Is a permit holder's right to continue possession of an interest that is not a protected entitlement?

Where the government, as the source of the interest in question, retains unrestricted discretion over future enjoyment of the interest, the interest is not a protected entitlement. Bishop v. Wood, 426 U.S. 341, 344-47, 96 S.Ct. 2074, 2077-78, 48 L.Ed.2d 684 (1976). Thus, if the permits were held at the will of the governments administering the permit program in Montana, it is axiomatic that plaintiffs can make no legitimate claim to continued possession.

Even if the annual permits had been implicitly reissued in this situation, it is apparent

Page 1186