C-Falls bowhunter takes wolf

A Columbia Falls man took a wolf up the North Fork while bowhunting last week. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials closed wolf hunting in the North Fork after the elk hunter shot the wolf on the fourth day of archery season.

Josh Fields was hunting in the Red Meadow drainage on Sept. 5. He said he was cow calling when the wolf “came running in full bore.” Fields dropped the wolf with one arrow. A second wolf came in as well. Fields is an avid hunter and Whitefish City police officer.

Fields, who had a wolf hunting license, said he believes this is only the third wolf taken by archery in the state. He said it seemed to be a day for predators — he also saw three grizzlies but no elk.

FWP Region 1 wildlife manager Jim Williams said Fields checked in the 83-pound 4-year-old male on Sept. 5 as required.

Wolf Management Unit 110, where Fields was hunting, is the only unit in the state with a quota of two wolves. One more wolf can be harvested from the unit after the rifle season opens on Oct. 15. The district’s hunting quota of two wolves is in deference to nearby Glacier National Park.