Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Hunter Education classroom course dates have been set for the Fort Belknap area for this year. There will be three youth classroom courses offered in various communities. The course dates and locations are as follows:

Class 1:

• Fort Belknap
• Fort Belknap Fish and Wildlife Office/Bingo Hall
• July 12 & 13, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Class 2:

• Hays
• Kills at Night Center (Green Building)
• 2 & 3, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Class 3:

• Lodge Pole
• Chief Nosey Center
• 6 & 7, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Students need to pick up the Hunter Education Manual at the Fort Belknap Fish and Wildlife Office. Students are asked to read each chapter and complete all review sections before the start of class.

Students must be registered prior to attending a class. To find a class and register, and to learn more information, go to https://fwp.mt.gov/hunt/education/hunter. Make sure to print, read and sign any necessary paperwork ahead of the class.

In-person, instructor-led hunter education classroom courses are available to anyone age 10 and older and provide new hunters with a hands-on learning experience. In-person courses are led by volunteer instructors who are passionate about preserving Montana’s hunting tradition, teaching firearm safety, ethics, and other outdoor skills.

Hunter education courses cover basic information and skills related to the safe handling of firearms as well as basic instruction in wildlife management, game identification, landowner/hunter relations, hunter ethics and Montana hunting laws and regulations.

For youth to be eligible to hunt and be fully certified during the 2025 season, they must be 12 years old by January 16, 2026. Students aged 10 and 11 can take the course and hunt as an apprentice but will not be fully certified until the year they turn 12. All registrants for this event must be 10 years of age by the first day of class.

If there are any questions about these courses, please contact instructor Colette Werk at 406-301-4029.