HELENA – At its June meeting, the Fish and Wildlife Commission approved mountain lion quotas for fall 2026 through winter 2027. The approved quotas included two amendments offered by commissioners from regions 2 and 3. The commission also approved a proposal for hound hunting on the Charles M. Russell (CMR) and UL Bend (ULB) national wildlife refuges that becomes effective for the 2027-2028 season if adopted by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS).
Among the approved changes proposed by FWP are a reduction in quotas for specific parts of southwest Montana. Monitoring in this area consistently demonstrates a decline in mountain lion populations consistent with previous commission direction. Reducing quotas will allow hunting to continue reducing mountain lion populations while limiting rates of reduction.
The approved amendment offered by Commissioner Jeff Burrows in Region 2 decreases the total Region 2 quota from 210 to 188. Specific to lion sex, the proposal increases the male quota by 4, from 93 to 97, and decreases females from 77 to 71. The amendment also reduced the overall quota in 299 from 25 to 20. The amendment addressed concerns of Region 2 residents with current quotas there and the broad increase that was applied to quotas a few years ago. The department doesn’t anticipate any substantive biological effects to the mountain lion population as a result of the amendment.
The approved amendment offered by Commissioner Susan Kirby Brooke in Region 3 revises the recommendations made during the 2023 season-setting meeting by replacing the objective of achieving a percentage reduction in mountain lion numbers within specific ecoregions with a recommendation that lion harvest quotas should be established using current population modeling data and input from the annual regional lion management public meetings.
“Monitoring mountain lion populations relies on data from harvest demographics, population models, hunter effort and public feedback; this is anything but a precise science,” said Brian Wakellng, game management bureau chief. “The commission’s actions demonstrate that they rely on the science and listen to the public when making decisions about Montana’s wildlife.”
Hound hunting on CMR and ULB national wildlife refuges
The commission approved a proposal for annual mountain lion hound hunting on the CMR and ULB national wildlife refuges starting Dec. 1, 2027, until the appropriate harvest quotas are filled or Feb. 1, 2028 (whichever comes first).
Hunting regulations on USFWS properties do not always correspond with Montana’s hunting regulations. While Montana allows hunting mountain lions with hounds from Dec. 1 to May 25 in much of Montana, mountain lion hunting with hounds is currently restricted by the USFWS on the CMR and UL B refuges.
The agencies agreed to propose these hound hunting changes to both the USFWS and FWP regulations for consistent and clear public outreach.
This proposed season is a shorter lion hound-hunting season than in other areas of Montana and is sensitive to the potential to impact wintering ungulates. This proposal does not influence the existing archery and fall lion seasons without dogs already on the CMR and ULB.
If the USFWS does not adopt these changes starting with the 2027 license year, the hound-hunting regulations for Montana will revert to the regulation language adopted for 2026.
