State to allow wolf trapping
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
2 of 3 free articles.
Lee Schnase is a lifelong hunter and outdoorsman from Ronan. During last year’s regular and extended wolf season, he was deep in the back country nearly every weekend, flushing out and tracking wolf packs. On some occasions, he would hike 8 to 10 miles at a time through several feet of snow and dense forest in search of a Rocky Mountain gray wolf.
However, despite his efforts, both the regular and extended season came and went, leaving Schnase’s wolf tag unfilled.
“They’re definitely not stupid animals,” he said. “Just as we’re learning how to hunt them, they’re learning how to avoid us. There can be tracks all around you, and you won’t see or hear anything. It’s pretty amazing.”
Schnase’s story appears to be a common one. Last year’s wolf hunt saw the harvest of 166 wolves — 54 wolves short of the state’s goal to maintain a healthy wolf population. In response, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks extended the hunting season by nearly two months.
Even so, Montana’s wolf population increased after the 2011-12 season. The minimum number of wolves in verified packs at the end of 2011 was 653.
Wildlife section supervisor with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, George Pauley, said last year’s wolf harvest quotas were not targets to achieve, but limits on the total number of wolves harvested. As these limits were not reached, hunting opportunities could be expanded to include trapping and a statewide general season with no tag limit. Only two of Montana’s 19 wolf management units have quotas, District 316 with a quota of three and District 110 with a quota of two. The commission is authorized to terminate the season at any time if harvest levels are deemed too high.
“The highest potential harvest rate where we’d see a change in the wolf population would be 60 percent,” Pauley said. “We’ve established this rate as a threshold for reviewing the season and potential closures in one or more areas.”
A biologist with 20 years of experience, Pauley explained that wolves can compensate for a human harvesting rate of up to 30 percent; meaning 30 out of 100 wolves can be killed in a given year, and within 12 months the pack will again contain 100 wolves. They can absorb this mortality rate without much change, because their rates of dispersal and mortality are naturally high in the wild.
The Management Intent Summary of this year’s FWP wolf hunt proposal document states an expectation for increased wolf harvest levels, decreased wolf abundance, potential relief to livestock producers and, “relief to big game populations that are performing poorly, due in part to the effects of wolf predation.”
This year’s season contains several measurable objectives: Maintain a viable and connected wolf population in Montana; gain and maintain authority for State of Montana to manage wolves; maintain positive and effective working relationships with livestock producers, hunters and other stakeholders; reduce wolf impacts on livestock; reduce wolf impacts on big game populations; maintain sustainable hunter opportunity for wolves; maintain sustainable hunter opportunity for ungulates; increase broad public acceptance of sustainable harvest and hunter opportunity as part of wolf conservation; enhance open and effective communication to better inform decisions; and learn and improve as we go.
According to the proposal, the new plan contains several additions and amendments to last year’s. These include an extended general season with no tag limit and the addition of trapping as a valid means of harvest.
To obtain a trapping permit, hunters must complete a mandatory trapper orientation class and purchase separate tags for additional wolves. The bag limit on wolves harvested through trapping is three per person or a combination of one rifle harvest and two trap harvests.
These additions brought quite a bit of heated debate. During a public comment period from May 10 to June 25, FWP received 6,505 comments regarding the wolf hunt, and another 1,000 comments after the comment period had closed.
“It can be condensed down to two lines of advocacy,” Pauley said. “One section of the public would like to see more hunting and appreciates the addition of trapping. The other section is opposed to managing wolves, wolf hunting and wolf trapping.”
The proposal was read aloud and discussed in depth during last week’s committee meeting in Helena. Afterwards, the floor was opened to a public comment session that lasted well over two hours. Concerns ranged far and wide between Montana’s ecosystem health, the ethics and morality of trapping versus rifle killing, and the psychology of wolf packs. Some asked for a more aggressive, less restrictive season while others called for an end to all wolf hunting and management.
The more common concerns or opinions seemed to regard the ethics and morality of trapping as a method of harvest.
“Trapping is recognized as a valid means of take for a number of species,” Pauley said. “It was recognized as a logical means of harvest in the Montana Wolf Management Plan, which was finalized in August of 2003.”
Pauley believes the addition of trapping will increase the number of wolves harvested, but doesn’t believe this will affect the genetic variation or viability of the present wolf packs.
At present, the Confederated Salish and Kooteni Tribes do not allow the killing of any wolf unless the animal is caught killing or harassing livestock, pets, or human beings. Tribal wildlife program manager Dale Becker said the Tribal Council may consider some sort of harvest proposal this fall while going through the regulation-setting process.
“We went through a fairly rigorous process two years ago in developing our wolf management plan,” Becker said. “We left the door open to discuss the issue with Tribal Council and the public later on.”
While the state’s 2012-13 wolf season does not hold jurisdiction over the Flathead Reservation, it may still indirectly affect wolf populations on the reservation. Wolves, like all animals, do not know boundaries and pass in and out of the reservation at their own behest.
According to the proposal, radio-collared wolves had an average dispersal distance of about 60 miles and have been well documented at a dispersal distance of more than 120 miles. The Flathead Reservation is bordered by five wolf management districts, through which wolves move freely. These districts saw a combined total of 70 filled tags during last year’s wolf season — 42 percent of the state’s combined take.
