By ERIC WHITNEY
Montana officials are seeking permission to offer a wolf trapping course online after seeing class participation decline over the last two years. The safety and education course is a requirement for anybody who wants to trap a wolf in the state. Once they pass, certification is good for life.
Ron Aasheim with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks says more than 2,300 people took the course the first year it was offered, in 2012. Last year, fewer than 300 took it.
“I think it’s just a matter of, the vast majority of folks that wanted to trap wolves, have already taken the course,” Aasheim says.
Wildlife officials will ask the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission Thursday to allow trappers to take the course online instead of in person. Aasheim says doing so would save staff time and resources.
If approved, the agency plans to have the course available November 1. Montana’s wolf trapping season runs from December 15 to the end of February. In the three years that wolf trapping has been legal in Montana, trappers have taken 260 of the animals.