"I mean, I hear stories over and over again that hay stacks are getting eaten by wildlife, and the only way you can get a damage permit for an elk is to open up your land to hunting through Block Management or whatever," Gianforte told the Malta crowd. "It shouldn't be that way."

He referred to the situation as a taking of private property rights.

"That sounds like something we commonly hear from outfitters and landowners selling bull elk," Gibson said.

One problem in resolving the issue is that landowners who allow public hunting often suffer from their neighbor's actions. Elk will move to where they aren't hunted during the season and then return to raid fields and haystacks after the hunting pressure has eased. It's been a frustrating problem that FWP has long struggled to correct, but without the cooperation of all landowners, the agency's efforts can prove futile.

Land buy

When questioned about where he stood on FWP's acquisition of land to provide public access — a policy that was strongly backed during Gov. Brian Schweitzer's administration but that has been limited to the purchase of conservation easements only under Gov. Bullock — Gianforte said he did not support the state purchase of large tracts of land.