Judge Rules in Favor of Elk Conservation in Montana Lawsuit

A judge ruled in favor of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks over the state’s elk management practices. (Photo by Harry Collins Photography)

In an important legal victory for wildlife management in Montana, a District Court judge has sided with Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks (FWP) and hunting / conservation groups after a private property owner group’s lawsuit sought to reduce the state’s elk herd for the benefit of private landowners.

The ruling supports the state in its effort to protect Montana's game management practices, upholding the Public Trust Doctrine and guaranteeing that the state’s wildlife remains public. According to montanafreepress.org, in three separate rulings, Judge Gregory Todd found that the state and hunting group’s arguments were more compelling than those brought by United Property Owners of Montana (UPOM), a membership-based nonprofit that promotes its members’ business interests.

UPOM had argued that high elk populations create excessive hardship for landowners. The orders have narrowed the scope of the lawsuit UPOM filed in 2022 to compel the state to “remove, harvest, or eliminate thousands of elk” to bring population counts into alignment with established targets.

In one ruling, Todd stated UPOM failed to demonstrate that MFWP had fallen short of a 21-year-old law that directs the state to manage elk “at or below” the sustainable populations established in the state’s elk plan. He stated that the property owners’ group had not participated in existing state programs and harvest opportunities, including allowing public hunting. He wrote that the “biggest impediment to harvest is a lack of public access to the elk.”

According to livingstonenterprise.com, the coalition of intervening groups, composed of Helena Hunters and Anglers, Hellgate Hunters and Anglers, Montana Chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, Montana Bowhunters Association, Montana Wildlife Federation, Public Land Water Access Association, and Skyline Sportsmen Association, claimed the lawsuit was “an attack on wildlife management and Montana’s egalitarian hunting traditions.” The groups filed a motion to intervene on behalf of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, Montana hunters, and all citizens of Montana.

In an emailed statement, FWP spokesperson Greg Lemon said the agency will continue to focus on elk management as guided by the state’s elk management plan, which was updated in 2023. “We applaud the Court’s ruling that confirmed FWP and the Commission complied with the law,” Lemon wrote. He said the agency is “committed to working with landowners to address game damage concerns where they occur, as we have for decades.”

In an emailed statement, Montana Wildlife Federation Board Chair Chris Servheen described Todd’s ruling as a “Historic, precedent-setting victory for science and fairness in game management. We are proud to have successfully strengthened the Public Trust Doctrine and the North American Model within Montana law,” Servheen said. “We will continue to work with these intervening organizations, the State of Montana, and many more to further strengthen these sound principles.”

A bench trial to resolve the remaining issues has been scheduled at the Fergus County Courthouse in Lewistown for Oct. 21.