Viewpoint: Montanan’s wolf policy needs to change
John Carter
On August 19, the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission will meet to decide the fate of wolves in Montana. The proposal is to kill 250 wolves across the state through hunting and trapping.
Additionally, up to 15 “removals” on any individual private property for threats to livestock, persons, or pets is allowed. Apparently there is no limit as to how many of these “properties” can be included, thus no limit on wolves.
Then there is to be no limit on removals by MFWP, USDA Wildlife Services, or others “in defense of property or human safety”. Thus, there is seemingly no real limit to killing of wolves under the current proposal. While the public comment period closed on August 12, there is an opportunity to register to make additional comments via Zoom until August 18.
We at Yellowstone to Uintas Connection submitted detailed comments and provided a report that analyzed Montana management of wolves in comparison to other states and European countries. Montana does not rank very high as it lacks a proven method to document wolf populations and statistics and its models are highly questionable in accuracy of prediction. While MFWP is working to improve, wolves are needlessly being killed.
A major problem in Montana is the use of public harvest rather than targeted conflict resolution. Montana’s own research provides a remarkably clear answer. A MFWP study analyzed wolf-livestock conflicts from 2005 through 2015. Targeted management reduced recurrent depredations, but public harvest did not reliably eliminate conflict from one year to the next. The authors concluded that removing small numbers of wolves through either partial pack control or public harvest may do little to prevent future depredations in recurrent-conflict areas.
Some points that should be made include placing general recreational wolf hunting and trapping on temporary hold to the maximum extent permitted by law while a revised management framework is completed.
Meanwhile retain targeted lethal authority for verified livestock depredation, human-safety threats, and other documented site-specific conflicts, but condition agency-authorized livestock-depredation removals on proof that reasonable preventive measures appropriate to the operation were implemented, except for immediate human-safety threats or active emergencies; all removals should remain subject to reporting and cumulative mortality accounting.
Require all other removals be included in a total human-caused mortality budget and do not eliminate a ceiling on removals by agencies.
Direct FWP to complete and independently validate their population model and restore direct biological monitoring sufficient to evaluate breeding pairs, pack size, recruitment, distribution, and connectivity.
Require a public, spatially explicit management alternative centered on prevention and targeted pack-level response rather than generalized mortality across occupied wolf habitat.
Return any future proposal for general public harvest to the Commission only after the conditions for lifting the moratorium have been satisfied and the supporting analysis has been made available for public review.