Montana’s 2025 State Wildlife Action Plan Revision

Abstract

State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs) play a critical role in prioritizing conservation for Species of Greatest Conservation Need for state fish and wildlife agencies. SWAPs identify aquatic and terrestrial Species of Greatest Conservation Need and their habitats, describe threats that impact those species and habitats, highlight conservation actions to address those threats, and outline a monitoring plan. SWAPs are submitted on a 10‐year cycle to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and are required for states to be eligible for grants through the State Wildlife Grant Program. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) is currently working on the third iteration of Montana’s SWAP in preparation for its release in fall of 2025. To accomplish the 2025 revision, FWP hired a SWAP coordinator, who then formed a SWAP Steering Committee to guide the revision and set up 4 internal SWAP teams (terrestrial species team, aquatic species team, habitat team, and spatial team) to help write the revision. FWP will also develop a process for soliciting feedback on plan components from external partners throughout the revision process. In this talk, we will 1) provide background information on Montana’s SWAP, 2) share Montana’s plan to complete the revision, 3) outline Montana’s proposed major revisions for the 2025 SWAP, and 4) seek input from the audience on what revisions they would find most useful in the 2025 SWAP.