Spring Bear around Bozeman/Gallatin

[et1702]

I lived and worked in Livingston MT (as a non-res) for much of 2007 and 2008.  Don't overlook the Paradise Valley area just south of Livingston (Absoroka & Bear Tooth Mtns).  LOTS of bears!  Griz too, so be careful.  Also take a look at the Castle mountains.  Shot my fall MT bear there in 2007.  I've also seen a lot of bears in the Crazy Mtns to the NE of Livingston. 

Where you are now is AMAZING!  Love that part of the world!

ET

[cbond3318]

Thanks ET, my wife and i did a day drive to yellowstone, took the north road to cooke city. WOW! kinda bummed you can't drive yourself thorough the whole park this time of year, but still well worth it.
Are the areas you are mentioning NF?

[6x6in6]

@6x6in6...
I would love to become a resident here, there is the oppurtunity for a couple years of projects here. Without talking to the FWP direct I am a bit confused as to the stipulations around becoming a resident and being able to hunt here this coming season. I want to make sure I have all facts straight in order to not screw up hunting in Washington this year if I am not able to here, that would suck. Do you know if I  purchase a NR Spring Bear Tag, am I comitted to being a NR for the entire 2013 season? I guess talking to the field office here is in order sooner than later.

I went down this road back in 2000-2002.
No, purchasing a NR Montana license does not affect your ability to purchase a resident license later on this year once you have maintained the 180 days.  Why?  Because, at the time you purchased your NR license, you were not eligible to obtain a resident license under the laws set forth.  They simply void your NR license when you make application for resident license that is within the same licensing period.

As my experience with this was 13 years ago now, you definitely should verify with FWP the above and what I'm going to say here below as to how I went about it.

In section (2), this statement therein is the most important: "resided in Montana as the person's principal or primary home or place of abode".    ....or place of abode - The place you rent or lease while you are there working is your "abode".  You have a signed lease/rental agreement?  Boom, you're done here!!
As it pertains to the above, I worked on a project for my then employer in that time frame.  In doing some resaearch on MT residency and "abode", I  signed a lease with the parents who live in Clinton while I worked in Liberalzoola.  And I did actually live there, so it was legit.  Mom's cooking is good. 
Fast forward now to section (4).
(a) ...."abode".  Already out of the way above.
(b)  ...state taxes.  My employer had an LLC in the State of MT and therefore I paid State taxes while I was there.  Your employer, may and I do believe can, avoid it's employees paying State taxes by having their company elsewhere.  You may have more info on this and whether or not you are required to pay State taxes.  If not, you should probably verify that your employer does not object to you taking up residency in your "abode" for the the purpose we are talking here.  Hopefully they are hunter friendly.
(c) .....personal vehicles.  I had a full use, no questions asked, company vehicle licensed in WA, so this was moot for me.  Do you have same?  If not, this could be the tip over point for you financially.  Registering in MT then having to re-register back in WA could cost you some serious coin and make the whole thing not financially worth while.  The last thing you would want to happen is having an MT hunting license, and MT drivers license and WA plates.
(d)....other state resident license.  Why on earth would even want to hunt in WA, resident or non res license, with a MT resident license in your back pocket?     This is what I asked myself and it was a no-brainer!  My hunting partners came to MT to hunt, paying NR license fees.
(e)...register vote.  Not required to do, just don't vote back in WA.  Or, like me, register in MT so you can vote certainly on Federal things you want to have a say so in and anything State wise you would like to support.

Also, it's not required by MT law, but I touched on it in (c) above.  Go get your MT drivers license.  They don't exactly state this as a requirement because it is not.  But it sure would not cause FWP to pause and think a minute here with what your trying to do.  I did it.  At that time, it was not very expensive there and it wasn't very expensive here to get mine back.  Check costs though.

And their you have how I went about it. 

