Rewriting the rules on wolf hunting, trapping
13 hours ago • By Mike Ferguson
Through Dec. 20, Montanans can weigh in on proposed rule changes that will give landowners more latitude in killing a wolf that threatens their livestock or their pet — and doing so without a hunting license.
By video conference Tuesday evening, the Montana
Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks took comments and answered questions on the proposed changes from three sites — Billings, Helena and Great Falls.
The department is charged with writing the rules to implement Senate Bill 200, which was passed during the most recent legislative session. The new law allows landowners to kill a wolf if it’s a “potential threat” to human safety, livestock or dogs. Current law requires the wolf be in the act of attacking, threatening or killing livestock before the wolf can be killed.
The landowner or his/her agent must notify the department when a taking occurs and must preserve the carcass of the wolf.
In addition, the law lowers the cost of a nonresident wolf license from $350 to $50. Montana residents pay $19.
Quentin Kujala, the department’s wildlife bureau coordinator, said the rulemaking process to implement SB 200 has trimmed language and eliminated redundancies in existing rules. Under the new law, the same process will continue to apply when a landowner kills a wolf that’s threatening livestock, people or pets, he said. That rule requires the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services to investigate the taking, and that the taking be reported to Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
The state’s wolf population has been on the rise in recent years. Montana’s most recent wolf count released last spring showed 147 verified packs consisting of 625 wolves. Thirty-seven of the packs had confirmed breeding pairs.
Two Helena residents who attended the video conference said they have concerns with the proposed rules.
Jonathan Matthews said bite marks on livestock don’t necessarily equate to predation and said “scientific precision” is being removed under the new rules.
“I like the fact … that we are not regarding wolves as vermin that should be shot almost without consideration,” he said. Wolves are wildlife, he noted, “and should be treated with respect like other wildlife.”
Sarah Sadowski said she doesn’t support “folks taking measures into their own hands.” She said she’d rather landowners be required to obtain a permit and to contact the department “before making a kill.”
To read the proposed revisions, visit fwp.mt.gov/news/publicNotices/armRules/pn_0143.html.
Send comments to: Fish, Wildlife and Parks Wildlife Division, P.O. Box 200701, Helena MT 59620-0701. Or email comments to fwpwld@mt.gov.
Exposing the Big Game 
Regarding allowing ranchers to kill perceived “threatening wolves” (Senate Bill 200): Montana policy still and has continuously treated the wolf as vermin and Montana qualifies from wolf conservationists’ perspective as a backward wolf massacre state. This MT/FWP attitude is evidenced by not having a real quota and an attitude of “we need to drive down the population” without any science or evidence as to why they should do so; a wolf massacre attitude of not holding the rancher responsible in any way for taking preventive, good husbandry, measures. It is evidenced by a trapping season and a season on wolves that last from August to February. It is in evidence by political management of a species versus scientific management. And now it will be in evidence with a policy of allowing a rancher to kill a wolf perceived as a threat, which to a rancher will likely mean any wolf he sees on his leased or owned property plus any visiting friends can come and wolf hunt for free or hidden fee, which will all equate to open season on wolves, with much of it on leased public land. Wolves kill around 65 cattle in a state that has 5.5 million which is 0.001 %. There are 3776 leases on BLM land and 772 on national forest lands. Ranchers are reimbursed for losses. Oregon has a model for Montana, although Montana legislators and FWP and commissioners are too backward and obstinate to listen and learn. The Oregon wolf management model requires ranchers to have nonlethal deterrents in place and to have used them on offending or potential offending wolves and then only kill chronic offenders. Wolves are not vermin. Wolves are apex predators that are good for the wildlife ecology having a positive cascading effect throughout the food chain and even make ungulate herds healthier. Man is an additive, not good for the ecology, killer of wildlife in his blood sports and management.
Until The Livestock Industry is banished from Public Lands, there will be no peace or justice for wolves, coyotes or any other wild animal. This industry has a long history of prejudice and outright hatred for so-called “predators” and other native animals, since the late 1800’s. The industry has not changed. Why should wolves or any other wildlife be subjected to so-called “non-lethal” controls? This puts the burden upon the native wild animal, not the rancher. If people worked as hard to get livestock off Public Lands, as they do trying to placate ranchers, we would be saving many more wildlife.
Yep, another good reason to boycott beef.