HELENA, Mont.(AP) — The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission has given initial approval to extending the Bitterroot Valley’s wolf hunt.
FWP officials say the proposal would allow the hunt to go on until April 1 or when the area’s quota of 18 gray wolves is met.
FWP commissioners voted 3-2 Thursday to extend the season. Chairman Bob Ream and Commissioner Ron Moody voted against.
Moody says the extension could interfere with the wolves’ reproductive cycle. Ream says that if the proposal is meant to help the declining elk population, wolves are not the top elk predators there.
The proposal now goes out to public comment before a final vote next month
Wolf season across the state ends Feb. 15. So far, 137 wolves have been killed out of a 220-wolf quota.