Wolf kills about 36 percent higher this season

Montana hunters and trappers killed 225 gray wolves in the course of the 181-day hunting season and the 76-day trapping season that both ended Feb. 28.

That’s about 36 percent higher than in the last season, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks reported, and the figures don’t include the 104 wolves killed by government wildlife agents and ranchers because of attacks on livestock or other conflicts.

A total of 18,642 wolf hunting licenses were purchased, including 246 by nonresidents, and 128 wolves were taken by hunters. About 1,500 trappers purchased wolf trapping licenses and took 97 wolves. About half of the harvest occurred on public lands, but the wolf take was well distributed across Montana.

“We’re generally pleased with these results,” FWP director Jeff Hagener said. “The overall harvest of 225 wolves this season is higher than last year and reflects the more liberal harvest opportunities that were added for 2012. The effectiveness of hunters and now trappers together continues to grow.”

Gov. Steve Bullock said new wolf regulations seem to be doing the job of reducing wolf numbers in the state. He signed looser hunting and trapping regulations into law on Feb. 13 in hopes of reducing the wolf population even more next season.

Hunters next season will be able to purchase up to three wolf licenses, and the price of a nonresident wolf hunting license was lowered from $350 to $50. Hunting in areas near national parks will only be closed if established wolf harvest quotas are reached.

Hagener said he doesn’t expect a large drop in the state’s wolf population this year because of their prolific breeding behavior. A sustainable statewide population might be 400 to 500 wolves, he said. The wolf population last year was estimated to be about 650.

“We need to achieve a reduction,” Hagener said. “Montana has made room for wolves, we are long past the period of recovering wolves, and we are committed to managing for a recovering population. We also need to remember it is FWP’s responsibility to manage with an eye to how all of our special wild resources affect each other and address issues such as public tolerance, including that of landowners.”

In Idaho, hunters and trappers killed about 245 wolves in a season that runs into June. In Wyoming, hunters killed 43 wolves out of a quota of 52 in a season that ended Dec. 31.