Fish and Wildlife Commission issues proposed wolf trapping season regulations

Montana’s wolf trapping season will again run from Jan. 1 through Feb. 15 in western and most of central Montana – the same as last year’s season following a federal court order – and from Dec. 2 through March 15 for regions 6 and 7 in eastern Montana, according to a proposal on which the Fish and Wildlife Commission will vote on Nov. 12.

New this year, trappers running ground lines in regions 1, 2, 3, and the western parts of regions 4 and 5  must obtain a free supplemental trapping permit if they are targeting nongame species like raccoons, badgers, or fox, or predatory animals like weasels, skunks, or coyotes, according to the proposed regulations. Trappers using live cage traps would be exempt from needing a supplemental trapping permit, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

“The purpose of the proposed Supplemental Trapping Permit is to gather data and insight on these trapping efforts,” FWP said.

Additionally, trappers protecting livestock will have to sign an affidavit identifying the producer they are working for, affirming they have permission to trap on that land, and the county in which they will be trapping under the proposed regulations.

The proposal will also set requirements for trappers who incidentally trap a grizzly bear in the western and central regions where wolf trapping is only allowed Jan. 1 through Feb. 15. The requirements would go into effect within 48 hours of FWP being notified of the incidental trapping of a grizzly bear and would not be in effect until then, FWP said.

Those include all foothold traps in ground sets having an inside jaw spread of at most 5 ½ inches. Use of snares would not be allowed unless they meet three criteria:

• The snare has a breakaway lock device on the loop end and is designed to release with 350 or more pounds of pressure;
• The snare is fastened to an immovable object secured to the ground;
• The top of the loop of the snare is not more than 26 inches above ground or from where a trapper’s foot compacts the snow.

Last year’s court order by U.S. District Court of Montana Judge Donald Molloy set the current wolf-trapping season in western and central Montana from Jan. 1 through Feb. 15 because he found that was the time grizzly bears, which are protected under the Endangered Species Act, would be least likely to be outside their winter dens and susceptible to  trapping, which would be an unlawful take under Endangered Species Act regulations.

In April, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Molloy’s decision, which FWP said it had to account for in setting the upcoming trapping season regulations.

The Fish and Wildlife Commission set the wolf and furbearer regulations for the wolf hunting season in August, but pushed the decision on the trapping season dates and  regulations to October, then to its November meeting.

At the August meeting, the commission increased the Montana statewide wolf quota for the hunting and trapping seasons to 334 for this season, up from 313 last year. Hunter and trappers killed 286 wolves during the prior season.

The commission also split Wolf Management Unit 313 just north of Yellowstone National Park back into two units and set a three-wolf quota in each based on recommendations from park officials and people in Gardiner and the surrounding area.

Thirteen wolves from Yellowstone packs were killed this past winter, including eight in Montana, which accounted for about 10% of the park’s wolf population.

But FWP announced Friday afternoon that the wolf quota in WMU 313 was surpassed already. It said four wolves – two males and two females – were reported to have been killed on Friday morning. FWP’s notification means harvest will close at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday in that unit, but the quota was already surpassed.

The state’s wolf harvest dashboard says 44 wolves have been killed so far this season. Archery season ran Sept. 2 through Sept. 14, and general wolf hunting season has been open since then.

The commission also banned the use of telemetry and motion-tracking devices when people are hunting wolves.

The Fish and Wildlife Commission will vote on the proposed regulations at its Nov. 12 meeting at Montana WILD in Helena starting at 8:30 a.m.

Members or the public can submit comments on the proposal and others the commission will hear at the following link under the respective tab for each proposal: https://fwp.mt.gov/aboutfwp/commission/october-2024-meeting.

People can also register to comment virtually during the meeting here: https://myfwp.mt.gov/fwpPub/mtg/fishandwildlifecommissionmeeting11122024.

Blair Miller is a reporter for the Daily Montanan, a nonprofit newsroom.