Montana Film Office - Federal Lands

Federal Lands

Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

POLICY

The Bureau of Land Management encourages properly conducted filming where appropriate, considering its potential economic and social benefits to the community and to the public as a whole.

PERMITS

A permit is required for commercial filming on the public lands. Still photography for commercial purposes may require a permit. A permit may take 30 days to process. This waiting period may be waived if minimal impact will occur (as determined by the BLM). Contact the appropriate BLM District Office as soon as possible to discuss the process. In all cases, at least five working days are necessary once all of the information is gathered.

FILMING FEES Motion Picture
1 to 10 people     $150/location/day
11 to 30 people   $250/location/day
31 to 60 people   $500/location/day
Over 60 people   $600/location/day

Still
1 to 3 people        $50/location/day
4 to 10 people      $100/location/day
11 to 30 people    $150/location/day
31 to 49 people    $250/location/day
50 to 100 people $300/location/day
101+ people         $300 (or as determined by appraisal)

Filing and monitoring fees are required if total user fees exceed $250 for both motion pictures and still photography. A performance bond and liability insurance may be required.

CREDITS FOR MONTANA BLM LANDS
Broken Arrow, Return To Lonesome Dove, Far and Away, Thousand Pieces of Gold, History Channel, numerous commercials, stills, and documentaries.

For more information contact the Montana Film Office or:
Montana State Office 5001 Southgate Drive Billings, MT 59101-4669 (406) 896-5000 (406) 896-5299-fax www.mt.blm.gov e-mail: MT_Information@blm.gov	Billings Field Office 5001 Southgate Drive Billings, MT 59101-4669 (406) 896-5013 (406) 896-5821-fax	Butte Field Office 106 North Parkmont Butte, MT 59701-3388 (406) 533-7600 (406) 533-7660-fax
Dillon Field Office 1005 Selway Drive Dillon, MT 59725-9431 (406) 683-8000 (406) 683-2970-fax	Glasgow Field Station 5 Lasar Drive Glasgow, MT 59230 (406) 228-3750 (406) 228-3751-fax	Havre Field Station 3990 US Hwy 2 West PO Box 911 Havre, MT 59501-0911 (406) 262-2820 (406) 262-2856-fax
Lewistown Field Office 920 NE Main Lewistown, MT 59457 (406) 538-1900 (406) 538-1904-fax	Malta Field Office 501 South Second Street East HC 65 Box 5000 Malta, MT 59538 (406) 654-5100 (406) 654-5150-fax	Miles City Field Office 111 Garryowen Road Miles City, MT 59301 (406) 233-2800 (406) 233-2921-fax
Missoula Field Office 3255 Fort Missoula Road Missoula, Mt 59804-7293 (406) 329-3914 (406) 329-3721-fax

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National Forests

BACKGROUND

The U.S. Forest Service is responsible for managing nine National Forests covering almost 17 million acres in Montana. The agency is charged with protection of the national forest system (NFS) land and its resources, while providing for a variety of commercial and non-commercial, public and private uses of these lands.

The National Forests offer a wide variety of landscapes, scenery and features from craggy mountains to sagebrush rangeland, and alpine lakes to valley streams. Rustic cabins and mountaintop fire lookouts also dot the landscape. These natural landscapes, rugged yet beautiful features and rustic manmade structures are often sought and highly prized for inclusion in feature films, documentaries and commercial advertisements.

PERMITS

The Forest Service generally requires a special-use permit be obtained prior to conducting commercial filming or photography on National Forest lands. There may be exceptions for very small, non-impactive projects.

Contact the responsible Forest Service office a minimum of four weeks or more in advance of the proposed filming dates with proposed locations so the necessary environmental analyses and permit processing can be completed. Large-scale projects may require substantially more time for evaluation.

FILMING FEES
Motion Picture
1 to 10 crew members $150 per day
11 to 30 crew members $200 per day
31 to 60 crew members $500 per day
Over 60 crew members $600 per day

Still Photography Fees
1 to 10 crew members $ 50 per day
11 to 30 crew members $150 per day
Over 30 crew members $250 per day

A performance bond may be required, and the Forest Service may require an agency representative be on-site monitoring for permit compliance during productions or operations. A film or photography permit holder may be required to pay for administrative costs to process a special use application through a program called cost recovery.

CREDITS FOR MONTANA NATIONAL FOREST SERVICE LANDS
Horse Whisperer, Ballad of Little Jo, Beethoven's 2nd, Heaven's Gate, Iron Will, The Patriot, Rancho Deluxe, The River Wild,
A River Runs Through It, Son of the Morning Star, War Party, Winds of Autumn, Winterhawk, Wolf Summer, numerous commercials, stills, and documentaries.

