Montana’s FWP Commission takes food off family's tables to boost image

At its Dec. 4 meeting, Montana’s Fish and Wildlife Commission sneakily planned a change to the 2026-2027 hunting regulations. 

A change with no public notice or comment period that has real consequences for Montana families like mine. Families who rely on venison as their primary source of meat will have to look somewhere other than afield next hunting season to fill their freezer.

Committee Chairwoman, Commissioner Robinson introduced the amendment on Dec. 4 and the reasoning should alarm every Montanan who cares about sciencebased wildlife management. She stated the reason for the amendment was that someone had commented to her that allowing the potential harvest of eight deer was a “bad look.” 

Improving appearances, not improving deer management, was the sole rationale. There was no discussion of herd health, population objectives, crop damage, or the Montana families who depend on venison as a primary food source. Even the number three was arbitrary. 

In her own words, Commissioner Robinson stated, “I just kind of went with three.” When asked how many resident hunters currently hold more than three deer tags, much less harvest more than three deer, neither the Commissioners nor FWP staff had any idea. 

Commissioner Robinson acknowledged she did not think many hunters harvested the maximum number of deer. She is right about that as 0.1 % of Montana’s deer hunters held eight tags, much less harvested eight deer. The Commission made a sweeping regulatory change without even the most basic data, much less any analysis.

In 2025, Montana issued 190,876 deer tags. 1.2% of those tags were held by resident hunters with more than three tags. That percentage is the same from the years 2021-2025. 

Quite simply, the decrease to three tags will have no impact on Montana’s deer population from hunting. Commissioners would have known this had they bothered to look at the data. 

This decision also directly contradicts the Commission’s own actions. In the very same proposed 2026–2027 regulations, several districts were slated to allow harvest of up to five antlerless white-tailed deer to address overpopulation. The Commission approved those recommendations without objection. They then put blanket cap of three deer per hunter which undermines the science-based objectives they just approved.

All Montanans should be concerned about how the amendment was introduced. By adding it the day before the meeting, the Commission shut out public input. This was not an oversight; it was a deliberate choice that ensured there was no public voice or opposition. 

Even more troubling, the remaining commissioners asked no questions before approving the change. The sole comment from another commissioner was “good job.”

A major shift in Montana’s deer regulations passed without transparency, discussion or assessment of consequences.

There are known consequences to this change. FWP staff acknowledged the amendment could increase the need for game damage hunts due to crop loss and property damage. 

There is potential lost revenue for FWP for not selling all surplus licenses. For families like mine, these surplus tags provide a year’s worth of meat, which is cheaper than buying meat at the store. Directly due to obtaining surplus tags this season, my family spent money on food and lodging in Valier, Conrad, Fort Benton and Cascade. 

With the new cap we will not be spending money in those places next season. 

Most damaging of all is the further erosion of public trust in a Commission that Montanans do not trust. Taking food off people’s table while potentially increasing property and crop damage in an effort subvert the public is not a “good look.” 

By prioritizing optics over the process for input from hunters and landowners, reviewing license data, and science-based management recommendations, the Fish and Wildlife Commission continues to undermine the public’s trust in the management of wildlife that is held in trust of the public.

Erik Vilen, Helena, Montana