Black bear hunting district · Region 2 (Missoula)

District 280

Montana hunting district 280 (Black bear), FWP Region 2 (Missoula): 1,452 sq mi in Powell, Lewis And Clark, Missoula counties; 75% USFS, BLM, state trust and FWP land (mostly Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest); median elevation 5,784 ft.

Open in the atlas FWP regulations & quotas FWP district map (PDF)

FWP district boundary, 2026 regulations. A boundary on a map does not grant access to any land inside it.

Area1,452 sq mi

USFS · BLM · state trust · FWP75%

Median elevation5,784 ft

Elevation range3,842–9,058 ft

Publicly administered land

US Forest Service	66.1%
Montana state trust land	4.3%
Montana FWP	2.5%
Bureau of Land Management	1.9%
Other State of Montana	0.5%
US Fish & Wildlife Service	0.1%

Area of Montana State Library 'Montana Public Lands' polygons (derived from the Montana Cadastral Framework, Department of Revenue ownership records) intersected with the FWP district boundary, measured in NAD83(2011) Montana State Plane (EPSG:6514). Ownership is not access: some public land is closed to hunting or has no legal access.

Landscape

Counties: Powell, Lewis And Clark, Missoula counties
National forests: Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, Lolo National Forest
Wilderness: Scapegoat Wilderness (17%)
Wildlife management areas: Blackfoot-Clearwater, Nevada Lake
Mountain ranges (GNIS): —
Highest named summits: Red Mountain (≈9,321 ft), Evans Peak (≈8,799 ft), Olson Peak (≈8,747 ft), Pyramid Peak (≈8,550 ft)
Passes and gaps: Limestone Pass, Echo Pass, Windy Pass, Camp Pass, Flesher Pass, Cadotte Pass
Towns and places: Bald Butte, Blackfoot City (historical), Blossburg, Copper Camp (historical), Coughlin, Elliston, Ferris (historical), Finn, Geary, Keiley, Lincoln, McDonald, McGillvary, Mike Horse (historical)

Elevations sampled on a regular grid inside the district from AWS Terrain Tiles (Terrarium, zoom 10, ~105 m pixels; compiled from USGS 3DEP and SRTM). Approximate: summits read lower than their surveyed height.

Neighboring districts

HD 290 45% public · 4,967 ft median
HD 300 32% public · 4,675 ft median
HD 150 100% public · 6,348 ft median
HD 450 19% public · 3,714 ft median
HD 301 51% public · 5,574 ft median
HD 130 89% public · 4,839 ft median

Sources

District boundary: Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks hunting district layer.
Public land: Montana State Library, Montana Public Lands (published 2026-10-06).
Harvest: FWP Harvest Estimates, retrieved 2026-10-30.
Places: USGS Geographic Names Information System. Wilderness and forests: USDA Forest Service.
Elevation: AWS Terrain Tiles (USGS 3DEP, SRTM).

Live weather, snow, fire and access conditions are in the atlas card for this district.