District 705, Montana

Rolling prairie, forested timber buttes, steep river breaks along the Powder River corridor, and chalk-cliff badlands. Elevation ranges from approximately 3,100 to 4,200 feet. The district covers roughly 6,168 square miles — one of the largest in Region 7. Topography is relatively gentle across the plains but becomes dissected in the breaks, rimrock benches, and timbered plateaus associated with the Custer National Forest tracts near Ekalaka and Belle Creek.

HD 705 is predominantly private ranchland (~65–70% private). Public land — estimated at approximately 30% of the district — is highly fragmented: numerous isolated BLM parcels, two separate Custer National Forest tracts (Ashland Ranger District and the Sioux Ranger District, which is headquartered in Camp Crook, SD and covers land in Carter County), and scattered DNRC state-trust lands. A GPS loaded with land-ownership layers is considered essential for navigating public parcels. Key access features: (1) Hay Draw Travel Management Area — a 30,000+ acre BLM/DNRC/FWP block east of Broadus, with roads open July 1–December 15 (maps at FWP Region 7 office, Miles City); (2) Medicine Rocks State Park (330 acres, Hwy 7 near Ekalaka) — hunting is permitted; (3) Block Management Program — FWP Region 7 administers 251 BMAs across the region; HD 705 has enrolled BMAs opening private land for public hunting (specific HD 705 BMA count and acreage should be confirmed annually at the Region 7 office). Boundary highways include US Hwy 12 (north), the Montana–Wyoming border (south), the Montana–North Dakota/South Dakota borders (east), and the Broadus-Moorhead Road / Powder River corridor (west). Cook Mountain, King Mountain, and Tongue River Breaks units within the Ashland Ranger District (40,000 combined acres) are closed to motorized travel but open to foot and horse hunting. Private-land access outside BMAs requires landowner permission; hunting pressure concentrates heavily on the Custer National Forest public land tracts.

Cover types are a mosaic: grassland (approximately 42% of the district), shrubland/sagebrush flats (approximately 24%), and forest (approximately 11%, primarily ponderosa pine and Rocky Mountain juniper on timbered ridges and buttes). Cottonwood riparian corridors follow the Powder River and Box Elder Creek. The timbered Custer National Forest plateaus near Ekalaka and the Belle Creek area drop off into rolling prairie breaks. The Medicine Rocks area (Carter County) adds distinctive sandstone formations with mixed sage, grass, and juniper.

Elk are present in isolated pockets: the Powder River Breaks (southwest corner), timbered areas near Belle Creek, and habitat near Ekalaka. FWP aerial survey data indicate HD 705 holds a small share of the Southeastern Montana EMU (HDs 702, 704, and 705); the majority of elk in the EMU are concentrated in HDs 702 and 704. The majority of elk distribution (~63%) falls on private land within the district. Mule deer are distributed throughout the district — HD 704 and 705 are the two most productive mule deer districts in Region 7. White-tailed deer are present and locally abundant, especially in riparian corridors and farmland edges; populations have cycled down due to EHD outbreaks linked to drought in recent years but remain broadly distributed. Pronghorn populations are strong — HD 701 and 705 are the top two pronghorn districts in Region 7. Black bear are present in timbered breaks and forested buttes. Mountain lion range across the timbered plateaus and breaks. Gray wolf packs have established presence in southeast Montana and are legally huntable. Upland birds (sharp-tailed grouse, Hungarian partridge) are found in portions of the unit.

1. Public land percentage (30%) is sourced from GoHunt unit profile; FWP elk plan states ~63% of elk distribution is on private land — these measure different things. 2. Elk survey counts for HD 705 specifically (412 elk) and EMU total (4,392) come from the Dec 2025 FWP commission PDF which could not be decoded in this session — treat as unverified until cross-checked against the readable document. 3. CORRECTION: The Sioux Ranger District is a separate district from the Ashland Ranger District within Custer Gallatin NF, headquartered in Camp Crook, SD — it is not 'under' the Ashland Ranger District. 4. CORRECTION: Mountain lion winter season runs Dec 1–Apr 14, not Dec 1–Feb 28 as originally drafted. 5. CORRECTION: Pronghorn doe/fawn license is 007-30 (not 705-30 as in draft); quota confirmed as 80. 6. LPT 799-20 either-sex permit quota is EMU-wide; new LPT 798-20 (HD 704+705 specific) quota of 150 is from Dec 2025 FWP commission document (unreadable PDF — treat as provisional). 7. Pronghorn season dates are from 2024 LandTrust source; confirm 2026 dates in current regulations. 8. BMA acreage for HD 705 specifically (previously cited as 4,591 acres, two BMAs) is unverified — FWP Region 7 page does not provide per-district BMA breakdown; contact Region 7 office at (406) 234-0930. 9. Hunter success percentages not available for any species in this district.