ESPN Hunting

Montana's Fish, Wildlife & Parks Department takes pains to note that its Block Management payments to private landowners aren't leases; rather, the payments are designed to mitigate impacts of public hunting.

Funding for the program is as varied as its administration, but generally the funding is derived from license sales.

In Montana, most of the Block Management funding is from nonresident big game licenses, although in the last couple of years, a portion of resident licenses is also tapped to fund Block Management.

In Oregon, funding is via a $2 surcharge on licenses. Idaho's program is funded by a big game license raffle.

Properties enrolled in these access programs offer everything from pheasant hunting to opportunities to hunt whitetail and mule deer, elk and antelope. In some cases, hunter numbers are limited to allow participants a high-quality hunt.

In other cases, hunting pressure exceeds the game population.

Here's an overview of each state's program, with areas to look for good hunting opportunities on enrolled private land.

Montana

The oldest and biggest access program in the West is Block Management. Each of the seven FWP regions administer their programs differently, so you'll need to check with regional offices, phone numbers of which are available on FWP's Web site (www.fwp.state.mt.us).

Head to eastern Montana for the biggest concentrations of Block Management properties, but also for the best hunting.

Region 6 has enrolled about 1.25 million acres of private land.

In southeastern Montana's Region 7, more than 2.5 million acres, on 340 separate parcels, are enrolled in the program.

Antelope, upland birds, deer and waterfowl are the main game on Block Management lands, but elk hunting is also available on some of these eastern Montana parcels.

Wyoming

If you want to hunt pheasants in the Cowboy State, you need to request a Walk-In Atlas, which details properties by county.

You can pick up a printed copy of the atlas at license agents.

Generally, the biggest concentration of Walk-In land is in Goshen and Weston counties in the southeastern corner of the state. Many of these parcels offer good pheasant hunting for hunters who are willing to park at the gate and walk.

Oregon

Central Oregon elk hunters and pheasant hunters in the northeastern corner of the state are the biggest beneficiaries of the access program, but the Access and Habitat Program opens gates across the state.

Most recently, a $13,000 grant from the program will open about 12,500 acres of private ground southwest of Pendleton.

Check out the Access and Habitat Program, along with a directory of accessible properties, at www.dfw.state.or.us/AH.

Idaho

Idaho's Access Yes! program is relatively modest, but hunters will see some prime properties enrolled this fall. Some, such as large timber companies in the Panhandle, offer access to elk and deer habitat.

Others, such as private ranches in the southeastern corner of the state, provide access to upland game birds and some trophy deer opportunities.

A list of the 2005 participants and locations of enrolled properties is at fishandgame.idaho.gov/ifwis/ huntplanner/accessyesguide.aspx.

Washington

Washington's access program is still in its formative state. While there are a few "Feel Free To Hunt" and "Register To Hunt" properties, a statewide program is still on the drawing board.

The current proposal would model an access program after Oregon's, providing hunting access but also improving wildlife habitat on private land.

The most recent proposal imagines a $5 surcharge on each license to generate about $1.2 million annually.

Utah

If you want to hunt wildlife on private land without seeking traditional permission, you'll be relegated to hunting a Cooperative Wildlife Management Unit, private land where wildlife is managed cooperatively with the Division of Wildlife Resources.

An overview of the program as well as a directory of participating ranches is available at www.cwmuutahwildlife.org.

More than 1 million acres on 60-plus CWMUs were enrolled last year. These properties, generally larger ranches, are allowed to sell guided hunts but must reserve 15 percent of permits for public hunting.

In exchange for an opportunity to harvest a larger buck or bull, hunters generally have to conform to more restrictive rules than they might encounter on adjacent public land.

Colorado

The state's Ranching for Wildlife program (wildlife.state.co.us/Ranching/index.asp) operates similarly to Utah's CWMUs.

Enrolled ranches — there are 26 for this fall's seasons — offer limited public hunting opportunities in exchange for the ability to sell licenses to paying clients.

In Colorado, 10 percent of the licenses are reserved for public hunting.

Material from Fishing & Hunting News
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