Hunting districts / Deer · Elk · Lion
Deer · Elk · Lion hunting district · Region 1 (Kalispell)
District 122
Montana hunting district 122 (Deer · Elk · Lion), FWP Region 1 (Kalispell): 716 sq mi in Sanders, Flathead counties; 54% USFS, BLM, state trust and FWP land (mostly Lolo National Forest); median elevation 4,301 ft; FWP estimated 135 elk harvested in 2025.
What stands out
- Elk harvest up sharply of 106 deer, elk and lion districts: +109% (2013–2015 vs 2023–2025 three-year averages). FWP harvest estimates (calculated)
Publicly administered land
| US Forest Service | 45.7% | |
| Montana state trust land | 7.9% | |
| Montana FWP | 0.2% | |
| 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 | 135 | 92 | 41 | 2 |
| 2024 | 1,684 | 14,383 | 104 | 75 | 29 | 0 |
| 2023 | n/e | n/e | 93 | 79 | 14 | 0 |
| 2022 | 1,433 | 11,606 | 85 | 70 | 15 | 0 |
| 2021 | n/e | n/e | 65 | 57 | 6 | 3 |
| 2020 | 1,418 | 13,245 | 102 | 72 | 30 | 0 |
| 2019 | n/e | n/e | 64 | 55 | 10 | 0 |
| 2018 | 1,420 | 11,755 | 58 | 42 | 16 | 0 |
| 2017 | n/e | n/e | 40 | 25 | 15 | 0 |
| 2016 | 1,659 | 12,842 | 77 | 56 | 18 | 3 |
| 2015 | 1,437 | 12,125 | 53 | 38 | 12 | 3 |
| 2014 | 1,511 | 11,811 | 57 | 38 | 19 | 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 (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 | 2,412 | 18,636 | 794 | 660 | 127 | 7 |
| 2024 | n/e | n/e | 796 | 695 | 99 | 2 |
| 2023 | 2,183 | 16,754 | 703 | 608 | 91 | 3 |
| 2022 | n/e | n/e | 661 | 529 | 129 | 3 |
| 2021 | 1,896 | 15,178 | 601 | 541 | 60 | 0 |
| 2020 | n/e | n/e | 616 | 527 | 89 | 0 |
| 2019 | 2,024 | 14,804 | 617 | 524 | 93 | 0 |
| 2018 | n/e | n/e | 625 | 485 | 137 | 3 |
| 2017 | 2,273 | 15,380 | 852 | 625 | 222 | 5 |
| 2016 | n/e | n/e | 1,062 | 743 | 319 | 0 |
| 2015 | n/e | n/e | 998 | 714 | 273 | 11 |
| 2014 | n/e | n/e | 841 | 624 | 217 | 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 | 2,412 | 18,636 | 160 | 160 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | n/e | n/e | 201 | 201 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 2,183 | 16,754 | 189 | 186 | 3 | 0 |
| 2022 | n/e | n/e | 158 | 152 | 5 | 0 |
| 2021 | 1,896 | 15,178 | 123 | 119 | 4 | 0 |
| 2020 | n/e | n/e | 117 | 114 | 2 | 0 |
| 2019 | 2,024 | 14,804 | 151 | 151 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | n/e | n/e | 113 | 107 | 6 | 0 |
| 2017 | 2,273 | 15,380 | 106 | 106 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | n/e | n/e | 175 | 175 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | n/e | n/e | 172 | 169 | 3 | 0 |
| 2014 | n/e | n/e | 129 | 127 | 2 | 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 | 2,412 | 18,636 | 634 | 500 | 127 | 7 |
| 2024 | n/e | n/e | 595 | 494 | 99 | 2 |
| 2023 | 2,183 | 16,754 | 514 | 423 | 88 | 3 |
| 2022 | n/e | n/e | 504 | 377 | 123 | 3 |
| 2021 | 1,896 | 15,178 | 478 | 423 | 56 | 0 |
| 2020 | n/e | n/e | 500 | 413 | 87 | 0 |
| 2019 | 2,024 | 14,804 | 466 | 373 | 93 | 0 |
| 2018 | n/e | n/e | 512 | 379 | 130 | 3 |
| 2017 | 2,273 | 15,380 | 746 | 519 | 222 | 5 |
| 2016 | n/e | n/e | 887 | 569 | 319 | 0 |
| 2015 | n/e | n/e | 826 | 545 | 270 | 11 |
| 2014 | n/e | n/e | 712 | 496 | 215 | 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, Flathead counties
- National forests
- Lolo National Forest
- Wilderness
- None
- Wildlife management areas
- Full Curl, Bighorn Viewing Site
- Mountain ranges (GNIS)
- —
- Highest named summits
- Baldy Mountain (≈7,418 ft), Thompson Peak (≈7,385 ft), Snowstorm Mountain (≈6,962 ft), Little Thompson Peak (≈6,923 ft)
- Passes and gaps
- None named in GNIS
- Towns and places
- Bend, Blanchards Corner, Eddy, Knowles, Paradise, Plains, Weeksville
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.