Written by Tribune Staff
Montana’s Fish & Wildlife Commission recently approved regulations for the upcoming wolf season.
For the 2013-14 seasons, hunters will have the opportunity to pursue wolves throughout Montana beginning Sept. 7 for archery hunting, Sept. 15 for the general rifle season and Dec. 15 for trapping. The archery only season will close Sept. 14, and the general season will end March 15. Wolf trapping season ends Feb. 28
Wolf hunting licenses cost $19 for residents and $50 for nonresidents. License sales should begin by Aug. 5. Montana trapping licenses are currently on sale for $20 for residents and $250 for nonresidents.
New prospective wolf trappers must attend a mandatory wolf-trapping certification class to use a Montana trapping license to trap wolves and can sign up at fwp.mt.gov. Trappers who successfully completed a wolf trapping certification class in Montana or Idaho in the past do not need to retake one this year.
There is no statewide hunting harvest or trapping quota, but each wolf harvest must be reported. There is, however, a quota of two wolves in Wolf Management Unit 110 near Glacier National Park; four wolves in WMU 313 and three wolves in WMU 316, which borders Yellowstone National Park. Additionally, hunters and trappers are limited to taking only one wolf per person in WMUs 110, 313 and 316.
FWP urges hunters to avoid harvesting wolves with radio collars that provide researchers and managers with important scientific information.
The combined maximum hunting and trapping bag limit is five wolves per person. A hunter can purchase up to five wolf hunting licenses but can harvest only one wolf with each license. The use of electronic calls by wolf hunters is allowed.
Trappers must check their traps every 48 hours and immediately report any unintended animal caught in a trap, including domestic animals. Wolf traps must be set back 1,000 feet from trailheads and 150 feet from roads, the commission will consider in August a new measure that requires additional setbacks along more than 20 specific roads and trails popular among hikers and other recreationists in western Montana. If approved, the locations will be posted on FWP’s website.
Montana wolf specialists counted 625 wolves, in 147 verified packs, and 37 breeding pairs in the state at the end of 2012. The count dropped about 4 percent from the previous year and marked the first time since 2004 that the minimum count declined.
Last season the total hunting and trapping harvest was of 225 wolves. Hunters took 128 wolves and trappers 97.
Delisting allows Montana to manage wolves in a manner similar to how bears, mountain lions and other wildlife species are managed, guided completely by state management plans and laws.