District 622, Montana

Classic Missouri River Breaks topography: deeply incised coulees, sharp-edged cliffs, broken badlands draws, and rocky buttes sculpted by erosion along the Missouri River corridor and Fort Peck Reservoir shoreline. The southern half of the district fronts the reservoir and features the most rugged break terrain, while the northern half transitions to broader plateaus with more gradual ridges, rolling grasslands, and some agriculture. Elevation ranges from approximately 2,250 to 3,350 feet. Roads throughout the district can become impassable with precipitation.

Primary road access enters from the north via the Saco-Bill Anderson Road, Larb Creek-Content Road, Sun Prairie Road, First Creek Hall Road, and the Midale Road. The Charles M. Russell NWR Boundary Road (Refuge Road 212) forms much of the southern boundary. On the Refuge, motorized travel is permitted only on numbered, designated open roads; off-road vehicle travel and travel on closed roads is prohibited. Seasonally closed refuge roads are closed to all motorized travel August 28 through March 1 (but remain open to bicycles year-round). Primitive refuge roads require high-clearance four-wheel-drive and become impassable when wet. The best access to the southern portions of the district — along the Fort Peck Reservoir shoreline and the deepest breaks — is by boat from multiple CMR NWR launch ramps (Duck Creek, Flat Lake, The Pines, Bonetrail, Rock Creek Marina, Nelson Creek Bay). Approximately 25–30 percent of the district is private land; roughly 30 percent of private land was historically enrolled in Montana's Block Management Program (BMP), providing free walk-in access. The Blue Ridge Special Management Area within the CMR NWR is accessible to hunters holding specific elk permits (620-20, 621-20, 622-20). Holders of multi-unit archery or rifle elk permits (620/621/622) may not hunt on the Charles M. Russell Refuge. Nearest services: Glasgow (~60–80 miles northeast); Malta (~50 miles west).

North and east-facing slopes and deeper draws support ponderosa pine, juniper, and Douglas-fir. South and west-facing ridges and slopes are open sagebrush-grassland and mixed-grass prairie. Riparian corridors and reservoir margins offer cottonwood stands and brush. The northern portions of the district transition to shortgrass prairie with scattered agriculture. This mosaic of timbered draws and open sagebrush steppe is characteristic of the Missouri Breaks and provides diverse thermal cover and forage for big game.

Mule deer are present throughout the district but populations have been depressed since the severe 2022–23 winter and multi-year drought; as of 2025 the district remains under a buck-only, no B-license mule deer season. Elk inhabit timbered draws and river-bottom habitat; the Missouri Breaks elk herd (HDs 620/621/622 combined) is approximately 41 percent below the management objective as of 2024, with antlerless cow licenses cut 69 percent and the late shoulder season eliminated. Elk concentrate in timbered draws and use water sources heavily during drought years. White-tailed deer occur at low densities across the region; an EHD outbreak was noted along the Milk River with partial recovery elsewhere. Pronghorn antelope are present with slowly improving regional populations as of 2024–25; quota increases were applied to several neighboring districts. Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep were historically present and huntable in HD 622, but the subherd declined sharply — a spring 2025 survey counted only approximately five animals — prompting an emergency commission closure of bighorn sheep hunting in April 2025. Respiratory disease (lungworm detected in 2024 harvested specimens) and possible undetermined pathogens are under investigation as causes of decline. Mountain lion is present as a predator in the breaks and has been associated with bighorn sheep predation pressure. Sharp-tailed grouse and sage grouse inhabit the open sagebrush-grassland portions. Waterfowl use the Fort Peck Reservoir shoreline.