MATT VOLZ Associated Press
HELENA, Mont. — Montana is considering a proposal to let hunters kill wolves that prey on livestock, a task that is now the sole responsibility of federal Wildlife officials.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services now responds to livestock depredation complaints by ranchers and landowners. If the federal agency and the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks determine a complaint is justified and lethal removal of the wolves is needed, then officials with Wildlife Services are sent to kill the problem Animals.
So far this year, Wildlife Services agents have killed 47 wolves that way, according to FWP chief Ken McDonald.
But under a new proposal, a hunter chosen by the livestock owner would be allowed to kill wolves year-round if Wildlife Services and the state Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department determine that is the best course of action.
Use of a hunter chosen by the livestock owner would ensure a fast response, McDonald told the FWP commission Thursday at its regular meeting. The hunter would have to purchase a Montana wolf license, report the kill within 12 hours and would be used only after coordination between the livestock owner and the federal and state agencies.
McDonald told the commission that the change is not meant to replace Wildlife Services, but to give the state another tool to manage wolves. Commissioner Ron Moody suggested another motive may be financial.
“When we use Wildlife Services we pay them. When we use hunters, they pay us,” Moody said.
McDonald responded, “That’s part of it.”
McDonald also acknowledged that Wildlife Services was having budget problems of its own. At least twice last year, Wildlife Services officials told landowners they could not fly out to respond to a depredation report because they did not have the funding, McDonald said. In those cases, the landowners raised the money for the federal officials to respond.
But that budgetary concern is not driving this proposal, McDonald said.
“We have no problem with Wildlife Services’ responsiveness,” he said.
State Wildlife officials sent Wildlife Services a copy of the proposal but did not receive a reply, which McDonald said he infers as the agency’s consent.
The Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission tentatively approved the proposal on Thursday, though the item was not listed on the commission’s agenda. It now goes to public comment before a final decision is made at the commission’s December meeting.
The largely anti-wolf audience in attendance to hear a separate proposal to extend this year’s wolf hunting season was mainly in favor of the new proposal.
“Six guys from Butte are probably going to do a better job of removing problem Animals than all of Wildlife Services,” said Ben Lamb, acting executive director of the Montana Wildlife Federation.
Besides the use of Wildlife Services, livestock owners themselves can kill a wolf that they actually witness preying on their livestock. McDonald said 10 wolves have been killed that way this year.
The commission also tentatively approved extending the wolf hunt to Jan. 31 if the state’s quota of 220 wolves isn’t met by the end of the year. So far, 60 wolves have been killed in the hunt, the first since Congress removed wolves in all of the Northern Rockies except Wyoming as an endangered species.