[JLS]

In section (2), this statement therein is the most important: "resided in Montana as the person's principal or primary home or place of abode".    ....or place of abode - The place you rent or lease while you are there working is your "abode".  You have a signed lease/rental agreement?  Boom, you're done here!!
As it pertains to the above, I worked on a project for my then employer in that time frame.  In doing some resaearch on MT residency and "abode", I  signed a lease with the parents who live in Clinton while I worked in Liberalzoola.  And I did actually live there, so it was legit.  Mom's cooking is good. 
Fast forward now to section (4).
(a) ...."abode".  Already out of the way above.
(b)  ...state taxes.  My employer had an LLC in the State of MT and therefore I paid State taxes while I was there.  Your employer, may and I do believe can, avoid it's employees paying State taxes by having their company elsewhere.  You may have more info on this and whether or not you are required to pay State taxes.  If not, you should probably verify that your employer does not object to you taking up residency in your "abode" for the the purpose we are talking here.  Hopefully they are hunter friendly.

Regardless of your employer's LLC status, you MUST file MT state income tax returns as a resident in order to qualify as a resident for hunting/fishing

(c) .....personal vehicles.  I had a full use, no questions asked, company vehicle licensed in WA, so this was moot for me.  Do you have same?  If not, this could be the tip over point for you financially.  Registering in MT then having to re-register back in WA could cost you some serious coin and make the whole thing not financially worth while.  The last thing you would want to happen is having an MT hunting license, and MT drivers license and WA plates.

If you are driving a personally owned vehicle you must license it in MT while you reside there.  This should not be cost prohibitive.

(d)....other state resident license.  Why on earth would even want to hunt in WA, resident or non res license, with a MT resident license in your back pocket?     This is what I asked myself and it was a no-brainer!  My hunting partners came to MT to hunt, paying NR license fees.
(e)...register vote.  Not required to do, just don't vote back in WA.  Or, like me, register in MT so you can vote certainly on Federal things you want to have a say so in and anything State wise you would like to support.

Also, it's not required by MT law, but I touched on it in (c) above.  Go get your MT drivers license.  They don't exactly state this as a requirement because it is not.  But it sure would not cause FWP to pause and think a minute here with what your trying to do.  I did it.  At that time, it was not very expensive there and it wasn't very expensive here to get mine back.  Check costs though.

And their you have how I went about it. 

[et1702]

Thanks ET, my wife and i did a day drive to yellowstone, took the north road to cooke city. WOW! kinda bummed you can't drive yourself thorough the whole park this time of year, but still well worth it.
Are the areas you are mentioning NF?

Yes, all of them have public access (NF, Schools land trust, DNR, etc).  Lots of private land around outside of Castle and Crazy Mtns, but still tons of access points.  Both these ranges are small, and I didn't see any other hunters.  Lots of Deer (WT & Mulie), Moose and some elk too.  Also, did lots of hiking near Livingston peak and peaks to south of there during summer and TONS of bear sign back in 2007 & 2008.

ET

[6x6in6]

In section (2), this statement therein is the most important: "resided in Montana as the person's principal or primary home or place of abode".    ....or place of abode - The place you rent or lease while you are there working is your "abode".  You have a signed lease/rental agreement?  Boom, you're done here!!
As it pertains to the above, I worked on a project for my then employer in that time frame.  In doing some resaearch on MT residency and "abode", I  signed a lease with the parents who live in Clinton while I worked in Liberalzoola.  And I did actually live there, so it was legit.  Mom's cooking is good. 
Fast forward now to section (4).
(a) ...."abode".  Already out of the way above.
(b)  ...state taxes.  My employer had an LLC in the State of MT and therefore I paid State taxes while I was there.  Your employer, may and I do believe can, avoid it's employees paying State taxes by having their company elsewhere.  You may have more info on this and whether or not you are required to pay State taxes.  If not, you should probably verify that your employer does not object to you taking up residency in your "abode" for the the purpose we are talking here.  Hopefully they are hunter friendly.

Regardless of your employer's LLC status, you MUST file MT state income tax returns as a resident in order to qualify as a resident for hunting/fishing

(c) .....personal vehicles.  I had a full use, no questions asked, company vehicle licensed in WA, so this was moot for me.  Do you have same?  If not, this could be the tip over point for you financially.  Registering in MT then having to re-register back in WA could cost you some serious coin and make the whole thing not financially worth while.  The last thing you would want to happen is having an MT hunting license, and MT drivers license and WA plates.

If you are driving a personally owned vehicle you must license it in MT while you reside there.  This should not be cost prohibitive.

