Blog · October 14, 2026 · Montana
Phillips County Flood Zone Map: checking a property's flood zone
The zone on FEMA's map affects insurance, building and resale near UL Bend National Wildlife Refuge.
Main page: Phillips County, MT GIS & Parcel Viewer (official map link, county facts and neighboring maps).
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Weighing a property around Hewitt Lake National Wildlife Refuge? Checking the Phillips County flood zone map reveals whether the lot falls inside a mapped floodplain, and it costs nothing to check. This county guide covers: finding the address on FEMA's map, decoding A, AE and X, and pairing it with the Montana Cadastral, at least around Landusky.
Checking the Phillips County flood zone map step by step
On ground around Saco, start with FEMA's Flood Map Service Center: enter the street address, and pick the FIRMette or map view. Rural land near Sleeping Buffalo with no street number is still easy to locate: zoom in from the nearest road and click inside the land.
The viewer Phillips County publishes
Your first stop is the Montana Cadastral; it maps every tax parcel around Loring Colony and Whitewater. For a tract near Loring Colony, enter a street address, an owner's name or a parcel number, and the viewer zooms to the match. For acreage around Dodson, the record panel normally shows the owner of record, assessed acreage, a parcel ID and sometimes recent sales.
Taking the map into the field
The parcel map usually runs in a mobile browser, useful out on a road near Landusky, though signal can drop in rural spots. A saved image of the lot near Dodson and its lines is a good backup.
Reading A, AE and X
Around UL Bend National Wildlife Refuge, any A or V zone are Special Flood Hazard Areas, which FEMA defines as a 1% annual chance of flooding. With a lot near Whitewater, shaded Zone X marks moderate flood hazard, roughly the 100- to 500-year range; unshaded X is minimal risk.
Backing up the map with records
Closer to Loring Colony, the map is an index, not the title: deeds, subdivision plats and easements for parcels in the county are filed with the County Clerk and Recorder. If the land is near UL Bend National Wildlife Refuge, bring the document number listed on the parcel record so staff can find the deed fast.
Lining it up with the parcel map
FEMA doesn't draw property lines, so pair it with the Montana Cadastral to see exactly which lot near Landusky you're looking at.
Next door to Phillips County
Phillips County borders Blaine County, Fergus County, Garfield County, Petroleum County, and Valley County; every one of them runs a separate parcel map. Acreage along the edge near Landusky can be split in two county records, so check the neighboring map before you assume the acreage. If the land is near Saco, our state page links each bordering county map across Montana.
Phillips County in a few facts
Malta holds the county offices, home to the main records offices. Other places on the map include Dodson, Saco, East Malta Colony, and Landusky. Around 4,249 people call Phillips County home (Census estimate, 2023) across about 5,140 square miles. Phillips County dates to 1915, which matters when you trace an old farm's title. Features like Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge help you orient on the aerial.
Beyond the mapped zones
Small streams around Dodson may not have detailed mapping, so look for water marks and debris lines. Marshy spots near East Malta Colony can limit building too; check the National Wetlands Inventory mapper for a first look.
A short flood checklist
In and around Dodson, request whether the home has flooded before closing; an insurance quote early keeps the budget honest.
Limits of the parcel data
The acreage figure is a tax-roll number; just a licensed surveyor can set the real lines on land around UL Bend National Wildlife Refuge. Near East Malta Colony, owner names and values update on a schedule, so a deed recorded last month can take weeks to appear.
How land is described here
Montana follows the Public Land Survey System, so deeds around Hewitt Lake National Wildlife Refuge reference sections and townships. Each section is nominally a mile square, about 640 acres, with 36 sections to a township, though sections near Hewitt Lake National Wildlife Refuge can be irregular. Keep the legal description for land near Malta for any title or survey request.
Insurance, lenders and building
If a building sits in a Special Flood Hazard Area and the loan is federally backed or regulated, flood insurance is generally required where the community participates in the National Flood Insurance Program, for land near Hewitt Lake National Wildlife Refuge included. Building or adding on near Dodson in a mapped zone can trigger elevation rules; ask the local floodplain administrator before you plan.
Phillips County: common questions
Why does the BFE matter near Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge?
For a parcel near UL Bend National Wildlife Refuge, the BFE is printed in AE zones on FEMA's map, and an Elevation Certificate compares the building to it.
Can I see flood zones on the Montana Cadastral near Malta?
Near Loring Colony, some county viewers include a FEMA flood layer, but FEMA's own map is the official source.
What is a LOMA near Whitewater?
In most cases, FEMA's LOMA process is the usual route when a building near Malta sits above the base flood elevation; it starts with an elevation survey.
When is flood insurance required near Dodson?
For property near Malta, it's typically required only for structures in high-risk zones with federally backed loans; elsewhere it's optional.
Is the parcel map a survey near Dodson?
Around Whitewater, parcel lines are tax drawings, not surveys.
Open the official Phillips County, MT parcel map See it in the Platbookmapper directory
Not a survey. County GIS and tax parcel maps are assessment and planning layers. They are not a substitute for a recorded plat, deed, or licensed survey, especially for fences, setbacks, or boundary disputes.