Aug 06, 2026 | 7:49 pm ET

By Connie Poten Anja HeisterShare

Deficient data means Montana FWP should stop wolf hunting | News From The States

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A gray wolf. (Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife)

How many wolves are left in Montana?

Nobody knows.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks admitted that its iPOM counting method over-estimated wolf numbers for years. Instead of 1,094 wolves, FWP’s revised iPOM 2.0 method now estimates that Montana’s population is 725 wolves—34% less. 

Longtime wolf researchers say the population is closer to 400 wolves. 

Either way, the tipping point has been breached; wolves are in perilous decline. The average pack has plummeted to four wolves, well below a healthy, functioning pack size.

Yet FWP is proposing a quota of 250 wolves and 20 wolves per person. 

In 2025, FWP recorded 328 wolf mortalities including the 247 killed by hunters and trappers. and those killed by vehicle collisions and other causes.

If that scenario is repeated with a 250 quota, there will be 397 survivors. If the reality is 400 wolves left on the landscape, wolves will be effectively exterminated. 

By law (Montana Code Annotated 87-1-901), 450 wolves must be maintained in Montana to ensure 15 breeding pairs. This rule is the core foundational benchmark of the Montana Gray Wolf Conservation and Management Plan 2025.

The history of exaggerated numbers and quotas should trigger the Commission to suspend wolf killing to keep wolves at or above the legal number. This includes not giving FWP and USDA Wildlife Services carte blanche to kill an unlimited number of wolves, as proposed.

FWP’s deeply flawed iPOM was built on four bad models and the iPOM 2.0 does not improve it. Information is hidden; FWP can’t verify it. FWP no longer radio collars wolves and does not collect scat (markers) for genetic individual identification. The iPOM is riddled with bias and not updated with annual variables. FWP depends on phone surveys with game hunters six weeks after hunting season. This means coyotes are mistaken for wolves, the same wolves are counted multiple times, locations are sketchy, packs are guessed at. Relying on anecdotal sightings recollected by hunters untrained in data collection is the antithesis of reliable research. 

FWP chose not to adopt a method similar to Italy’s most accurate Integrated Spatial Model, which uses multiple lines of evidence and non-invasive inputs to determine individual genetic information, pack size and population estimates. Instead, FWP uses numbers which are wrong and irrelevant because wolf survival depends on family social structures and individuals holding families together. 

Wolves are held in the public trust. But as trustee, FWP pays only lip service to societal values, ignoring 74% of Montanans who want wolves on the landscape and hundreds of people who speak out against high quotas and killing methods that amount to persecution.

As the top apex predator, wolves provide humans healthy ecosystems by “culling weak deer and elk, suppressing coyotes that prey on calves/sheep, reducing disease transmission, restoring streamside vegetation that supports songbirds, beavers, trout and insects and reducing deer-vehicle collisions,” wrote Dr. Robert Crabtree, chief scientist, Yellowstone Ecological Research Center. “Naturally formed, larger packs are the key indicator of a healthy ecosystem.”

Deficient data, canine distemper, habitat destruction and catastrophic wildfires, heat and drought signal doom for this keenly intelligent, valuable species.

This is no time for recreationally killing 250 wolves struggling to survive. 

At the Aug. 19 meeting, the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission can and should place a moratorium on wolf hunting and trapping until a transparent, reliable method of ascertaining wolf packs and wolf population health is established. It is the right thing to do in a time of great uncertainty. 

Poten is the co-founder and board president of Footloose Montana and Heister is the co-founder and executive director of Footloose Montana.

The eagle was found with shotgun pellets in its brain, federal prosecutors said.

ByBill Hutchinson 

Wednesday, August 5, 2026 1:20PM

• Washington man accused of shooting, killing bald eagle facing federal charges – ABC7 Chicago

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Federal criminal charges have been filed against a Washington state man whom authorities allege fatally shot a bald eagle in the head on his rural property, authorities said.

Benjamin G. Allen of Brush Prairie in Clark County, Washington, was charged Tuesday with violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and unlawfully killing a migratory bird, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.

If convicted of the misdemeanor charges, Allen could face up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $500,000, the statement said.

