Montana (MT)
On the runs: Pacific Northwest / Intermountain to California (origin branch)
Record held: 37 fields — 24 published, 13 not published / not yet checked.
This is a thin record because the state publishes little of this layer. What it publishes is below; every field it does not publish is marked plainly instead of filled in. A short page with honest gaps is the right page for this state.
Regulator
StateMontana
RegulatorMontana Department of Agriculture — Apiary Program
Regulator typeDepartment of agriculture division (dept-of-agriculture-division)
Regulator contactMontana Department of Agriculture — Apiary Program, 302 N Roberts St, Helena, MT 59601 • apiary@mt.gov • (406) 444-3790 (MDA Beekeeper Program page).
Instruments
Registration (registration · issued by the destination side)
Fee$35 (per-site) — MDA New Beekeeper/Site Registration form and directions: 'HOBBYIST and LANDOWNER beekeepers will pay $10/site. COMMERCIAL beekeepers will pay $35/site.' All new beekeepers also pay a one-time $10 application fee in addition to the first year's site fee, except commercial beekeepers. MCA 80-6-102(2)(b): the annual fee for reregistering an apiary site may not be less than $10 or more than $50, and the department may adjust the fee by rule. A delinquent reregistration carries a penalty fee of 10% of the regular fee or $10, whichever is greater (MCA 80-6-102(2)(d)).
Validity windowAnnual: a person who owns or possesses an apiary in Montana shall, before April 1 each year, reregister the apiary site; if a delinquent reregistration is not made by June 1, the registration is forfeited and all rights under it are terminated (MCA 80-6-102(1), (3)(b)).
Notice deadlineReregistration is due before April 1 each year. The department must notify a delinquent registrant by certified mail deposited on or before April 21; after June 1, unregistered sites may be deleted from the registration database (MCA 80-6-102(1), (3)).
Lead timeNot published / not yet checked
What the certificate must stateThe applicant provides: the applicant's name, telephone number, and mailing address; the location of the apiary site (the nearest quarter section, section, township, and range, or the GPS coordinates of the site); the name of the owner, renter, or occupant of the land on which the site is located; for a site registered for the first time, the written consent of the land owner, renter, or occupant; the class of registration applied for; and other information the department requires by rule (MCA 80-6-102(5)). MDA's registration form requires the site location as latitude and longitude (GPS) to at least four decimal places, the landowner or manager's approval signature for all site registrations, and the total number of colonies to be located on the site.
Origin history requiredNot published / not yet checked
Who applies / who signsA person who owns or possesses an apiary in Montana must register each apiary site with the Department of Agriculture. There are four classes of apiary site registration — the conditions for each class are specified in MCA 80-6-111 through 80-6-114 — published by MDA as Commercial, Landowner, Hobbyist, and Pollination (MCA 80-6-102(1), (4); MDA Beekeeper Program page).
Registration (pollination-registration · issued by the destination side)
FeeNot published / not yet checked
Validity windowA pollination apiary site registration is valid only for the time specified by the department, and all pollination apiaries must be removed within 2 weeks after the full bloom period of the crop to be pollinated (MCA 80-6-112(2)).
Notice deadlineNot published / not yet checked
Lead timeNot published / not yet checked
What the certificate must stateThe applicant provides all pertinent information necessary to determine if pollination apiary sites are needed to adequately pollinate the applicant's crop; if the department approves, it specifies the number and location of the pollination apiary sites. A certificate of registration of a pollination apiary site may not be leased, assigned, or transferred. The department shall attempt to notify any general apiarist with registered apiary sites within 3 miles of a proposed pollination apiary site (MCA 80-6-112(1), (3), (4)).
Origin history requiredNot published / not yet checked
Who applies / who signsCommercial seed producers, fruit producers, or other commercial agricultural producers who own, lease, or rent the land, use the land to grow a commercial crop dependent on bees or other insects for pollination, and do not own the bees or hives placed on the site (MCA 80-6-112(1)). The crop producer applies — not the beekeeper whose bees are placed.
Health / inspection certificate (certificate-of-health · issued by the destination side)
Fee$125 (per-certificate) — MDA Migratory Beekeeper Certificate of Health application and memo (Jan. 30, 2019): 'Fee for obtaining a Certificate of Health: $125.00.'
