Black bear hunting district · Region 4 (Great Falls)

District 420

Montana hunting district 420 (Black bear), FWP Region 4 (Great Falls): 6,637 sq mi in Chouteau, Judith Basin, Cascade, Meagher counties; 29% USFS, BLM, state trust and FWP land; median elevation 4,140 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.

Area6,637 sq mi

USFS · BLM · state trust · FWP29%

Median elevation4,140 ft

Elevation range2,421–8,471 ft

What stands out

Among the deepest snow right now of 21 black bear districts: 11 in at a SNOTEL station inside. NRCS SNOTEL (measured)
Among the largest of 35 black bear districts: 6,637 square miles. FWP district boundary

Publicly administered land

US Forest Service	19.3%
Montana state trust land	6.9%
Bureau of Land Management	2.4%
Montana FWP	0.3%
US Fish & Wildlife Service	0.2%
City & county	0.1%
Other federal	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: Chouteau, Judith Basin, Cascade, Meagher counties
National forests: Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest
Wilderness: None
Wildlife management areas: Judith River, Smith River
Mountain ranges (GNIS): Castle Mountains, Highwood Mountains, Little Belt Mountains, Park Hills
Highest named summits: Big Baldy Mountain (≈9,147 ft), Yogo Peak (≈8,763 ft), Long Mountain (≈8,550 ft), Wapiti Peak (≈8,537 ft)
Passes and gaps: Elk Saddle, Kings Hill Pass, Moose Pass, Butler Hill, Elk Horn Pass, The Divide
Towns and places: Albright (historical), Armington, Armington Junction, Arrow Creek, Barker, Belt, Belt Creek, Belton (historical), Benton Lake (historical), Big Sag, Big Stone Colony, Black Eagle, Blythe, Boston Heights (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 450 19% public · 3,714 ft median
HD 440 21% public · 5,138 ft median
HD 411 26% public · 3,386 ft median
HD 580 14% public · 3,970 ft median
HD 600 27% public · 2,615 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.