This Week in Fish and Wildlife: It's license renewal season in Montana

If you’re planning to hunt, fish, or recreate in Montana this year, it’s time to renew your licenses. MTN’s Chet Layman shares some reminders and tips for making that process easier than ever before.

BOZEMAN — It’s March, and that means it’s a new year in terms of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. It’s time to renew all those licenses for the coming year. If you like online, FWP has made it easier this year.

“Something new this year, if you are purchasing your licenses online is, and if you know that you want the same licenses that you got last year, there’s a very easy option to be able to select, you know, ‘Get me the same stuff that I had last year,’ and that quickens that process even further,” said Morgan Jacobsen, information and education manager for Montana FWP Region 3.

When it comes to hunting season, a little preparation goes a long way. There are deadlines for applications, and there might be changes to some hunting areas. Best advice? Go online and use the tools on the FWP website. Or you can visit your nearest FWP office Monday through Friday.

“There’s other resources available online to do that as well. There’s the hunt planner map, there’s video tutorials on how to go through that online licensing process, there’s maps, there’s regulations—all of those materials are available on our website,” Jacobsen said, “as well if you want to come in and talk to us here in our office, we’re always happy to help walk you through that process as well.”

Along with meeting application deadlines—for deer and elk: April 1; moose, sheep, and goat: May 1; bison, many B licenses, and antelope: June 1—there is also an important decision you must make.

“Another thing that folks should keep in mind or make a decision on, early on, is if they want e-tags or or paper tags. Again, because that’s a decision you can make once in a season. Once you decide, you know, ‘I want my general deer license to be an e-tag ,’ we can’t change that later on. So make sure that you just have an idea what you want to do with regards to e-tags as well,” Jacobsen said.

Don’t forget, if you’d rather use fly rod, bobber, and lures, or go old-fashioned bait to catch your Montana game, fishing licenses must be renewed for the new year now as well.