by Dennis Bragg (KPAX/KAJ Media Center)
MISSOULA- Saying Montana wildlife populations are “out of whack”, state game managers hope a more “aggressive” wolf hunting season will help to prevent a “crash” in deer and elk populations.
During a candid discussion with people in Missoula on Tuesday night Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks explained why they are in such a hurry to get control of the situation.
Biologists say they’re seeing all the indications of a coming “crash” in deer and elk populations, especially in Western Montana, brought on by a rebound in predators. And they believe the re-introduction of wolves has pushed that balance past the “tipping point.”
During an informational meeting in Missoula, FWP staff explained the ratios of wolves to elk have been shifting rapidly in favor of wolves. While the Bitterroot Valley gets most of the attention, they say there’s actually areas where the decline in ungulate populations is even more extreme, with entire herds close to extinction.
FWP officials believe an expanded wolf hunt along with changes in mountain lion hunts, will help restore that balance.
“We would feel like we would have success if we could demonstrate or implement a season type that would turn this trend around,” FWP Regional Wildlife Manager Mike Thompson explained.
Game managers have already turned to the controversial practice of shooting wolves from the air in Idaho, but Thompson doesn’t expect that in Montana, at least for now…
“I have more faith that we’re going to succeed with hunting and trapping. If we do it right and we do it in a hurry. I wish it had been last year. I wish it had been the year before but if we hustle before it gets away from us.”
In addition to a longer wolf hunting season, the state wants to allow trapping, and move to a statewide quota for kills. The state hopes that will be enough to stabilize populations, but officials admit they will have to monitor the situation closely.
“I think that’s what’s going to have to happen and that’s going to have to be a fluid thing. That’s going to have to be something that changes from year-to-year and adapts from year-to-year depending on what we learn,” Thompson told us.
He added there’s been great success in restoring all species to Western Montana, saying its “no longer a city park” for wildlife. But he says “now comes the hard part” of charting a course where the prey, and the preyed-upon can coexist.