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Below are opportunities for you now to lend a hand, be a witness, a presence, provide public comment concerning wolves, and be a voice against trapping. Firstly, FWP is seeking public comment. on their draft “Gray Wolf Conservation and Management Plan”. More specifically, the Montana Statewide Wolf Management Plan is over 100 pages long. Public comment is also being requested for the Environmental Impact Statement, a ~ 200 page document. Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks (FWP) has provided a 33 page draft Environmental Impact Executive Summary. The public comment period closes, Tuesday, December 19 at 5pm MST. Public comment can be provided online or emailed to: fwpwolfplaneis@mt.gov We strongly recommend the latter, i.e., email, as experience tells us it is important that you keep a copy of your comment. You do not have to be Montana resident to submit comment. FWP will also have public meetings in person and virtually they say to answer questions about the wolf plan:Region 1 – Kalispell, Dec. 7 from 6-8 p.m. FWP Office, 490 N Meridian RdRegion 2 – Missoula, Dec. 13 from 6-8 p.m. FWPl Office, 3201 Spurgin RdRegion 3 – Bozeman, Dec. 5 from 6-8 p.m. FWP Office, 1400 S. 19th AveRegions 4 and 6 – Great Falls, Dec. 4 from 6-8 p.m. FWP Office, 4600 Giant Springs RdRegions 5 and 7 – Billings, Dec. 6 from 6-8 p.m. FWP Office, 2300 Lake Elmo DriveVirtual Meeting – Dec. 12 from 6-8 p.m.Zoom loginWebinar ID: 889 2772 9036Passcode: 183143Although some have reached out to us with questions about the wolf management plan, we are still reviewing it. Other than some specific answers, we cannot advise on public comment at this time. Trust us, we will give this proposed wolf plan due diligence at least when it comes to trapping, our forte. It will be reflected in our public comment accordingly. Once we are further along in our review of the extensive documents, we will be better able to assist.  Since the wolf season opened September 2, in Montana, as of November 15, 2023, hunters have reported killing 64 wolves. The wolf killing season ends March 15.   The Montana wolf trapping and snaring season opens in 12 days, November 27, in parts of the state, i.e. all outside the brown shaded areas, and courtesy of FWP and the Fish & Wildlife Commission 2023 decision opening now in more areas of grizzly habitat before grizzlies hibernate. This puts ESA protected grizzlies at greater risk of being trapped or snared. Within the brown areas the floating opening wolf trapping date is reportedly decided by on the ground information that the majority of grizzlies have hibernated with a default wolf trapping opening date of December 31st.  We advised the Commission if they were to approve the new map opening more grizzly habitat to wolf trapping and snaring sooner that there would be litigation. They did and there is. Unfortunately, Trap Free Montana is not party to the case. However, we provided assistance and pertinent records to their legal council. There is an upcoming preliminary injunction public hearing which, to the best of our knowledge, if our side prevails it would halt opening wolf trapping in grizzly habitat until the actual hearing. At that later time, the court would rule on whether Montana is in violation of the ESA. Preliminary injunction hearing: Date: November 20, 2023 Time: 10:00 AM Location: Russell Smith Federal Courthouse, 201 E. Broadway, Missoula, MT 59802 Trapping and snaring wolves has become the leading cause of wolf mortality in Montana! Let’s hope Judge Molloy rules in the wolf, grizzlies, and all the indiscriminate trapping victims…….favor!Wolves are the number one target now of reported incidental “non-target” trappings in Montana! Traps for wolves are massive and therefore very injurious. Snares are the silent killer. The 48 hour trap check requirement for wolves is double the recommended time to reduce injury and increase chances of survival. Therefore, the majority of non-targets are injured or killed. Montana’s wolf trapping season now runs an additional 34 days from the first Monday after Thanksgiving until March 15 exacerbating that indiscriminate harm and destruction.The USFWS’s decision on re-listing the gray wolf in the Rocky Mountain region has not been made. That decision will be decided February 2024. We were party to a petition to list and a following Notice of Intent to Sue (NOI) for their failure to decide.Some encouraging news. Wolverine are finally expected to be listed as threatened under the ESA! And not a day too soon! Tragically, the wolverine’s future is bleak in the contiguous US due to habitat loss and climate change. Only less than an estimated 300 wolverine remain. We don’t know how old even that figure is. These tough-35-pound carnivores actually have specific habitat requirements which are rapidly waning. Wolverines are also trap junkies so we can expect considerable trapping ramifications if they are listed. The USFWS decision will be later this month. We don’t want to jinx it so that’s all for now. We will say though that we provided relevant documentation regarding wolverines to applicable legal counsel.  Thank you all who have helped and supported our work! We will prevail someday! We must! Onwards! KC York President/Founder and on behalf of the board of directors #EndTheSuffering #StopTrapping #ProtectWolves #TruthsinTrapping |
Exposing the Big Game
Forget Hunters' Feeble Rationalizations and Trust Your Gut Feelings: Making Sport of Killing Is Not Healthy Human Behavior
Exposing the Big Game 