Wolf council meets for first time in five years

Former members of Montana’s Wolf Management Advisory Council will meet once again in Helena on Friday, April 12, to review and discuss the wolf management plan they helped create.

The 12-member panel, which includes Sen. Bruce Tutvedt, R-Kalispell, last met about five years ago to discuss specific hunting and trapping recommendations in anticipation of wolves being removed from the Endangered Species list.

“A lot has transpired since the council last met in 2007,” said Jeff Hagener, director of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. “Governor Steve Bullock and I have invited the members to gather in Helena for a one-day meeting to review the status of the wolf in Montana today and to discuss the effectiveness of the management plan.”

The meeting agenda includes introductory remarks from Bullock, Hagener and Chase Hibbard, the former chairman of the council. There will also be an update on existing federal requirements; a review of the legal procedures that led to delisting in 2011; and reviews and updates on the wolf population’s status, research activities, hunting and trapping seasons, livestock depredation, recent wolf-related legislation, and wolf program funding.

There will also be a 2 p.m. opportunity for public comment at the meeting, which will be held at Fish, Wildlife and Parks headquarters in Helena starting at 8:30 a.m.