ABC News could not reach Allen for comment on Wednesday. It was unclear if Allen has hired an attorney.

The 66-year-old Allen “is accused of shooting and killing the bird with a shotgun,” according to the statement.

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The incident occurred on Feb. 5, 2026, when a witness reported hearing a gunshot coming from Allen’s property, the statement said.

“According to records in the case, special agents from Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife were called to the property in Brush Prairie regarding a dead eagle with blood around its head,” according to the statement, which further said that agents interviewed Allen about the deceased eagle and “his actions that day.” The statement did not disclose what Allen may have told the agents.

“Allen kept chickens not far from where the dead eagle was discovered,” the statement noted, adding that an exam by a veterinarian concluded the eagle died from two shotgun pellets found in its brain.

Allen has been summoned to appear in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, Washington, on Sept. 8.

While bald eagles are the national symbol of the United States, they are no longer considered endangered. The birds, however, are still protected under the 1940 Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, which prohibits individuals from killing them.

The charges against Allen come after a 42-year-old Texas man, Santos Guerrero, pleaded guilty in May to federal charges that he fatally shot a bald eagle on his property near Houston in 2024. Guerrero faces up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine when sentenced, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.

In another case in Washington state, 49-year-old Travis John Branson of Cusick was sentenced to nearly four years in prison and fined $777,250 after he pleaded guilty in 2024 to charges stemming from the killing of numerous eagles and hawks on Washington’s Flathead Indian Reservation, according to federal prosecutors.

Prosecutors said Branson admitted to a self-described “killing spree” of thousands of eagles and hawks between 2009 and 2021, butchering the birds and selling their parts, including eagle feathers, on the black market. Prosecutors said investigators traced the deaths of 118 eagles and 107 hawks directly to Branson.

Steven Buchecker surrendered to authorities after an arrest warrant was issued for him on charges including felony animal abuse, making threats and witness intimidation.

By Deanna Durante • Published August 5, 2026 • Updated on August 6, 2026 at 9:15 am

Man accused of shooting, trapping cat turns himself in – NBC10 Philadelphia

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An arrest warrant is out for Steven Buchecker of North Wales, wanted for severely injuring a cat. A woman has been arrested in connection with the case. NBC10’s Deanna Durante has the exclusive story.

A North Wales man accused in what Upper Gwynedd Township police describe as a disturbing animal abuse case has turned himself in.

Steven Buchecker surrendered to authorities after an arrest warrant was issued for him on charges including felony animal abuse, making threats and witness intimidation. Another person, Meredith Ziemba, has already been arrested in connection with the case.

According to court documents, officers responded June 11 after receiving a report of an abused cat behind a home on North Wales Road. A tipster alerted police to the badly injured animal.

Investigators say the cat had been shot in the eye with a pellet, another pellet was lodged in its back and one of its paws was caught in a bear trap.

Court documents allege Ziemba knew the cat’s paw was caught in the trap and that Buchecker had shot the animal.

Police say Ziemba initially told officers there were no cats on the property. Officers searched the area and found the injured cat still caught in the bear trap.

Investigators estimate the cat had been trapped for several days in temperatures above 90 degrees.

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Officers cut the chains attached to the trap and took the cat to a veterinarian. Police say the cat lost one eye and part of one paw had to be amputated.

According to court documents, Ziemba and Buchecker discussed the cat with others and the possibility that it would die in the yard.

Police also allege Buchecker threatened the tipster who reported the abuse, leading to additional charges related to making threats and witness intimidation.

A check of court records also shows prior arrests on drug- and alcohol-related charges.

The cat has since been named Harvey and has been rehomed, police said.

by Saia Nahir Bartes, The Conversation

edited by Lisa Lock, reviewed by Andrew Zinin

 Editors’ notes

 The GIST

Bird flu decimated South America’s marine mammals. What can Australia do differently?

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Australia is now confronting an outbreak of a deadly bird flu strain. As of Monday, the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus had been detected in 78 wild birds across mainland Australia. Until now, there had been no evidence of a large-scale outbreak.

But authorities have confirmed the first instance of mass death caused by H5N1 among dozens of greater crested terns off South Australia’s southeast coast. They are also conducting further testing on a cluster of sick and dead terns in southwest Victoria.

