The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation actively monitored bills of importance to sportsmen and women during the 2025 Montana legislative session, offering testimony and/or public comment along the way. In all, legislators forwarded nine of 10 bills supported by RMEF to the governor’s office while no bill opposed by RMEF became law.
Below is a snapshot of what RMEF did for hunters:
- Prevented the elimination of perpetual voluntary conservation agreements (conservation easements) in Montana
- Neutralized proposals that would have facilitated the noncompetitive sale of state-owned public lands
- Expanded Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks’ (FWP) authority to improve, restore and conserve wildlife habitat with innovative funding sources
- Modernized fundraising by RMEF and other nonprofits by allowing for the purchase of raffle tickets with a credit card
- Ensured the vitality of Habitat Montana by opposing proposals to strip away important funding streams
- Helped FWP and the Montana Department of Transportation to work better together, with additional resources, to address wildlife-vehicle collisions
- Promoted legislation to increase the application of prescribed fire on public and private lands in Montana
- Advanced fair chase hunting by working with several organizations to address loopholes in our state’s unlawful use of aircraft statute
- Helped create a Block Management enforcement network to help clear barriers for landowners interested in participating and created a new Block Management authority to access landlocked public lands
- Defended the Montana Fish & Wildlife Commission’s authority to set seasons by keeping micro-management of the statute
RMEF also worked alongside fellow members of the Montana Association of Land Trusts to protect and advance conservation priorities.