Hunter Management Strategies Used by Montana Ranchers

To increase access to private land for hunters and to improve relationships between hunters and ranchers, we need to know what hunter management strategies ranch managers use and what influences their choice of these strategies. We conducted a survey of private ranch owners to identify practices used in Montana to manage hunters. We sent a questionnaire to 989 ranchers from a population identified as typical working ranches larger than 404 ha. Respondents (42% return) indicated that 80% had no restrictions or required only simple permission to hunt on most of their land. Twelve percent of the respondents indicated their ranch was closed to hunting, and 12% had fee hunting operations or leased to outfitters. Past damage by hunters (42%) and conflicts with hunters (33%) were the reasons most often cited for closing ranches to hunting. Combinations of strategies were used, with vehicle restrictions, advance reservations, and check in-out being most common. Ranch size influenced management strategies, with 63% of ranches under 4,048 ha requiring only simple permission to hunt compared to 28% of ranches larger than 4,048 ha. Sixteen percent of the smaller ranches, compared to 5% of the larger ranches, closed 50% or more of their land. Our study demonstrates a need for programs that address landowner concerns and impresses upon hunters the importance of their behavior in affecting public access to private land.