HELENA -- A yearlong effort to start developing a recreation management policy for Montana rivers is not necessarily the first step toward requiring people to have permits to play on the state's waters, a fish and game official said Tuesday.

While such a recreation-by-reservation system may be needed in some cases, the hope is that less restrictive means can be found to control crowding on the most popular streams, said Charlie Sperry, river recreation management specialist with the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

A special council formed to recommend guidelines for making river management decisions understands the public's distaste for permitting systems, he said.

''It terrifies some people that it will get to a point in time where you want to take your grandchild fishing and need a permit to go down to the local river," Sperry said.

''It's a hard pill to swallow that someday we may have to apply for a permit" to use many of Montana rivers, but that is not a foregone conclusion of the River Recreation Advisory Council, he added.

''That is a pretty intense management tool that we wouldn't just jump to right off the bat" in trying to cope with social conflict among users of a river, Sperry said.

The council has released its proposed guidelines for consideration by the state wildlife agency in drafting recommendations for the Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission on how to deal with issues of river recreation.

A series of public meetings on the recommendations is scheduled across the state for Oct. 21 to Nov. 19. The public has through Nov. 28 to comment on the proposals.

After that, the department will draft a tentative river management policy for the state and present it to the commission in January. Additional public comment will be taken, with final action by the commission expected by April.

Then, according to the council's recommendations, the department would evaluate the social and biological condition of Montana rivers and determine those most in need of possible management.

Sometime after that, local river advisory committees would be formed to recommend what, if anything, should be done to manage recreation demands on individual rivers. Final decisions rest with the fish and game commission.

Larry Copenhaver, conservation director for the Montana Wildlife Federation and a member of the advisory council, thinks permitting requirements will be the exception and not the rule.

''One would hope that we would be judicious with the rivers we do that with," he said. ''If it truly doesn't need management, we would hope that the commission would be judicious enough not to impose restrictions."

Still, Copenhaver acknowledged some rivers may be so crowded that some sort of recreational permit requirement is added, similar to that put on floaters using the Smith River.

''As Montana becomes a more popular destination, given those kinds of pressures, it might be necessary," he said. ''If and when it's necessary, it should be done with the ordinary sportsman in mind."

The principles that the advisory council recommended the commission follow in adopting any river management policy make protecting the quality of Montana rivers the top priority. It said that ''unlimited recreational or economic growth must not compromise long-term conservation."

The council urged that any policy recognize the historic recreation that Montanans have enjoyed on their rivers, and said those who use the water should pay the bill for access and statewide management. Also, the economic benefits that out-of-state river users bring to Montana should be recognized, and cultural and historical features of the rivers must be safeguarded, it said.

The council raised concerns about how river management efforts on a broader scale can be financed. New sources of money will be needed and could be found through such things as a tax on new boats, licensing of boaters and floaters, private donations, fees on commercial river users or sales of a statewide ''recreation pass."