Black bear hunting district · Region 4 (Great Falls)

District 440

Montana hunting district 440 (Black bear), FWP Region 4 (Great Falls): 1,497 sq mi in Meagher, Cascade, Lewis And Clark counties; 21% USFS, BLM, state trust and FWP land; median elevation 5,138 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.

Area1,497 sq mi

USFS · BLM · state trust · FWP21%

Median elevation5,138 ft

Elevation range3,320–9,318 ft

What stands out

Among the most private of 35 black bear districts: 21% USFS, BLM, state trust and FWP land. MSL Public Lands (calculated)

Publicly administered land

US Forest Service	7.7%
Montana state trust land	6.9%
Montana FWP	3.9%
Bureau of Land Management	2.2%

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: Meagher, Cascade, Lewis And Clark counties
National forests: Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest
Wilderness: Gates of the Mountains Wilderness (1%)
Wildlife management areas: Beartooth, Smith River
Mountain ranges (GNIS): Dry Range, The Pinnacles
Highest named summits: Mount Baldy (≈9,380 ft), Boulder Baldy (≈8,885 ft), Adel Mountain (≈7,070 ft), Willow Mountain (≈6,962 ft)
Passes and gaps: Duck Creek Pass, Klondike Pass, Gates of the Rocky Mountains
Towns and places: Adel, Bruce Place, Buckingham, Calkins (historical), Cascade, Castner Falls, Dennison (historical), Fort Logan, Garrison (historical), Hardy, Langford City (historical), Lingshire, Manger, Mid Canon

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 420 29% public · 4,140 ft median
HD 319 30% public · 5,407 ft median
HD 450 19% public · 3,714 ft median
HD 300 32% public · 4,675 ft median
HD 580 14% public · 3,970 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.