As Montanans began to notice the perile that its wildlife resource was in at the end of the 19th Century, steps were taken to remediate the damage that had been done in the previous 100 years. These early conservation efforts were a step-forward from the exploitation that had previously occurred, but their effectiveness was crippled by the fact that they were not based on any proven knowledge about the needs of the animals they aimed to help.

This changed as conservationists such as Aldo Leopold began to publish research on wildlife ecology and conservation. This research prompted the development of wildlife degrees at Montana universities and informed new efforts taken by the Montana Fish & Game Department. Over time and with the introduction of the Pittman-Robertson Act, Montana developed a thorough scientific based approach to conservation that restored wildlife populations in the Treasure State.