Black bear hunting district · Region 4 (Great Falls)

District 450

Montana hunting district 450 (Black bear), FWP Region 4 (Great Falls): 9,795 sq mi in Teton, Toole, Liberty, Pondera counties; 19% USFS, BLM, state trust and FWP land; median elevation 3,714 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.

Area9,795 sq mi

USFS · BLM · state trust · FWP19%

Median elevation3,714 ft

Elevation range2,602–8,652 ft

What stands out

Among the most private of 35 black bear districts: 19% USFS, BLM, state trust and FWP land. MSL Public Lands (calculated)
Among the most Block Management of 35 black bear districts: 70 BMAs, about 527,806 acres. FWP Block Management (calculated)
Among the largest of 35 black bear districts: 9,795 square miles. FWP district boundary
Among the lowest of 35 black bear districts: median elevation 3,714 ft. AWS Terrain Tiles (calculated)

Publicly administered land

US Forest Service	9.3%
Montana state trust land	8.0%
Bureau of Land Management	1.4%
Other federal	1.0%
Montana FWP	0.7%
City & county	0.2%
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: Teton, Toole, Liberty, Pondera counties
National forests: Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest
Wilderness: Bob Marshall Wilderness (3%), Scapegoat Wilderness (1%)
Wildlife management areas: Sun River, Blackleaf, Freezout Lake, Marias River, Ear Mountain
Mountain ranges (GNIS): Sweet Grass Hills
Highest named summits: Rocky Mountain (≈9,265 ft), Scapegoat Mountain (≈9,091 ft), Old Baldy (≈9,006 ft), Flint Mountain (≈8,983 ft)
Passes and gaps: Headquarters Creek Pass, Route Creek Pass, Straight Creek Pass, Elbow Pass, Lewis and Clark Pass, Welcome Pass
Towns and places: Abbott Lake (historical), Agawam, Alma (historical), Aloe, Ashmoor (historical), Ashuelot, Augusta, Aznoe (historical), Beck (historical), Belgian Colony (historical), Birch Creek Colony, Bison, Blackleaf, Blair Crossing

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 600 27% public · 2,615 ft median
HD 280 75% public · 5,784 ft median
HD 150 100% public · 6,348 ft median
HD 440 21% public · 5,138 ft median
HD 300 32% public · 4,675 ft median
HD 141 98% public · 5,712 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.