UM Researchers: Vast majority of Montanans tolerate wolves
Laura Lundquist
(Missoula Current) Montanans are becoming increasingly tolerant of wolves in general, but wolf hunters and trappers are some of the least tolerant in the state, according to new Montana research.
On Friday, the science journal “Conservation Science and Practice” published a human-behavior study that indicates Montanans overall have become increasingly tolerant of wolves over the past 10 years, while tolerance of wolf hunting and especially wolf trapping has decreased.
After conducting surveys of Montana residents in 2012, 2017 and 2023, researchers with the University of Montana College of Forestry and Conservation found that residents’ tolerance of wolves has increased from 41% to 74%, but their tolerance of wolf hunting has followed an opposite trend, dropping 13 points to 58% over the 10 years.
However, when asked if wolf populations should be controlled, 74% of residents still support lethal control, although that’s waned over time and depends on the method of control, according to the paper. The one method people tolerate the least is trapping. The 2012 survey didn’t ask about trapping, but responses from the other two surveys show that tolerance of trapping dropped 4 points to 36% between 2017 and 2023.
“Contrary to many assumptions and media narratives, most people have positive attitudes toward wolves and are tolerant of them. This is true around the world and even here in Montana, where we estimate 74% of Montanans are tolerant or very tolerant of wolves. In Montana, people also tolerate wolf hunting and lethal control in response to conflict - this sets Montana apart from Europe and elsewhere,” said lead author Alexander Metcalf in a social media post.
When the researchers broke down the 2023 results by demographic group, they found a slight difference between men and women - 88% of women were tolerant to very tolerant of wolves, compared to 71% of men. They found a larger difference between urban and rural residents: 66 % of rural residents reported being tolerant compared to 81% in urban areas. Age can also play a role, because older generations hold on to old ideas like fear of wolves.
Finally, slightly more than half of deer and elk hunters say they’re tolerant of wolves while a third report being intolerant. But wolf hunters are a different story, with two-thirds being intolerant of wolves and just 14% that tolerate them. Large landowners also lean against wolves, with 54% saying they’re intolerant and 28% tolerant. In these three groups, between 15-20% indicate they have no preference.
The authors add that the two groups with the most negative attitudes make up exceedingly small proportions of the resident population: 1.4% for wolf hunters and 8% for large landowners.
“Unlike mountain lion and black bear hunters who seem (according to the limited evidence available) to have positive attitudes toward their target species, wolf hunters in Montana held the lowest tolerance of any group we measured and had not increased their tolerance over time. Notably, however, tolerance of wolves among Montana's deer and elk hunters (totaling 17.3% of the resident population) had increased substantially over the past 10 years, in contrast to most hunters who live with wolves in other geographies,” the authors wrote in the paper.
The authors are quick to point out that their results don’t “negate the importance of (or importance of understanding) the minority of Montanans who have exceedingly negative attitudes toward wolves. Anti-wolf sentiments, though held by a minority, represent a significant and influential segment of the population.”
To explain why Montanans’ attitudes and tolerance have changed over time, the authors suggest several factors, including shifting wildlife values; experiences with hunting, trapping and lethal removal programs; public reaction to the Legislature liberalizing hunting regulations; and the effect of direct experiences with wolves, among others. For example, they point out that Montana’s population has surged since 2012, and many of the newcomers might have brought tolerant urban attitudes with them.
However, the authors credit having direct experiences with wolves as explaining a significant portion of the change. People who actually interact or observe wolves can reach their own conclusions and maybe reevaluate their assumptions. Almost half of Montana adults reported at least one interaction with wolves, more than half rated their interactions as positive, and only 15% rated them as negative.
“That wolves have repopulated the state over the past 45 years and, despite their bad reputation, most people have had no interactions with them, or positive ones if they have, is the most likely reason why tolerance has increased, according to our analysis,” the authors wrote.
After being extirpated in the West, wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park 30 years ago and spread to Montana as an experimental population. Montana took over management of the wolf in 2005, although wolves were still federally protected. An attempt was made to delist wolves in 2008, but court cases kept the species’ status in limbo. In 2011, Congress delisted the Northern Rocky Mountain population and Montana created its wolf hunting and trapping season. The researchers conducted their first survey a year later.
“Why is tolerance on the rise? Our analysis suggests that, as Montanans have now lived for years with wolves, the majority of their interactions with wolves are self-described as positive. People enjoy hearing howls or seeing tracks, and wolves rarely cause damage and almost never threaten people. These predominantly positive interactions - and perhaps the lack of meaningfully negative interactions - bolster people’s attitudes,” Metcalf said. “Wolves don’t seem to live up to their big bad reputation, and, over time, people notice.”
Contact reporter Laura Lundquist at lundquist@missoulacurrent.com.