Joining Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, Gov. Greg Gianforte last week visited with a longtime partner of the Block Management Program in Valley County.

“Landowners like Leonard are absolutely essential when it comes to the success of public access programs in Montana,” said Katie Iverson, FWP access coordinator in Region 6. “Their willingness to allow the public on their private property for hunting is vital to the continuation of Montana’s hunting heritage.”

“Through block management, Montanans have access to nearly 8 million acres of private land to hunt and recreate, and even more when considering the access those acres provide to adjacent or isolated public lands,” Gov. Gianforte said. “I’m grateful for all our landowner partners in the Block Management Program who increase access and hunting opportunities for Montanans.”

The Block Management Program is a cooperative program between private landowners and FWP that provides the public with free hunting access to private land and helps landowners manage hunting activities.

As a Block Management Program participant for nearly 25 years, Leonard Swenson is one of more than 382 cooperators in northeast Montana who provide public access to over 1.2 million acres of land. Read more

Join the Michigan Department of Natural Resources for Hunter Safety Education Week, Aug. 12-18. More than 40 in-person classes will be offered throughout the state as additional opportunities to obtain a hunter safety education certificate.

These new classes will be posted and available for registration on Friday, July 12, by 8 a.m. Read more

The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) is pleased to report that as of last Friday, Oregon Initiative Petition 3 (IP-3) officially did not qualify for the 2024 ballot. CSF has been and will continue to be a leading voice against this misguided effort to ban all hunting, fishing, trapping, and ranching in Oregon.

Initially introduced as Oregon Proposition 13 (IP-13) intended for the November 2022 ballot, this proposal would remove all animal cruelty exemptions: criminalizing hunting, fishing, trapping, animal husbandry, pest removal, and more. Thankfully the sportsmen’s and farming communities united in opposition to IP-13, which ultimately led to its demise, in much the same way as our community united to defeat IP-3 this year. While it may be easy to let our guard down after two successive victories, proponents of the now failed IP-3 are expected to take another run at a statewide hunting, fishing, trapping, and ranching ban through IP-28 for the 2026 ballot. Read more

If you’re one of the many hunters making plans to head to a Wyoming Game and Fish Department hunter management area this fall, it’s time to apply for permission slips. Applications for HMAs open 8 a.m. July 11. A successful hunting season begins long before heading afield. Securing permission for access is one of the most important planning steps.

HMAs are typically ranches where Game and Fish manages hunting access. These properties may include portions of various private lands, as well as intermixed leased BLM and state lands within the HMA boundary. HMAs are part of the Access Yes program that facilitates the partnership between private landowners and Game and Fish to provide hunters and anglers free public hunting and fishing access on private land and inaccessible public land. Access Yes also includes walk-in fishing and hunting areas, each of which has its own rules regarding species and access dates. Read more

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission drew the names of 18 Arkansans on the stage of the Buffalo River Elk Festival Saturday to participate in this fall’s annual public land elk hunts.

More than 6,600 applicants applied for elk permits online during the May application window, and 15 of the permits allotted for public land were drawn from those entries. An additional 620 people applied on-site at the festival for three additional permits reserved for attendees of the event. Permits were drawn from a squirrel cage in front of an anxious crowd throughout the day. Winners of the three on-site permits had to be present to win during the final drawing of the festival.

Hunters are allowed to choose their weapons from archery (including crossbows), muzzleloaders, modern rifles, modern shotguns and handguns.

All public land hunts occur on the Buffalo National River, Gene Rush Wildlife Management Area and Bearcat Hollow Wildlife Management Area. Hunters are assigned specific zones within these public lands. Public land permit holders are encouraged to attend an orientation before the hunt and will be notified of the time and location.

Arkansas also holds private land elk hunts, managed through a quota system, for hunters who have landowner permission in Arkansas’s Core Elk Management Zone. Visit www.agfc.com/elk for more information. Read more

Fall turkey hunting license applications for the 2024 season are available now through August 1.

You can buy an application for $5 online at eLicense, anywhere DNR licenses are sold, or through the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app. Drawing results will be available Aug. 12.

Learn how to apply and find season regulations in the Michigan Fall Turkey Hunting Regulations Summary at Michigan.gov/Turkey or view the summary in the DNR Hunt Fish app to carry it with you wherever you go.

Questions? Call 517-284-9453 or email

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The $25 stamp has raised more than $1.2 billion for habitat conservation

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Ducks Unlimited (DU) and Bass Pro Shops hosted a live event Friday, June 28, at Bass Pro Shops in Hanover, Maryland, celebrating the first day of sale for the 2024-25 Federal Duck Stamp.

The stamps, which cost $25 and raise about $40 million for conservation yearly, are valid from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025.

Purchased by millions of waterfowl hunters, wildlife enthusiasts and stamp collectors every year, duck stamps provide critical funding to purchase and protect wetlands and associated habitat for ducks, geese and other wildlife species.

The Federal Duck Stamp program raises millions of dollars to purchase and protect wetland habitat in the National Wildlife Refuge System, benefiting waterfowl and hundreds of additional wildlife species. Of every dollar spent on a duck stamp, 98 cents of each purchase goes directly to acquiring and protecting waterfowl habitat. Read more