Bear And Lion Aug. 31 License Deadline Reminder

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Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks reminds black bear and mountain lion hunters that licenses must be purchased by Aug. 31, a Tuesday, for the fall season.  Hunters may purchase a license at any FWP office, FWP license provider or on the Internet using a credit card at www.fwp.state.mt.us under Hunting or the Discover Montana site at www.discoveringmontana.com under Online Services.

All mail-in applications must be postmarked no later than Aug. 31. The cost of a lion license is $15 for residents and $320 for nonresidents, and all successful hunters will also need to pay a $50 trophy fee. The cost of a black bear license is $15 for residents and $350 for nonresidents.

A nonresident lion hunter who hunts with dogs, and does not hunt with an outfitter, must have a hunting-harvest permit to take a lion in portions of FWP Region 1 during the winter season. The deadline to apply for a hunting-harvest permit is Sept. 30.

Black bear hunters must have successfully completed the Black Bear Identification Test and must present a certificate of completion when purchasing a black bear license.  The program aims to prevent mistaken identity killings of federally protected grizzly bears and to help Montana maintain its black bear hunting season. 

The Black Bear Identification training and test are available on FWP’s web site at www.fwp.state.mt.us under Hunting, then Hunter Education. A paper version may be obtained at any FWP regional office or license provider.

Hunters are also reminded it is illegal to harvest black bear cubs, defined as bears less than one year old.  It is also illegal to harvest female black bears with young.

The new 2004 black bear and mountain lion hunting regulations are available from all FWP regional offices and license providers.