Validity window'All certificates will be valid for the period of one year, unless voided earlier' (MDA Migratory Beekeeper Certificate of Health application, Jan. 30, 2019).
Notice deadlineNot published / not yet checked
Lead timeThe Department of Agriculture must have at least two weeks' notice of the need for an inspection, and preferably more during the rush season of spring and early fall; no permits for interstate movement of health certificates will be issued without inspection, and the inspection must be made while the equipment is still on the bees and brood is present (ARM 4.12.106(2)–(4)).
What the certificate must stateMDA's inspections for the certificate concentrate on American foulbrood and Varroa mites, and also check for small hive beetle, tracheal mites, fire ants, and general colony health. The application asks the total number of hives being moved interstate and all states the bees will be shipped from, through, or to (MDA Migratory Beekeeper Certificate of Health application, Jan. 30, 2019). For used equipment, a clean bill of health is issued only after inspection of the equipment on the bees (ARM 4.12.106(1), (3)).
Origin history requiredThe Certificate of Health application requires the applicant to list ALL STATES these bees will be shipped from, through, or to — the full itinerary, e.g. Montana–California–Washington–Montana (MDA application, Jan. 30, 2019).
Who applies / who signsA beekeeper bringing bees into Montana applies to the Montana Department of Agriculture, c/o State Entomologist, for a Certificate of Health, unless the bees are already certified by a recognized authority of the state of origin (MCA 80-6-202, as published in the MDA application memo, Jan. 30, 2019). The memo directs a beekeeper who has not had an inspection within the last three years to contact the department immediately so one can be scheduled.
Entry permit (used-equipment-entry-permit · issued by the destination side)
FeeNot published / not yet checked
Validity windowNot published / not yet checked
Notice deadlineIntention to bring into Montana used beekeeping equipment, including nucs, feed honey, and refuse for rendering, must be registered with the Agricultural Sciences Division, Department of Agriculture, at least ten days prior to the time of movement; a permit to enter will then be issued by the department (ARM 4.12.106(6)).
Lead timeNot published / not yet checked
What the certificate must stateThe permit to enter, along with a copy of the clean bill of health from the state of origin, must accompany the load of bees or equipment entering Montana (ARM 4.12.106(6)).
Origin history requiredNot published / not yet checked
Who applies / who signsA person intending to bring used beekeeping equipment — including nucs, feed honey, and refuse for rendering — into Montana registers the intention with the Agricultural Sciences Division and is issued the permit to enter (ARM 4.12.106(6)).
Moving bees — the rules around the instruments
Passing throughNot published / not yet checked
Border and destination inspectionEach load of used beekeeping equipment, honey, or nucs brought into Montana is automatically quarantined until the quarantine is lifted by the Montana state inspector (ARM 4.12.106(6)). A beekeeper bringing bees into Montana who has neither a Montana Certificate of Health nor origin-state certification must notify the Department of Agriculture of the intent to bring bees into the state and arrange for an inspection upon arrival (MDA Migratory Beekeeper Certificate of Health application memo, Jan. 30, 2019).
County layerNot published / not yet checked
Recognition of other states' certificatesBees brought into Montana must hold a Montana Certificate of Health, or be certified as being apparently pest and disease free by a recognized authority of the state from which they are being moved (MCA 80-6-202, as published in MDA's Migratory Beekeeper Certificate of Health application). Bees brought into Montana in packages or queen cages must be accompanied by a certificate of health issued by the official inspector of the state or country of origin (MCA 80-6-203).
Consequences, as publishedA person violating or aiding in the violation of parts 1 through 3 of MCA Title 80, chapter 6, or rules adopted under them, is subject to an administrative civil penalty of not more than $1,000 for each offense, and is also liable for the department's inspection and investigation costs; a violation of MCA 80-6-202 carries an administrative civil penalty of not more than $10,000 for each offense (MCA 80-6-303). A registration not renewed by June 1 is forfeited and all rights under it are terminated (MCA 80-6-102(3)(b)); if the identity of hives at a site cannot be determined, the site may be quarantined and all hives removed, destroyed, sold at public auction, or otherwise handled at the department's discretion (MCA 80-6-102(8)). A reregistration may not be granted while a civil penalty due under MCA 80-6-303 remains unpaid (MCA 80-6-102(9)).
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