Report Summary 



Amount of Private Land 

 Open to Public Hunting 



Using available information created by the department we compared 

 the number of acres in block management to the number of privately 

 owned acres open to public hunting. Information was only available 

 for mule deer hunting. We determined about 24 percent of private 

 land open to public hunting for mule deer is enrolled in the Block 

 Management Program. 



Was Land Opened with 

 the Enhanced Program? 



Based on our surveys sent to landowners enrolled in the program and 

 landowners who would like to enroll in the program, the current 

 Block Management Program opened some land for free public 

 hunting. Some land now open to free public hunting was not open at 

 all to hunting, and other land was only open to limited hunting. 

 Survey results showed 80 percent of the respondents' land was open 

 to public hunting prior to the landowner enrolling in the program. 



Measuring Program 

 Success 



We asked staff what they considered the program's goal and how 

 they measure program success. The general consensus was the goal 

 is to enhance public hunter access and improve 

 landowner/sportsperson/department relationships. No one had any 

 consistent outcomes or formal criteria they used to measure program 

 success. Staff have not established specific criteria to measure 

 program success or outcomes. The department should create specific 

 objectives that relate to the purpose and mission of the program, 

 establish measurable criteria which relate directly to the goals and 

 objectives, and develop strategies to allow for attaining desired 

 results or outcomes. 



Coordination with Other 

 Programs Addressing 

 Access Needed 



The Wildlife Division administers two programs which address 

 public access to private lands for hunting purposes - the Upland 

 Game Bird Habitat Enhancement Program (UGBP) and Habitat 

 Montana. Department staff do not monitor hunter use on 

 conservation easements or the UGBP projects. Staff thought all but 

 two or so landowners with conservation easements are in the Block 

 Management Program. They also indicated they thought most 

 UGBP projects were in block management so they relied on block 

 management to monitor hunting for both programs. However, we 

 found only about half of the easements and 10 percent of UGBP 

 projects are enrolled in block management. The department should 

 develop methods to coordinate the access provided under the Block 



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