Wolf hunt starts with archery season

Montana’s second regulated wolf hunt

kicked off Saturday, Sept. 3, with the start of the archery

season.

The statewide quota for 220 wolves

includes archery season, early rifle season in wilderness areas and

the general big game season that opens in late October.

Northwest Montana is divided into wolf

districts with quotas ranging from three to 19 wolves. The smallest

quota is in a district that covers parts of the Bob Marshall

Wilderness, where rifle hunting will start Sept. 15. The first

harvested wolf in the 2009 season was shot in the wilderness.

Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region 1

wildlife manager Jim Williams reminds hunters that if a wolf is

harvested, hunters must report the kill within 12 hours so the

state can keep tabs on quotas. Once quotas are met, districts will

be immediately closed.

By last week, nearly six thousand $19

resident wolf licenses had been sold, along with forty-two $350

nonresident licenses. FWP license bureau chief Hank Worsech said he

expects license sales to pick up before the general big-game season

and approach numbers similar to those in 2009.

A total of 15,414 wolf licenses were

sold to Montana residents in 2009 for the state’s first-ever

regulated wolf hunt, along with 88 nonresident licenses.