FWP commission backs predator policy, nixes trap checks
Laura Lundquist
(Missoula Current) After rejecting two citizen petitions for rules to possibly protect predators, the Fish and Wildlife Commission has voted to develop an agency predator management policy.
On Thursday, the Fish and Wildlife Commission considered citizen-initiated petitions to start rule-making on two proposals but denied both. Footloose Montana, backed by the Gallatin Wildlife Association, sponsored the first petition, which would have required trappers to check traps or snares every 24 hours if on public land.
But before the sponsor could explain the proposal, Region 2 commissioner Jeff Burrows made a motion to deny the petition, seconded by Region 7 commissioner Rich Lane. But chair Lesley Robinson rolled that back and allowed the sponsor to speak.
“We submitted this petition because the public is very concerned about the cruelty inherent in trapping and has, for more than 20 years, asked for a mandatory trap check to be implemented,” said Anja Heister of Footloose Montana. “The question before you today is will you continue to allow Montana’s wild animals, companion dogs and other non-target animals to suffer endlessly in traps and snares or will you implement a rule that is based on science and require trappers to check their traps and snares every 24 hours?”
Of the 30 people who commented, six asked the commission to deny the petition, including members of the Montana Trappers Association, Montana Outfitters and Guides Association and Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife. They said it’s too difficult for trappers to do 24-hour checks in remote country with winter weather. They added that such a requirement would be unenforceable, although wolf trappers have a required 48-hour trap check.
Supporters of daily trap and snare checks said the checks would keep animals from suffering for days, especially if they’re nontarget species or pets. The quicker such animals are released, the more likely they are to survive. They say Montana should join the 36 other states have trap checks.
Burrows said he didn’t think the petition was “ready for prime-time.” The commission unanimously voted to deny the petition.
“The discussion of the non-target species - not necessarily the bears and wildlife, but going back to the pets. Why isn’t there a petition to propose a leash law on public lands if we’re specifically worried about pets? If we’ve got a non-target pet in a trap, that came from a dog being at-large, especially if it was in that trap for a long period of time. That dog was out there running wild on public lands,” Burrows said. “To avoid the pets being the non-target animal, we could propose a leash law and a penalty for having dogs at-large on public lands.”
The Flathead-Lolo-Bitterroot Citizen Task Force sponsored the second petition, which sought to require hunters and trappers to carry bear spray and have it readily available while in bear country.
“Conflicts between hunters, trappers and grizzly bears have significantly increased in recent years, and in many of these incidents, people engaged in hunting activities were not carrying bear spray. Hunting and trapping in grizzly bear habitat is inherently risky. Hunters stalk quietly alone through thick brush and forest, and are next to freshly killed animals that may attract bears,” said Mike Bader of the Flathead-Lolo-Bitterroot Citizen Task Force. “We’re not singling out hunters and trappers. Those are just activities that have higher risk and have led to higher conflicts.”
Six of the 20 public commenters opposed the proposal, although all but one said they carry bear spray when they go hunting. They praised the FWP program that educates Montanans on bear-aware practices and said education was better than regulation. A few complained that they already have enough gear to carry when they go hunting.
Mike Mershon of the Montana Wildlife Federation said his organization was sympathetic to the intent of the proposal but preferred to emphasize education.
“It would be very useful for a department-led effort to do a deeper analysis of bear encounters and a public presentation of that information in a way that could inform best practices,” Mershon said.
Region 4 commissioner KC Walsh made the motion to deny the petition, saying the emphasis should be on educating people about using bear spray. Lane seconded. The commission voted unanimously to deny the petition.
Finally, Region 1 Commissioner Ian Wargo explained his proposal to use the rulemaking process to develop a predator management policy for FWP. The rest of the commission hadn’t weighed in, because his proposal was made public just a week before the meeting. He said doing season-setting species by species is problematic.
“I put pen to paper and tried to determine what an ask to the department would be,” Wargo said. “I’m looking for intentionality. I don’t think predator management should be arbitrary; I don’t think it should be uniform. If we have areas where ungulate populations are struggling but habitat could support more animals and predation is likely contributing to mortality, I think there’d be benefit for a more deliberate framework.”
The resulting discussion showed that the rest of the commission and representatives of the department were uncertain about what process they were looking at. FWP legal counsel Jeff Hindoin explained that the department wanted more guidance on what the commission wanted before they developed a possible policy that would then go through the rule-making process.
Burrows said such a policy would provide predictability for the public about when higher predator kill quotas would be increased.
“We have ungulates depressed in an area, we can pull that lever of ‘let’s reduce B tags and let’s increase pressure on a predator that has an impact.’ For the commission to have that predictability of an objective not being met, we pull a lever for a certain period of time. That gets rid of the arbitrariness,” Burrows said.
Burrows added that social aspects would have to be factored in that aren’t related to science-based objectives, such as the public calling for lower wolf quotas around Yellowstone National Park. So the plan can’t be too rigid. Robinson agreed.
“I would not be in support of something that would tie our hands. We have to look to our comments and we have to take into account all of that and social is one of them. So even if we have metrics, we still have to look at the big picture,” Robinson said.
Region 3 commissioner Susan Brooke said she’s always wanted better data to help her decide what the right quotas should be. But there’s never a clearcut one-to-one relationship between ungulates and predators.
“There are factors other than predators that are a reason you have declines in ungulate populations, whether it’s disease or changes in habitat. I’d like that to be something that is included,” Brooke said. “What’s wrong? What’s happening on the ground? We don’t get the heat of that until we get home and then someone calls you up and says, “What were you thinking?’”
Seventeen people commented with the same group of trappers, outfitters and hunters supporting a predator management policy. Those who were opposed were suspicious because Wargo’s proposal was considered with little notice and he has regularly advocated for increasing the quotas of bears, lions and wolves that can be killed each season. KC York of Trap Free Montana said that aggressive management has “lowered the lion population possibly by 40%; there are at least 34% fewer wolves, and 40% of the female bears killed this spring were lactating in Region 2 alone.” Lactating female bears have cubs that are likely to die without a mother.
“The name is telling. This ‘Predator Management Policy’ is politically driven and a pattern undoubtedly to kill more wolves, lions and bears while dismissing the heavy unethical and unscientific hand they have been dealt,” York said. “We don’t need a predator policy; we need a pro-wildlife policy.”
The new Region 5 commissioner, Vern Gagnon, acknowledged that the name of the policy “does imply an outcome,” and he suggested that it be renamed. With that, the commission voted to have the department draft a predator management policy.
Contact reporter Laura Lundquist at lundquist@missoulacurrent.com.