(d)....other state resident license.  Why on earth would even want to hunt in WA, resident or non res license, with a MT resident license in your back pocket?     This is what I asked myself and it was a no-brainer!  My hunting partners came to MT to hunt, paying NR license fees.
(e)...register vote.  Not required to do, just don't vote back in WA.  Or, like me, register in MT so you can vote certainly on Federal things you want to have a say so in and anything State wise you would like to support.

Also, it's not required by MT law, but I touched on it in (c) above.  Go get your MT drivers license.  They don't exactly state this as a requirement because it is not.  But it sure would not cause FWP to pause and think a minute here with what your trying to do.  I did it.  At that time, it was not very expensive there and it wasn't very expensive here to get mine back.  Check costs though.

And their you have how I went about it. 

JLS, on the state taxes, the last 2 words of the law are "if required."  I'm not a corporate tax guy and have any kind of presumed understanding of how a corporation can go down that road, but all I know is I did not have to file state taxes in MT even while I lived in my "abode" while I was there in 2000-2002.  My corporate CFO told all of us this and my accountant agreed.  Maybe times have changed in 13 years, dunno?
And yes, I said in other words, that licensing vehicles in MT may make the whole thing not financially worthwhile............aka.......not cost prohibitive.

These are a couple of examples, as you pointed out, exactly why I said he needs to verify.

[JLS]

6x6in6,

Your accountant was probably correct for tax law purposes.  However, for the purpose of hunting and fishing you are required to do so if you meet the minimum income filing requirements for the state, which isn't very much.  I'd say you skated on that one.

[6x6in6]

6x6in6,

Your accountant was probably correct for tax law purposes.  However, for the purpose of hunting and fishing you are required to do so if you meet the minimum income filing requirements for the state, which isn't very much.  I'd say you skated on that one.

I might have, as I never asked "are you sure" when I got the answer.   
If I could avoid a tax gig, I was all over it - then and now.   

[6x6in6]

6x6in6,

Your accountant was probably correct for tax law purposes.  However, for the purpose of hunting and fishing you are required to do so if you meet the minimum income filing requirements for the state, which isn't very much.  I'd say you skated on that one.

I might have, as I never asked "are you sure" when I got the answer.   
If I could avoid a tax gig, I was all over it - then and now.   

And upon further review, and posting this on the intranet, thank goodness that MT has a 5 year form date due statute of limitations. 

[cbond3318]

I think this might be all for not this year because:
I drive a 100% company vehicle licensed in washington.
Still have a house with utilities in Washington (mail forwarded here)
My wife has her vehicle here but is in her name.
The house we are in is a month to month with all utilities included in the rental fee paid for by my company.
Only for sure duration of stay is thru June 2013, ( if the upcoming project is won, could extend my stay to a couple years and that would change everything.)
Really there is no paper trail that proves i even live here other than my washington mail being forwarded here. I guess in the states eyes I am on an extended working vacation in Montana.
Thats why i think this year will be a NR season for me.
Do you guys think a NR  Deer/Elk combo tag is worth it for a Montana green horn looking for DIY public land?

[6x6in6]

I'd lay that all out to FWP and see what they have to say.  Can't hurt.

[Quackwhacker]

If I was working over there during hunting season, I would definitely pony up the cash and buy NR.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[JLS]

I think this might be all for not this year because:
I drive a 100% company vehicle licensed in washington.
Still have a house with utilities in Washington (mail forwarded here)
My wife has her vehicle here but is in her name.
The house we are in is a month to month with all utilities included in the rental fee paid for by my company.
Only for sure duration of stay is thru June 2013, ( if the upcoming project is won, could extend my stay to a couple years and that would change everything.)
Really there is no paper trail that proves i even live here other than my washington mail being forwarded here. I guess in the states eyes I am on an extended working vacation in Montana.
Thats why i think this year will be a NR season for me.
Do you guys think a NR  Deer/Elk combo tag is worth it for a Montana green horn looking for DIY public land?

yes, it's worth it.  send me a pm with what you are thinking.

[deerslyr]

If your going to be there the entire season it is definitely worth it, I promise you that you wont regret it.

[cbond3318]

JLS PM sent.  Thanks everyone for your input. I will let you know how it turns out for me this year. I noticed driving home this weekend, the area around Home stake pass looks like Muley heaven. Just an observation at 80 MPH.