As H5N1 spreads across the country, researchers, wildlife managers and the broader public are increasingly concerned about the risks it may pose beyond birds.

Recent outbreaks have threatened aquatic mammals, including southern otters, dolphins and porpoises. H5N1 has also decimated pinniped populations around the globe, including in South America. Pinnipeds are marine mammals that live in the sea and form colonies but spend extended periods on land, such as sea lions, fur seals and elephant seals.

As the risk of a broader outbreak rises, Australia must protect its wildlife by drawing on lessons from other continents already battling bird flu.

Looking to South America

H5N1 poses an urgent threat to wildlife worldwide. Since 2021, this fatal strain of bird flu has spread to every continent and infected poultry flocks, dairy cattle, wild birds and a growing range of wild mammals. In June, it finally reached Australia, first detected in a sick brown skua.

This strain has been particularly devastating in South America. In late 2022, H5N1 spread rapidly from infected seabirds into pinniped colonies. At least 30,000 South American sea lions died in Peru, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil during the subsequent outbreak. In some areas, major breeding colonies lost up to one-third of their population within a single breeding season.

Current evidence suggests H5N1 also caused mass deaths in southern elephant seals—the same species as Neil the seal—with more than 17,000 pups dying at Península Valdés in Argentina. Scientists still don’t know how many adults died.

Our team of researchers—from the Universidad Nacional del Comahue in Argentina and Deakin University in Australia—documented a dramatic decline in the number of seals in northern Patagonia following the 2022–23 outbreak.

Subsequent studies across South America show infected pinnipeds developed severe neurological and respiratory disease. Symptoms include lethargy, tremors, impaired coordination and labored breathing, among others. Affected animals showed severe respiratory disease and neurological signs, and postmortem examinations revealed marked lung lesions. Many animals died within a short period after clinical signs appeared.

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Australian mammals at risk

Although concerning, the South American outbreak gives us crucial insight into how H5N1 spreads, which species may be most vulnerable and what strategies could reduce its impacts.

Each time H5N1 infects and replicates in a mammal, the virus becomes better at adapting to mammalian hosts. Monitoring how efficiently it spreads between mammals is therefore essential for protecting wildlife. It also allows us to assess the risk of human infection—which currently remains low—and the potential for a broader pandemic.

For now, H5N1 has not yet reached Australia’s pinniped colonies, which are already under pressure from fishery nets and hooks, pollution, habitat destruction and climate change.

So we still have time to protect them from H5N1. Authorities should start with Kangaroo Island, where infected seabirds have been found near the breeding habitat of the endangered Australian sea lion.

Other threatened marine mammals may also be vulnerable. This includes the rare Burrunan dolphin, of which there are fewer than 200 individual animals swimming around Victoria’s Port Phillip Bay and Gippsland regions.

So, how can we protect them?

As Australia’s number of confirmed H5N1 cases rises, urgent action is needed to protect our vulnerable marine mammals.

Australian authorities can learn from the South American outbreak by:

• frequently conducting population censuses to detect unusual deaths and sudden changes in the size of seal and sea lion colonies
• closely monitoring live animals and taking samples of any dead animals to track how the virus is circulating before any mass deaths occur
• removing all carcasses, particularly near tourist areas, to prevent scavenging birds, dogs and other animals from being exposed to infected animals
• ensuring researchers, wildlife managers and tourism operators stick to strict biosecurity protocols, such as wearing appropriate personal protective equipment when handling sick or dead wildlife and disinfecting boots and equipment between sites
• tightening biosecurity measures around food production, particularly intensive poultry farms where commercial poultry may be exposed to infected wild birds

The public can also help protect our vulnerable pinnipeds by:

• not approaching any sick wildlife
• keeping pets away from wildlife
• reporting any sightings of sick or dead birds, seals, sea lions or other animals to the 24-hour Emergency Animal Disease Hotline by calling 1800 675 888, noting details about the date, location, type and number of animals

As the number of infected seabirds rises, so does the threat of a H5N1 outbreak among Australia’s marine mammal colonies. South America reveals how devastating this virus can be for entire ecosystems. Australia should heed that warning while there is still time to protect its pinnipeds.