by Dennis Bragg – KPAX News
MISSOULA – Hunters have killed more than 70 wolves so far in Montana’s third wolf hunting season, with the harvest spread fairly evenly across the state.
The latest totals from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks show 71 wolves had been taken by hunters through Monday.
The most wolves had been taken in Game Management Unit 310 in the Upper Gallatin, and Unit 390 in Southeast Montana, where hunters had killed 10 animals in each area.
Meanwhile, in Unit 121, in the Lower Clark Fork, hunters had killed three wolves, with six taken in the Superior area.
Four wolves have been killed so far on the West Fork of the Bitterroot, where wolves have been blamed for depredation of elk herds.
Trappers can start catching wolves on December 15th. The rifle seasons for wolves run until the end of February.
Montana is taking a different approach with its management this year, only setting quotas in two areas, on the North Fork of the Flathead and in the Beartooth.
Idaho hunters have already killed 100 wolves as of Tuesday. Several areas including the Salmon, Sawtooth, Beaverhead and Southern Mountains game units are already approaching their quotas for the year. Idaho’s wolf trapping season only opened late last week.
Idaho Fish and Game officials say its difficult to tell right now whether the wolf harvest is on the same pace as last year, when over 255 wolves were killed by hunting and more than 100 were trapped.