Entry is unlimited, and changes are aimed at addressing human safety concerns

To help address traffic congestion and associated safety concerns with opening day at Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks’ Blackfoot-Clearwater Wildlife Management Area (WMA), antler hunters wanting to enter by vehicle when it opens at noon on May 15 will follow a pre-registration process this year.

Instead of staging vehicles along Hwy 83, as done in past years, those planning to access the WMA by vehicle should register online beginning April 1 at noon through April 19 at midnight. Vehicles entering at noon when the WMA opens will be using the property’s east entrance. To register and for more information, visit fwp.mt.gov and look for a link on the main page.

There will be no limit to the number vehicles that can access the WMA on opening day. Instead, the order of entry will be randomized through a drawing of those that register by April 19. All vehicle entry between noon and 2 p.m. will be through the east entrance to the WMA, located off Woodworth Rd. and away from the busier Hwy 83.

Beginning at 2 p.m., the west entrance of the WMA will also open to vehicles with no registration required. Walk-in and horse access is available from designated parking areas on the west side of the WMA, off Hwy 83, beginning at noon, also with no registration required.

Those that miss the April 19 registration deadline will need to sign up on a list at fwp.mt.gov and will be placed in chronological order behind pre-registrants. Those that arrive on opening day without registering will stage at the east entrance behind all other registered vehicles.

In past years, several hundred vehicles, as well as some campers and horse trailers, staged along Hwy 83, some for several weeks in advance, to access the WMA on opening day. This was a human safety issue for those parked along the highway and for adjacent traffic, and one that FWP, the Montana Highway Patrol, and Montana Department of Transportation are hoping to address with this new approach.

This year’s opening day will be a test run of this new process, and FWP regional recreation manager, Loren Flynn, said that FWP will be looking for feedback to help refine the new approach and make improvements before next year. “Extra staff with be on the WMA on opening day this year to assist visitors with the new process and gather feedback,” Flynn said.

FWP held a public meeting in February to share information about the anticipated changes and to gather input that helped staff refine the opening day plan over the past month.

For more information, to register, and to provide feedback after visiting on opening day, please visit fwp.mt.gov/conservation/wildlife-management-areas/blackfoot-clearwater-antler-hunting.