Montana suspect cited for “littering” after improperly dumping wolf carcasses
The discovery of two wolf carcasses near a Sanders County highway has led to charges of littering.
Around the end of February, Tootie Welker left her home in Hot Springs headed for the Clark Fork River near Paradise to look for cottonwood buds. Bound for a place she knew well, she turned off the St. Regis Cutoff road into a small river access and parking area near the boundary of the Lolo National Forest. After what she saw, Welker said she’d never go there again.
About 100 feet off the highway, she stumbled upon the bodies of two wolves, one of which had been skinned. Worried the wolves had just been dumped and that their kills hadn’t been reported to Fish, Wildlife & Parks, she contacted FWP biologist Mike Ebringer, who called FWP warden Morgan Post. Then she passed the information on to Footloose Montana.
“I’m still struggling with getting the images out of my head,” Welker said. “This is exactly why many of us are against hunting because of unethical people like this.”
Post said he investigated the incident and cited a suspect for two counts of littering. He said the issue is in the courts so he couldn’t provide more information.
“It was on private property. The wolves were legally harvested; they were just improperly disposed of. It was dumped without the landowners permission, and it was within 200 yards of a public road,” Post said. “With wolves, there’s no wasted game. When someone harvests a wolf, they could just leave it in the field. But if they want to retain possession of the pelt, they have to bring it in to get a hide seal.”
FWP Region 1 spokesman Dillon Tabish said the man who dumped the wolves had permission to be on the property.
“That’s probably where he had his traps set,” Tabish said. “He didn’t get cited for not reporting (the kills). This was nothing related to poaching.”
Montana’s wolf season continues until March 15. So far, 255 dead wolves have been reported to FWP, and 97 are from Region 1 in northwest Montana, far below the quota of 195 wolves. Wolf advocates say they doubt those numbers are representative, because those who want to eradicate wolves often use the phrase, “Shoot, shovel and shut up,” implying they prefer to poach rather than report legal kills.
They point to groups like the Idaho-based Foundation for Wildlife Management, which is advertising a banquet this weekend at the Flathead County Fairgrounds with the phrase, “1300+ Wolves Removed and Counting.”
Biologists say the season won’t likely cause wolves to go extinct in any of the regions, including Region 3 where Yellowstone wolves have been hit hard.
Tabish said the incident doesn’t help reduce the controversy so he encouraged sportsmen to properly dispose of all carcasses.
“We primarily try to get education out about deer carcasses being disposed of properly, now that we have CWD. But it’s never good to be dumping carcasses of other animals near public roadways or trailheads,” Tabish said. “We want our hunting and trapping public to follow those rules because it can reflect poorly on hunting and trapping when you don’t follow them.”
Contact reporter Laura Lundquist at lundquist@missoulacurrent.com.