Chapter II - Background 



Introduction 



The mission of the Block Management Program is " . . .to maintain 

 Montana's hunting heritage and traditions by providing landowners 

 with tangible benefits to encourage public hunting access to private 

 land, promote partnerships between landowners, hunters, and the 

 Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, and help manage wildlife 

 resources and the impacts of public hunting." 



Department 

 Organization 



A five member Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission sets policy for 

 the fulfillment of the responsibilities of the Department of Fish, 

 Wildlife and Parks as provided by law. Department headquarters is 

 located in Helena and central office staff are responsible for setting 

 direction regarding policy, planning, program development, 

 guidelines and budgets. The Block Management Program is 

 administered by the Field Services Division. 



Decentralized System 



The department's organizational structure is partially decentralized. 

 The department divided the state into seven geographic regions to 

 provide for more direct management of the state's wildlife, fisheries, 

 and parks resources. Each region is staffed with a regional 

 supervisor, a fisheries manager, a wildlife manager, and varying 

 numbers of biologists, technicians, wardens, and parks staff to 

 implement and monitor most policy and management activities at the 

 regional level. In most regions wildlife managers supervise day-to- 

 day activities for Block Management Program activities. The 

 managers report to the regional supervisor. 



The regional supervisor administers overall activities within the 

 region. This includes providing recommendations on program 

 development and department guidelines to FWP headquarters in 

 Helena. Regional supervisors report to the department's chief of 

 operations. 



Figure 1 shows regional boundaries. 



Page 5 



