Hunting districts / Deer · Elk · Lion
Deer · Elk · Lion hunting district · Region 1 (Kalispell)
District 121
Montana hunting district 121 (Deer · Elk · Lion), FWP Region 1 (Kalispell): 980 sq mi in Sanders County; 82% USFS, BLM, state trust and FWP land (mostly Kootenai National Forest); median elevation 4,094 ft; FWP estimated 237 elk harvested in 2025.
What stands out
- Among the deepest snow right now of 40 deer, elk and lion districts: 10 in at a SNOTEL station inside. NRCS SNOTEL (measured)
- Among the most rugged of 139 deer, elk and lion districts: 6,227 ft from low point to high point. AWS Terrain Tiles (calculated)
Publicly administered land
| US Forest Service | 81.2% | |
| Montana state trust land | 0.6% | |
| Montana FWP | 0.4% | |
| City & county | 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.
Elk harvest estimates
| Year | Hunters | Days | Total Harvest | Bulls | Cows | Calves |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | n/e | n/e | 237 | 141 | 92 | 4 |
| 2024 | 2,041 | 17,685 | 246 | 154 | 88 | 3 |
| 2023 | n/e | n/e | 226 | 145 | 76 | 5 |
| 2022 | 1,964 | 16,562 | 171 | 144 | 27 | 0 |
| 2021 | n/e | n/e | 216 | 157 | 57 | 3 |
| 2020 | 2,005 | 20,323 | 276 | 149 | 122 | 5 |
| 2019 | n/e | n/e | 194 | 104 | 90 | 0 |
| 2018 | 2,155 | 20,310 | 249 | 144 | 102 | 4 |
| 2017 | n/e | n/e | 248 | 110 | 136 | 2 |
| 2016 | 2,634 | 24,434 | 283 | 155 | 120 | 8 |
| 2015 | 2,591 | 22,739 | 265 | 182 | 79 | 5 |
| 2014 | 2,585 | 23,636 | 246 | 116 | 126 | 5 |
FWP estimates from the annual hunter harvest survey; they carry sampling error. "n/e": FWP did not estimate district-level hunter numbers that year (2019, 2021, 2023, 2025). Boundaries of a numbered district can change between years.
Deer harvest estimates
| Year | Hunters | Days | Total Harvest | Bucks | Does | Fawns |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,639 | 22,986 | 1,155 | 1,044 | 111 | 0 |
| 2024 | n/e | n/e | 1,106 | 1,004 | 101 | 0 |
| 2023 | 2,551 | 21,482 | 938 | 807 | 121 | 10 |
| 2022 | n/e | n/e | 862 | 740 | 120 | 2 |
| 2021 | 2,404 | 20,248 | 882 | 803 | 79 | 0 |
| 2020 | n/e | n/e | 843 | 729 | 115 | 0 |
| 2019 | 2,810 | 23,762 | 950 | 745 | 203 | 2 |
| 2018 | n/e | n/e | 964 | 755 | 204 | 5 |
| 2017 | 2,662 | 21,098 | 1,116 | 776 | 334 | 6 |
| 2016 | n/e | n/e | 1,571 | 1,127 | 436 | 9 |
| 2015 | n/e | n/e | 1,274 | 1,033 | 236 | 5 |
| 2014 | n/e | n/e | 1,250 | 1,081 | 169 | 0 |
FWP estimates from the annual hunter harvest survey; they carry sampling error. "n/e": FWP did not estimate district-level hunter numbers that year (2018, 2020, 2022, 2024). Boundaries of a numbered district can change between years.
Mule Deer harvest estimates
| Year | Hunters | Days | Total Harvest | Bucks | Does | Fawns |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,639 | 22,986 | 176 | 176 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | n/e | n/e | 169 | 166 | 3 | 0 |
| 2023 | 2,551 | 21,482 | 131 | 122 | 8 | 0 |
| 2022 | n/e | n/e | 120 | 115 | 6 | 0 |
| 2021 | 2,404 | 20,248 | 130 | 123 | 6 | 0 |
| 2020 | n/e | n/e | 72 | 72 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 2,810 | 23,762 | 119 | 119 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | n/e | n/e | 106 | 106 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 2,662 | 21,098 | 92 | 83 | 10 | 0 |
| 2016 | n/e | n/e | 179 | 168 | 11 | 0 |
| 2015 | n/e | n/e | 98 | 92 | 6 | 0 |
| 2014 | n/e | n/e | 110 | 107 | 3 | 0 |
FWP estimates from the annual hunter harvest survey; they carry sampling error. "n/e": FWP did not estimate district-level hunter numbers that year (2018, 2020, 2022, 2024). Boundaries of a numbered district can change between years.
Whitetail harvest estimates
| Year | Hunters | Days | Total Harvest | Bucks | Does | Fawns |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,639 | 22,986 | 979 | 868 | 111 | 0 |
| 2024 | n/e | n/e | 937 | 839 | 98 | 0 |
| 2023 | 2,551 | 21,482 | 808 | 685 | 113 | 10 |
| 2022 | n/e | n/e | 742 | 626 | 114 | 2 |
| 2021 | 2,404 | 20,248 | 753 | 680 | 73 | 0 |
| 2020 | n/e | n/e | 771 | 657 | 115 | 0 |
| 2019 | 2,810 | 23,762 | 831 | 626 | 203 | 2 |
| 2018 | n/e | n/e | 857 | 649 | 204 | 5 |
| 2017 | 2,662 | 21,098 | 1,024 | 694 | 324 | 6 |
| 2016 | n/e | n/e | 1,392 | 958 | 425 | 9 |
| 2015 | n/e | n/e | 1,176 | 941 | 230 | 5 |
| 2014 | n/e | n/e | 1,141 | 974 | 166 | 0 |
FWP estimates from the annual hunter harvest survey; they carry sampling error. "n/e": FWP did not estimate district-level hunter numbers that year (2018, 2020, 2022, 2024). Boundaries of a numbered district can change between years.
Landscape
- Counties
- Sanders County
- National forests
- Kootenai National Forest, Lolo National Forest, Idaho Panhandle National Forests
- Wilderness
- Cabinet Mountains Wilderness (6%)
- Wildlife management areas
- Mount Silcox, Bull River
- Mountain ranges (GNIS)
- —
- Highest named summits
- Snowshoe Peak (≈8,501 ft), A Peak (≈8,491 ft), Saint Paul Peak (≈7,598 ft), Flat Top Mountain (≈7,484 ft)
- Passes and gaps
- Milwaukee Pass, Cube Iron Pass, Vermilion Pass, Saint Paul Pass, Himes Pass, Silver Butte Pass
- Towns and places
- Ashleys Settlement (historical), Cedar (historical), Childs, Heron, Larchwood, Noxon, Shannonville (historical), Smead (historical), Snider, Talc, Thompson Falls, Trout Creek, Tuscor, White Pine
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.
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.