Hunting districts / Moose
Moose hunting district · Region 2 (Missoula)
District 285
Montana hunting district 285 (Moose), FWP Region 2 (Missoula): 843 sq mi in Missoula, Powell counties; 73% USFS, BLM, state trust and FWP land (mostly Lolo National Forest); median elevation 4,944 ft; FWP estimated 0 moose harvested in 2025.
What stands out
- Among the lowest moose harvests of 74 moose districts: 0 moose harvested in 2025 (FWP estimate). FWP harvest estimates
- Among the quietest for moose hunters of 74 moose districts: 0.0 moose hunter-days per square mile in 2025. FWP harvest estimates (calculated per sq mi)
- Among the most Block Management of 74 moose districts: 6 BMAs, about 89,476 acres. FWP Block Management (calculated)
Publicly administered land
| US Forest Service | 55.0% | |
| Bureau of Land Management | 9.0% | |
| Montana FWP | 4.9% | |
| Montana state trust land | 4.1% | |
| Other State of Montana | 2.2% | |
| City & county | 0.7% |
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.
Moose harvest estimates
| Year | Hunters | Days | Total Harvest | Bulls | Cows | Calves |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 1 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 1 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 1 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 2 | 22 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 2 | 31 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 2 | 80 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 2 | 60 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | 2 | 74 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | 2 | 120 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | 2 | 42 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 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. Boundaries of a numbered district can change between years.
Landscape
- Counties
- Missoula, Powell counties
- National forests
- Lolo National Forest
- Wilderness
- Rattlesnake Wilderness (6%)
- Wildlife management areas
- Marshall Creek, Blackfoot-Clearwater, Mount Jumbo
- Mountain ranges (GNIS)
- North Hills
- Highest named summits
- McLeod Peak (≈8,547 ft), Sunday Mountain (≈8,084 ft), Morrell Mountain (≈8,061 ft), Murphy Peak (≈7,927 ft)
- Passes and gaps
- Youngs Pass, Steves Pass
- Towns and places
- Barite, Bonner, Carols Court, Clearwater, East Missoula, Evaro, Grant Creek (historical), McNamara, Miller, Milltown, Mountain View Court, Nagos, Pinegrove, Seeley Lake
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.