management Units, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks said it hoped to lower the likelihood of overharvesting female black bears. The agency said each Bear Management Units would have spring and fall harvest quotas for female bears and that all bear hunting would close for the season in the unit once the quota is met.

The Region’s new units are designed to include “discrete and largely disconnected areas of black bear habitat,” Montana Fish , Wildlife and Parks said. 

“FWP’s management goal is to have stable, well distributed, black bear populations throughout Region 4 and to maintain long term hunter-harvest opportunity,” Montana Fish, WIldlife and Parks wrote. 

The status of black bear harvesting quotas for each unit, as well as the full guide for 2026 black bear hunting regulations, can be found at the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks website.