District 432, Montana

Rolling to steep mountainous terrain on the eastern slope of the Little Belt Mountains, with elevations ranging from roughly 4,285 ft near Stanford (the valley floor) to approximately 8,625 ft at Yogo Peak in the southeastern portion of the district. Kings Hill Pass on the western boundary (US-89) sits at approximately 7,393 ft. Major drainages include Otter Creek and Dry Wolf Creek. The landscape transitions from conifer-forested uplands to cultivated grain and hay country in the lower Judith Basin.

The district is bounded by US-89 on the west, US-87 on the north near Stanford and Armington Junction, USFS Road 487 on the south (departing US-89 at Kings Hill Pass), and USFS Road 251/Judith Basin County Road 101 (Dry Wolf Creek Road) on the east, running past Slide Rock Point and Yogo Peak down to Stanford. The interior is primarily a mix of private and National Forest lands with small, largely inaccessible State and BLM parcels. Block Management Area access in HD 432 is limited; however, some private landowners allow public hunting for deer when managing concentrated numbers. National Forest lands are the primary public hunting ground; elk and deer B licenses (432-00, 004-00) are NOT valid on National Forest lands. Access to USFS units requires use of USFS Road 487 and associated spur roads off the Kings Hill corridor. FWP notes a 'current lack of access available in the area during the general season.' The Judith-Musselshell Ranger District administers National Forest lands in the district.

Upper elevations dominated by lodgepole pine, Douglas-fir, and whitebark pine with grassy parks and meadows interspersed. Mid-elevations transition to ponderosa pine and open Douglas-fir. Lower elevations and foothills feature sagebrush steppe, native grasslands, and riparian corridors along creek drainages. The Otter Creek drainage provides key winter range and travel corridor for elk. A high percentage of the eastern lowlands is in crop agriculture (grain) and hay production, which provides winter forage that draws elk out of the National Forest and onto private land.

The Otter Creek elk herd is the most notable wildlife feature. The elk population in the present HD 413 boundary (majority east of US-89, i.e., in historic HD 432) is approximately 70% above objective as of 2025-26 surveys. Game damage complaints are frequent from landowners east of US-89. The majority of elk winter in the private agricultural lowlands east of US-89, generating chronic game damage complaints; FWP adopted a late antlerless shoulder season (Jan 1-Feb 15) to address this. Mule deer are abundant with above-average fawn recruitment and total numbers recorded in 2023 and 2024 surveys; FWP classifies HD 432 as primarily a mule deer district. Judith Basin County experienced drought in 2021-2022 and above-average winter severity in 2022-2023 and 2024-2025. White-tailed deer are also present in the district. Mountain lion are confirmed present in the Little Belt Mountains portion. Black bear occupy the forested uplands.

HD 432 (Otter Creek) was reestablished for the 2026-27 season by splitting it back out of HD 413, which had absorbed it in 2022. All season dates reflect adopted 2026-27 structure per FWP Commission December 2025 documents. KEY CORRECTION from draft: Yogo Peak elevation is 8,625 ft (per Wikipedia/Yogo Sapphire article), NOT 8,819 ft as stated in draft — 8,819 ft was unsupported. Whether Yogo Peak is the 'second-highest point' in the Little Belt Mountains is unverified and removed. Big Baldy Mountain (~9,175-9,467 ft) is the established highest point. The elk harvest figure of 115 (76 bulls, 39 cows) is from HuntScore 2021 data and reflects the old combined HD 413/432 boundary. B License 432-00 quota range: mule deer PDF gives 5-200 (authoritative); elk table shows 5-210 (accepted 5-200). B License 004-01 white-tailed deer: OTC Aug 7, quota 2,000, range 500-3,000, valid all Region 4 HDs except 455. Mountain lion seasons corrected to 2026 official: archery Sep 5–Oct 18, fall Oct 24–Nov 29, winter Dec 1–May 25 (draft had incorrect dates). Stanford elevation corrected to 4,285 ft (Wikipedia). 'Lack of access' quote confirmed verbatim in FWP 2024 season-setting document.