Moose hunting district · Region 5 (Billings)

District 516

Montana hunting district 516 (Moose), FWP Region 5 (Billings): 853 sq mi in Sweet Grass, Park counties; 61% USFS, BLM, state trust and FWP land (mostly Custer Gallatin National Forest); median elevation 6,234 ft; FWP estimated 0 moose harvested in 2025.

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.

Area853 sq mi

USFS · BLM · state trust · FWP61%

Median elevation6,234 ft

Elevation range3,875–11,142 ft

What stands out

Among the lowest moose harvests of 74 moose districts: 0 moose harvested in 2025 (FWP estimate). FWP harvest estimates
Among the most wilderness of 74 moose districts: 33% designated wilderness. USFS wilderness boundaries (calculated)
Among the most rugged of 74 moose districts: 7,267 ft from low point to high point. AWS Terrain Tiles (calculated)

Publicly administered land

US Forest Service	56.8%
Montana state trust land	2.8%
Bureau of Land Management	1.5%
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.

Moose harvest estimates

Year	Hunters	Days	Total Harvest	Bulls
2025	2	7	0	0
2024	2	28	2	2
2023	2	17	2	2
2022	2	28	2	2
2021	2	13	2	2
2020	2	12	2	2
2019	1	19	1	1
2018	2	8	2	2
2017	2	10	2	2
2016	2	22	2	2
2015	2	9	2	2
2014	2	20	1	1

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: Sweet Grass, Park counties
National forests: Custer Gallatin National Forest
Wilderness: Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness (33%)
Wildlife management areas: —
Mountain ranges (GNIS): —
Highest named summits: Mount Douglas (≈11,230 ft), The Needles (≈10,761 ft), Monument Peak (≈10,656 ft), The Pyramid (≈10,558 ft)
Passes and gaps: Silver Pass, Meyers Creek Pass
Towns and places: Contact, Independence, Lazy Day (historical), McLeod, Woods Place

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 513 64% public · 6,867 ft median
HD 329 67% public · 7,141 ft median
HD 303 21% public · 5,528 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.