12.12.109    FOOD STORAGE

(1)  In public use sites where food storage rules apply and are posted by the department, it is prohibited to fail to comply with the food storage rules.  The following acts are prohibited annually from March 1 to December 1 on all public use sites where food storage rules apply: 

(a) Possessing or storing any food for human or animal consumption, refuse, or items that may have remnants or smell like food or refuse (including personal hygiene products, beverages, unburned food or garbage residue from fire pits or stoves, or empty food or beverage containers but excluding water or water containers, hay, or hay cubes without additives), unless these items are:

(i) attended by a person who is awake, alert, and within one hundred feet and line-of-sight of the items;

(ii) suspended at least ten feet off the ground and at least four feet from any supporting tree or pole;

(iii) stored in a container or using a method listed in the most current Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee Certified Bear-Resistant Products list or that has been approved under the IGBC's courtesy inspection program (non-commercial products made for personal use may be inspected and approved under that program).  This includes electric fences that are installed properly and meet the design and minimum electrical output specifications on that list, and are tested for proper operation at least every twenty-four hours with a voltmeter; or

(iv) stored in a closed vehicle, trailer, building, or facility constructed of solid, non-pliable material that, when secured, has no openings, hinges, lids, or coverings that would allow a bear to gain entry by breaking, bending, tearing, biting, or pulling with its claws (any windows must be closed).  Horse or livestock trailers may not have any openings greater than ten inches in two dimensions, and food, refuse, or animal carcasses must be stored more than three feet from any opening.

(b) Possessing or storing any bird, fish, or other animal carcass or parts thereof (including livestock carcasses) that have not been prepared for human or animal consumption, unless these items are:

(i) being field dressed, transported, or prepared for eating;

(ii) stored in accordance with department-approved storage methods and at least one hundred yards from any known occupied camping area; or

(iii) possessed more than one quarter mile (straight-line distance) from any known occupied camping area and more than two hundred yards from any established trail or road.

(c) Camping within one hundred yards of any known bird, fish, or other animal carcass or parts thereof (including livestock carcasses) stored in accordance with Fish, Wildlife and Parks-approved storage methods; or one quarter mile of any known bird, fish, or other animal carcass or parts thereof (including livestock carcasses) not stored in accordance with Fish, Wildlife and Parks-approved storage methods.

(2) The following persons are exempt from this rule:

(a) persons with special authorization from the department that specifically exempts them from the effect of this rule; and

(b) any federal, state, or tribal employee placing baits for research or management purposes as part of their official duties.

History: 23-1-102, 23-1-106, 23-1-111, 87-1-201, 87-1-301, 87-1-303, MCA; IMP, 23-1-102, 23-1-106, 23-1-111, 87-1-201, 87-1-301, 87-1-303, MCA; NEW, 2024 MAR p. 45, Eff. 1/13/24.