MISSOULA — The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership in Missoula is mapping favorite hunting spots in Montana in hopes of avoiding conflicts between hunters and oil and gas developers.

 

The map is based on surveys of hunting and outdoors advocacy groups throughout the state and is intended to help land managers understand where high-value hunting areas are.

 

One such area is the Missouri Breaks.

 

“That’s the golden area of the state,” said Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership policy expert Bill Geer. “If we can’t do something there, I don’t know what I’m in this business for.”

 

A network of 40 hunting clubs has requested removal of 225,000 acres of public land from consideration for oil and gas leasing through the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Their petition has won support from U.S. Sen. Jon Tester and received official review by BLM offices in eastern Montana.

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