Montana FWP’s New Fee Proposals Cover Lots of Ground – Comment

Montana's current fee rules have not been thoroughly updated in many years and have become difficult to administer and understand.

FEEDBACK REQUESTED

That is the premise for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Park's announcement, proposing updates to fees for FWP-managed lands and waters, including state parks, fishing access sites, wildlife management areas and fisheries conservation areas. And FWP is asking the public to weigh in on the changes.

Lands, waters, state parks, fishing access sites, wildlife management areas and more are all under the microscope for proposed fee restructuring.

HOW THEY WOULD APPLY

The proposal would apply to both public and commercial use. Montana FWP is proposing the updates because the current fee rules are outdated, recreation use has increased and the costs of keeping sites maintained, safe and open to the public have also gone up.

In the press release, FWP's Renee Lemon, parks and outdoor recreation division administrator, was quoted as saying, “The current fee rules have not been thoroughly updated in many years and have become difficult to administer and understand. With increases in recreation, we see the need for an updated and more user-friendly fee structure.”

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PROPOSED UPDATE INTENTIONS

The proposed updates are intended to;

>Adjust fees to better reflect inflation and the increasing costs of maintaining and managing public recreation sites

>Simplify fee structures and permit categories to improve clarity and consistency for visitors, businesses and staff

>Maintain affordable and fair fees

There are a LOT of layers to the proposals and what they typically would apply to, including Commercial Use Fee Schedules, Public Use Fee Schedules and Fee Schedule Justification. Montana FWP is seeking public input on the proposed fee schedules. Comments received during the public review period will help inform the fee structure proposal.

Comments must be received by July 24, 2026. To learn much more about the proposals, including the dollars and cents of them all, and to comment, visit this page of the Montana FWP website.