DAYTON - The public can gain hunting access to about 8 million acres of private land through Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) Block Management Program.
Governor Greg Gianforte visited the Meuli Ranch in Dayton — which participates in the Block Management Program — on Monday to discuss the landowners' experience with the program.
Landowners in the program allow hunters to either gain access to public land through their property or allow people to hunt directly on their property.
Owners receive some monetary compensation for allowing access to the public and for ranchers like the Meuli’s it helps keep the ranch going but they do it for the love of hunting.
“We've always loved being able to have people come and share the ranch with them. We view it as a blessing to us and, and you know, obviously we make our living off of it and we need to manage it within those parameters but hunting is part of our heritage too and we love especially families come and see in young people come in, going out with dad and or mom and going hunting,” said Meuli Ranch owner Mike Meuli.
Additional information, including maps and locations for the Block Management properties, can be found at https://fwp.mt.gov/hunt/access/blockmanagement.
