Tag Archives: wolf hunt

Court limits wolf trapping season over threat to grizzlies

November 23, 2023Environmental Issues, Newsgrizzly bear management, wolf huntnfpa

Gray wolf - John and Karen Hollingsworth, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — Gray wolf – John and Karen Hollingsworth, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Wolf trapping in Montana got curtailed in those areas with grizzly bear populations . . .

A federal judge in Missoula issued an order late Tuesday afternoon that will limit Montana’s wolf trapping season to Jan. 1 to Feb. 15 next year in hunting Regions 1 through 5 and three counties along the north-central border, citing the possibility that threatened grizzly bears get caught in wolf traps or snares.

U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy’s order granting a preliminary injunction in the case came less than 30 hours after he heard arguments from the plaintiffs – the Flathead-Lolo-Bitterroot Citizens Task Force and WildEarth Guardians – and the state over whether he should grant the injunction. The State of Montana, Gov. Greg Gianforte, and Fish and Wildlife Commission Chair Lesley Robinson are the named defendants in the suit.

In his order, he sided with the plaintiffs on most of the points raised at Monday’s hourlong hearing, saying the traps could indeed injure a grizzly, that any capture of a grizzly is considered an illegal “take” under the Endangered Species Act, and that limiting the wolf trapping season to those six weeks would also limit the potential for any grizzlies to be caught in traps.

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Wolf harvest down locally despite rule changes

January 30, 2022Environmental Issues, Newswolf huntnfpa

What’s going on here in Region 1? Over-hunting in previous years? . . .

Following years of record regional harvests, hunters and trappers in the northwestern corner of the state have so far achieved less than a third of total state-sanctioned wolf kills for the season.

The state Fish and Wildlife Commission set its Region 1 wolf hunting and trapping threshold this year — quitting the use of a “quota” — at 195 animals.

Year-to-date, the Region 1 effort, mostly comprising Lake, Sanders, Lincoln and Flathead counties, tallied 52 wolves tagged so far, according to state Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department data available Friday. That’s down from the 101 killed in the region by this time last year, according to FWP.

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Montana FWP to close wolf hunting around Yellowstone after a few more kills

January 29, 2022Environmental Issues, NewsMontana FWP Commission, wolf hunt, Yellowstone National Parknfpa

Wolf in Yellowstone National Park - Jim Peaco, YNP — Wolf in Yellowstone National Park – Jim Peaco, YNP

The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission will shut down wolf hunting in the area around Yellowstone National Park as soon a few more wolves are killed . . .

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Park commissioners voted Friday to close wolf hunting and trapping in Region 3 once the wolf take reaches 82 wolves.

Region 3 encompasses an area of Montana just north of Yellowstone National Park. The take to date is 76 wolves.

Commissioner Pat Tabor, who is from the Flathead Valley, quashed an amendment to the motion that would have immediately closed wolf hunting and trapping in wolf management units units 313 and 316, which directly border Yellowstone. The smaller units are part of the broader Region 3.

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Feds to explore relisting the gray wolf

September 17, 2021Environmental Issues, Newsgray wolves, wolf hunt, wolf managementnfpa

Gray Wolf - Adam Messer-Montana FWP — Gray Wolf – Adam Messer-Montana FWP

Aggressive wolf management plans in Montana and Idaho are drawing the attention of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service . . .

On opening day of Montana’s expanded wolf-hunting season, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it has decided to conduct an in-depth status review to determine whether state management plans aiming to aggressively reduce wolf populations threaten the recovery of gray wolves.

The agency now has a year to conduct a further review of the species using the best available science to determine whether listing under the Endangered Species Act is warranted.

The process was initiated this summer when environmental groups asked the agency to relist the animals through two separate petitions. The groups filed the petitions after lawmakers in Montana and Idaho passed laws that encouraged aggressive population reduction by broadening the methods hunters could use to harvest wolves and expanding the trapping season.

In a release about the decision, the agency wrote that the two petitions presented “substantial information that potential increases in human-caused mortality may pose a threat to the gray wolf in the western U.S.” and that the “new regulatory mechanisms in Idaho and Montana may be inadequate to address this threat.”…

Montana to keep wolf hunt quotas stable outside Yellowstone

April 17, 2017Environmental Issues, Newsgray wolves, wolf hunt, wolf quotasnfpa

Montana wants to keep limiting wolf quotas near Yellowstone National Park . . .

Montana wildlife officials are proposing to keep the number of wolves that can be hunted or trapped just outside of Yellowstone National Park at four.

The proposal that went out for public comment Friday would set a quota of two wolves in each of two Montana management areas outside the park.

That was also the limit set in 2016 after the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission rejected a plan to increase the quota.

Judge denies quick fix to Wyoming wolf management plan

October 1, 2014Environmental Issues, Newsgray wolves, wolf hunt, wolf management, Wyomingnfpa

As expected, the federal judge who invalidated Wyoming’s wolf management plan won’t allow it to go back in force with just a few minor tweaks . . .

A federal judge on Tuesday denied requests from the state of Wyoming, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service and pro-hunting groups to change last week’s decision that reinstated federal protections for wolves in the state.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington, D.C., leaves Wyoming and the Fish and Wildlife Service with the choice of either appealing or to developing a revised management plan. The planning process can take years and require more public comment, during which time Wyoming wolves would remain protected under the federal Endangered Species Act.

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State asks judge to reconsider Wyoming wolf ruling

September 30, 2014Environmental Issues, Newsgray wolves, wolf hunt, wolf management, Wyomingnfpa

A federal judge kicked Wyoming’s wolf management plan to the curb a few days ago. After making a few legal tweaks to the plan, the state is asking her to reconsider . . .

Conservation groups are urging a federal judge not to allow the state of Wyoming to regain control of wolves.

The groups sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2012. They’re challenging the agency’s acceptance of Wyoming’s wolf management plan, which classifies wolves as predators that can be shot on sight in most areas.

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Wolf numbers remain stable

April 4, 2014Environmental Issues, Newswolf hunt, wolf management, wolf populationnfpa

Several articles appeared today discussing the wolf population in this corner of the country. Rather than post them individually, here’s the list all in one place . . .

Rockies gray wolf numbers steady despite hunting

Gray wolves in the U.S. Northern Rockies are showing resilience as states adopt increasingly aggressive tactics to drive down their numbers through hunting, trapping and government-sponsored pack removals…

New Study Seeks Cost-Effective Estimate Of Montana Wolves

Researchers from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and the University of Montana released preliminary results today of a new technique for estimating wolf numbers in Montana…

FWP Releases Minimum Wolf Count For 2013

Montana’s verified wolf population remained stable last year while livestock depredations by wolves continued to decline, dropping about 27 percent from 2012…

Wolf season ends with 230 wolves taken

March 17, 2014Environmental Issues, Newswolf hunt, wolf populationnfpa

The harvest was 230 wolves for this year’s wolf hunt, only five more than last year when the rules were more restrictive . . .

Hunters and trappers in Montana killed 230 wolves during the recently concluded wolf season.

That’s only five more wolves than the prior year’s wolf harvest despite the lifting of quotas on the animals across most of the state and a higher bag limit for individual hunters.

Hunters took 144 wolves during a season that started in September and ended Saturday. Trappers took 86 wolves.

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Wolf season opens

September 16, 2013Newswolf hunt, wolf quotasnfpa

General wolf season opened yesterday. Rifle season runs through March 15, trapping through the end of February. The North Fork still has a quota of two wolves. The Flathead Beacon has a good summary.

North Fork Preservation Association

News and information about NFPA and the North Fork of the Flathead River