Legislators, sportsmen’s group seek diminished wolf population, while conservation groups decry increased harvest limits
By Micah Drew DAILY MONTANAN
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the department’s Fish and Wildlife Commission are named defendants in two lawsuits arguing, from opposite sides, that the latest wolf hunting regulations violate the state constitution.
First, a pair of Republican lawmakers and the Outdoor Heritage Coalition filed a lawsuit in Sanders County District Court alleging that the Fish and Wildlife Commission, which sets department policies and regulations, had not complied with state laws intended to reduce the state’s population of gray wolves when it adopted regulations for the upcoming hunting and trapping season.
Then, four conservation organizations filed a lawsuit against the department and commission also in hopes of overturning the latest wolf management regulations, but with an opposing argument — that the decision to increase the quota of wolves that can be killed this year threatens the species and flies in the face of the constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment.
The opposing lawsuits, filed Sept. 30 and Oct. 16, are continuing a series of arguments that played out during the 2025 legislative session, which pitted legislators and advocates for reducing the state’s population of roughly 1,100 wolves against those seeking to preserve and protect the species.
At the heart of the suits are the 2025 wolf hunting and trapping regulations, in which the Commission set a statewide harvest quota of 452 wolves, two additional three-wolf quotas for hunting areas outside Yellowstone National Park, plus an additional 100 wolves approved for removal by the department for cases of conflict with livestock or humans.
Hunters and trappers killed 297 wolves last season, while the most killed in a season was 326 during 2020. The quota for wolf harvest has not been met by hunters and trappers in recent years.
According to FWP’s latest population survey, there are an estimated 1,091 wolves in Montana, 12 fewer than the 2023 population estimate and slightly lower than the 10-year average of 1,138 wolves.
But that marginal decline has not been enough for Republican lawmakers who believe the animal has outgrown a stated recovery goal of 15 breeding pairs for the state and in 2021, passed a bill requiring FWP to reduce the number of wolves to a “sustainable level,” with a stated goal of preventing a decline in the state’s deer and elk populations and minimizing livestock predation.
During the 2025 Legislature, lawmakers considered a slew of bills aimed at more dramatically reducing the wolf population, including one by Rep. Shannon Manness, a plaintiff in one lawsuit, by as much as half, aiming towards a population of 450 animals, cited in federal delisting documents as a stable minimum population.
While Manness’ bill did not become law, Rep. Paul Fielder, a Republican from Thompson Falls, did carry one wolf hunting bill that became law, expanding the use of night scopes on private land.
The two lawmakers in their complaint allege that the Commission has continually adopted more stringent hunting regulations than they could have, and, over the years, have not reduced the wolf population “in a meaningful way.”
“These actions by the Commission demonstrate that it is not establishing rules with the intent to reduce the statewide population,” the complaint states. “… By maintaining wolf populations at higher than mandated levels through inadequate harvest quotas, the Commission has allowed wolves to deplete ungulate populations, thereby diminishing hunting opportunities.”
Rep. Fielder, who at the meeting where the Commission adopted the new regulations said “it is a step in the right direction,” did not respond to an email asking to speak about the lawsuit.
Both the inability to hunt wolves, and lower numbers of game animals due to wolves’ own hunting, allegedly violates a constitutionally guaranteed right to harvest wild fish and wild game, according to the suit.
But the other lawsuit claims overhunting wolves violates a different provision of the Montana Constitution, which preserves the right to a clean and healthful environment.
“Killing of more than half of Montana’s gray wolf population in a single year … will substantially degrade a natural resource and the Montana environment and threatens total population collapse,” the lawsuit brought by WildEarth Guardians, Project Coyote, Footloose Montana and the Gallatin Wildlife Association states.
The conservation groups argue the harvest level set by the Fish and Wildlife Commission is higher than the department recommends for keeping the population stable, and in fact could lead to the statewide wolf population dropping below the number needed to prevent the species from ending up on the Endangered Species List again.
Citing the 2024 FWP Wolf Report, the groups say data “shows that a hunting and trapping quota of 458 together with 100 removals greatly exceeds the mortality rates associated with stable populations and is likely to cause a severe decline in overall populations.”
According to FWP’s report, an average harvest of from 308 to 334 wolves has “potential for the population to drop too low to support 15 breeding pairs (450) wolves within a three-year period,” but adds that it is likely the population will remain above that threshold. However, at more than 350 wolves killed annually, “the population will most likely fall below 450 wolves within five years.”
There is also an argument that the state’s method for estimating wolf populations, known as IPOM (Integrated Patch Occupancy Model), is not as accurate as presented, and might overestimate the number of animals in the state.
That same argument was key in a recent judge’s order to overturn a decision by the federal government to deny endangered species protections for wolves. The judge cited criticisms of IPOM as a reason it should not be considered the “best available science” in setting wolf management policy.
The conservation groups are seeking a temporary restraining order against the new harvest quota and ultimately are asking the courts to invalidate the new regulations and preserve the status quo.
“While this may inconvenience some individuals and outfitters, the preservation of a healthy and genetically connected wolf population ensures that the long-term interest in wolf hunting and trapping will be preserved,” the court documents state. “… To knowingly risk erasing wolves now would not only waste this massive investment, but rob Montana citizens and future generations of their rightful natural heritage.”
The lawsuit from the state lawmakers is seeking a court order requiring the Commission to use “all available management tools” to reduce wolf numbers and follow “legislative intent.”
