Wolf hunt shut down after quota filled

Environmental Issues, News,

That’s it for Montana’s wolf hunt this year . . .

Montana is shutting down its first public hunt for gray wolves since their removal from the endangered species list after state officials said they expected to meet the season’s quota of 75 by Monday evening.

The quota was met two weeks before the season’s scheduled close. The 75 killed equals about 15 percent of a statewide wolf population estimated at 500.

Yet even with the success among hunters, the number of wolves in Montana is expected to increase this year by 20 percent or more because wolves are such prolific breeders.

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Despite high-profile kills, griz recovery on-track

Environmental Issues, News

Despite a rash of high-profile poaching and self-defense kills this year, Grizzly bears are doing OK . . .

Despite several high-profile, human-caused grizzly bear deaths in recent months, experts from across the Northern Continental Divide ecosystem said Friday the overall trajectory of conflicts between humans and grizzly bears showed little increased cause for alarm — and some cause for celebration.

“What I’m seeing is a nice trend where communities are really pulling together and making a concerted effort to do the right thing with regard to grizzly bears,” said Jamie Jonkel, a Region 2 bear management specialist at Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, at the semi-annual meeting of the Northern Continental Divide ecosystem subcommittee of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee.

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North Fork wolf hunt quotas draw debate

Environmental Issues, News,

This week’s Hungry Horse News provides some good background concerning wolf hunt quotas on the North Fork . . .

The recent poaching of three wolves up the North Fork didn’t count toward the hunting quota, but it has raised concerns from a conservation group about the way wolves are being managed.

The wolf quota for the North Fork was two wolves — a comparatively low number. Hunters have now shot two wolves in the North Fork, the last one on Monday in the headwaters of the Big Creek drainage. With three poachings added to that, five animals have been killed. The season for wolves in that subdistrict is now closed.

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Trophy seekers fuel poaching increase

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Today’s Missoulian has an article on the increased number of poachers this year who seem to be killing game just to get a little ego boost . . .

The poacher who pulled the trigger on Maximus — one of Montana’s greatest grizzlies — left the big bear to waste.

So did the poacher who shot two wolves up near Glacier National Park. And the poacher who killed the big bull elk north of Columbia Falls. And the poacher who dropped the trophy bull moose down along the Jefferson.

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North Fork wolf hunt closed after kill at Big Creek

Environmental Issues, News

The Missoulian, in the person of Michael Jamison (of course), has more detail on the closure of this season’s wolf hunt on the North Fork . . .

When a hunter pulled the trigger Monday morning with a wolf in his crosshairs, the bullet killed the big-game season on canis lupus for the region west of Glacier National Park.

That area came with a quota of just two wolves, which now has been met. In addition, three more wolves in that area are known to have been killed by poachers in recent weeks.

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Biologist’s findings show forest diversity & health influenced by wolves

Environmental Issues, News, ,

The October 25th Missoulian had a fascinating article — with photos — on Cristina Eisenberg’s study of the surprisingly broad impact wolves have on the general forest ecosystem. Thanks to Oliver Meister for pointing this one out . . .

A clinging mist quieted the morning meadow, the icy hem of its robes brushing silent against autumn’s crackling knee-high grass.

In the darkest shadows, the cold crunch of snow remained, criss-crossed with wolf tracks, bear tracks, elk and deer tracks. Scat and bone and hair and hide. These were the morning news reports written in muddied prints, each with a thin film of ice.

Cristina Eisenberg scanned the headlines, then waded into the meadow to read the particulars.

“It’s all here,” the researcher said. “You just have to know the language.”

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Poaching doesn’t impact Montana’s wolf hunt quota

Environmental Issues, News, ,

Today’s online edition of the Missoulian has an article explaining why the recent wolf poaching incidents on the North Fork did not affect the local wolf hunt quota . . .

When a Columbia Falls man pleaded guilty last week to poaching two wolves just outside Glacier National Park, many thought the area’s wolf-hunting quota would be adjusted accordingly.

They were wrong.

“Looking at Idaho might have been somewhat constructive,” said Louisa Wilcox of the Natural Resources Defense Council. “They had a poaching incident there, and they cut the quota in response.”

But state wildlife officials say Montana and Idaho came at their quota counts in different ways, and in Montana those poached wolves already were considered dead, long before they were killed.

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Columbia Falls man fined for poaching wolves in North Fork

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This article from today’s Hungry Horse News offers a little more information about the October 9th wolf poaching incident near Whale Creek . . .

A Columbia Falls man has pleaded guilty to poaching two wolves near Whale Creek up the North Fork.

Randy Houk, whose age wasn’t released, paid fines totaling $1,135.

Fish, Wildlife and Parks is offering up to a $1,000 reward for information on the shooting death of a wolf found Oct. 25 in the Red Meadow drainage of the North Fork Flathead.

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