A Special Use Permit (SUP) is required to perform certain activities in the Bowdoin Complex. 

We have developed three different Special Use Permit (SUP) forms which would enable the public to engage in activities on a national wildlife refuge.

To meet OMB requirements that encourage electronic information collection, we designed the new forms as both the application and the permit.  These new forms are available to the public online in a fillable format.  It is now possible for prospective permittees to fill out the first pages of the form, print it, sign it, and return it to the refuge for processing.  The permit is not valid until approved and signed by a refuge official.

1.  National Wildlife Refuge System Commercial Activities Special Use Application and Permit.  A fee is required for these uses. Permit would address activities such as:

Commercial activities such as bird and wildlife viewing tours

Commercial filming (audio, video, and photographic products of a monetary value)

Agriculture (haying, grazing, crop planting, beekeeping, and other agricultural products)

Trapping on Bowdoin NWR

2.  National Wildlife Refuge System Research and Monitoring Special Use Application and Permit. Permit would address activities such as:

Research and monitoring activities by students, universities, or other non-FWS organizations 

3.  National Wildlife Refuge System General Special Use Application and Permit. Permit would address activities such as:

Hunting fox and coyote on Bowdoin NWR

Woodcutting

Miscellaneous events (fishing tournaments, one-time events, other special events)

Education activity

Other (any activity not mentioned above)

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issues permits under various wildlife law and treaties at a number of offices throughout the country.  Permits enable the public to engage in legitimate wildlife-related activities that would otherwise be prohibited by law.  Service permit programs ensure that such activities are carried out in a manner that safeguards wildlife.  Additionally, some permits promote conservation efforts by authorizing scientific research, generating data, or allowing wildlife management and rehabilitation activates to go forward. 

Permits are handled by permitting programs in International Affairs (Management Authority), Endangered Species, Law Enforcement, and  Migratory Birds.

Visit the National Wildlife Refuge System Web site for Special Use Permits.

For more detailed information, go to How to Obtain a Permit, FAQs/Facts or Application Forms.

No passes or entrance fees are required on the Bowdoin NWR Complex.  Get your Blue Goose Passport stamped while you are here!

Although this Complex does not require a pass or entrance fee, many national wildlife refuges do.  Make sure to contact or visit the web page of the national wildlife refuge you plan to visit for any special entry requirements.

A series of passes covers the entrance and standard amenity fees charged for using federal recreational lands – including many national wildlife refuges.

Existing Golden Eagle Passports and National Parks Passes with an expiration date will be honored until they expire. Paper versions of the Golden Age or Golden Access Passports should be exchanged for the new Senior or Access passes. However, plastic Golden Age or Access passes are valid for the pass holder's lifetime and do not need to be exchanged.

The Senior and Access passes are good for the lifetime of the holder and make available (to the pass holder only) 50 percent discounts on some expanded amenity fees.

Please visit the National Wildlife Refuge System Web site for more information about passes.

Besides serving as a hunting license and a conservation tool, a current year’s Federal Duck Stamp also serves as an entrance pass for national wildlife refuges where admission is charged.

All hunting activities are allowed in accordance with State regulations.  You must posses the appropriate license while hunting on all refuges and waterfowl production areas in the Bowdoin Complex.  In addition, a federal duck stamp is require for hunting waterfowl.

Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamps, commonly known as “Duck Stamps,” are pictorial stamps produced by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. They are not valid for postage. Originally created in 1934 as federal licenses required for hunting migratory waterfowl, Federal Duck Stamps have a much larger purpose today.

Federal Duck Stamps are a vital tool for wetland conservation. Ninety-eight cents out of every dollar generated by the sale of Federal Duck Stamps goes directly to purchase or lease wetland habitat for protection in the National Wildlife Refuge System. Understandably, the Federal Duck Stamp has been called one of the most successful conservation programs ever initiated and is a highly effective way to conserve America’s natural resources.  Duck Stamps and products that bear stamp images are also popular collector items.

For hunting information while in Montana visit the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks web page. 

While hunting on Bowdoin NWR you must check in and check out daily at the "Hunter Registration" kiosk located in the parking area of the refuge headquarters.  Before hunting, each hunter must record the date, their name, city and state/province of residency, and time of check in.  After hunting, each hunter must record hunting data and check out time before departing the refuge.

Harvest information and hunter use data are critical to the continuation of a quality hunting program at Bowdoin NWR.