For more information contact the Montana Film Office or:
Northern Region Headquarters Federal Building, 200 E. Broadway PO Box 7669 Missoula, MT 59807 Special Uses Office (406) 329-3110 http://www.fs.fed.us	Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest 420 Barrett Street Dillon, MT 59725 Special Uses Permit Administrator (406) 683-3900	Bitterroot National Forest 1801 N. First Street Hamilton, MT 59840 Special Uses Permit Administrator (406) 363-7100
Custer National Forest 1310 Main Street Billings, MT 59105 Special Uses Permit Administrator (406) 657-6200	Lolo National Forest Building 24, Fort Missoula Missoula, MT 59804 Special Uses Permit Administrator (406) 329-3804	Flathead National Forest 650 Wolfpack Way Kalispell, MT 59901 Special Uses Permit Administrator (406) 758-5200
Gallatin National Forest Federal Building,10 E. Babcock PO Box 130 Bozeman, MT 59771 Special Uses Permit Administrator (406) 587-6701	Helena National Forest 2880 Skyway Drive Helena, MT 59601 Special Uses Permit Administrator (406) 449-5201	Kootenai National Forest 31374 US Highway 2 West Libby, MT 59923 Special Uses Permit Administrator (406) 293-6211
Lewis and Clark National Forest 1101 15th Street North PO Box 869 Great Falls, MT 59403 Special Uses Permit Administrator (406) 791-7701

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National Parks

POLICY

The National Park Service permits and encourages commercial filming to the fullest extent possible consistent with the protection of resources and the enjoyment of the visitors. All commercial filming requires a permit and is subject to location fees and cost recovery*. Filming activities must be conducted in strict compliance with applicable regulations and conditions.

PERMITS / PERMITTING FEES

Filming permits are required for any filming intended for public viewing or commercial advertising (motion picture, video or still). A minimum of ten working days is normally required to process and review a proposed filming activity. Yellowstone National Park requires a minimum of two weeks to process requests; longer for large productions.

Initial contact should provide as much specific information as possible about the nature of the project, dates, times, crew size, vehicle requirements and special effects. Permit language, and potential impacts vary from park to park.

Glacier National Park requires a $100 non-refundable application fee upon permit application and a $100 permitting fee when the permit is issued. When location monitoring is required, all other administrative and estimated costs for activities on site will be calculated at $50 per hour per GNP representative, with a minimum of $150 per day.

NATIONAL MONUMENTS AND NATIONAL RECREATION AREAS
National Monuments and National Recreation fees may differ. Each should be contacted individually to obtain guidelines.

FILMING FEES

Motion Pictures/Videos
1 to 2 crew members, camera and tripod only *$0
1 to 10 crew members $150/day
11 to 30 crew members $250/day
31 to 49 crew members $500/day
Over 50 crew members $750/day

Commercial Still Photography
1 to 10 crew members $ 50/day
11 to 30 crew members $150/day
Over 30 crew members $250/day

*Commercial videographers, cinematographers or sound recording crews of up to two people with only minimal equipment working in areas open to the public are required to obtain a commercial filming permit and are subject to appropriate permit terms and conditions and cost recovery charges, but are not subject to location fees.

FOR MONTANA NATIONAL PARK SERVICE LANDS
Glacier National Park:
Big Eden, What Dreams May Come, Beethoven's 2nd, The River Wild, Forest Gump, Heaven's Gate, numerous commercials, stills, and documentaries.
Yellowstone National Park:
Wolves in Paradise, Jack Wolfskin, Reebok Shoes and numerous documentaries.

For more information contact the Montana Film Office or:
Glacier National Park Special Use Permits PO Box 128 West Glacier, MT 59936 (406) 888-7825 (406) 888-7946 - fax Superintendent's Office (406) 888-7800 e-mail: glac_park_info@nps.gov	Yellowstone National Park Box 168 c/o Film Permit Office Mammoth Hot Springs, WY 82190 (307) 344-2115 (307) 344-2012 - fax e-mail: Tammy_Wert@nps.gov Contact: Tammy Wert	Big Hole National Battlefield PO Box 237 Wisdom, MT 59761 (406) 689-3155 (406) 689-3151-fax
Grant Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site 266 Warren Lane Deer Lodge, MT 59722 (406) 846-2070 (406) 846-3962-fax	Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area PO Box 7458 Fort Smith, MT 59035 (406) 666-2412 (406) 666-2415-fax	Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument PO Box 39 Crow Agency, MT 59022 (406) 638-3204 (406) 638-2623-fax
Nez Pierce National Historic Park/Bear Paw Battlefield PO Box 26 Chinook, MT 59523

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