Subscribe
  • News
    • Local
    • Regional
    • Business
    • Real Estate
    • Outlaw Partners
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Yellowstone
  • Events
Menu
  • News
    • Local
    • Regional
    • Business
    • Real Estate
    • Outlaw Partners
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Yellowstone
  • Events

Wolf harvest up from previous year

in News
Megan Paulsonby Megan Paulson
March 6, 2013

MONTANA FISH, WILDLIFE AND PARKS

HELENA – State wildlife officials on March 4 released the results of the 2012-2013 wolf hunting and trapping seasons, which saw a substantial jump in harvest over last year.

The season ended with 225 wolves harvested, 36 percent more than last season. The harvest was also up significantly over the 2009-2010 season. Court challenges barred Montana’s hunting season in 2010-2011.

Article Inline Ad Article Inline Ad Article Inline Ad

Jeff Hagener, director of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks in Helena, cited a growing effectiveness of hunters and trappers and more liberal harvest opportunities, as reasons for this year’s increase.

In all, hunters killed 128 wolves this season, and trappers took 97, with 84 taken between Sept. 1 and Nov. 25, 2012. The majority, however, were harvested after the general season by hunters and trappers exclusively seeking wolves. During Montana’s first wolf hunting season in 2009, the opportunistic harvest was almost 80 percent.

A total of 18,642 wolf-hunting licenses were purchased this season – 246 by nonresidents. Most successful wolf hunters were Montana residents, who harvested 222 wolves.

Even with this season’s hunting and trapping success – and an additional 104 depredating wolves removed from the population as a result of more than 70 control actions – the state’s wolf population remains robust, according to Hagener.

“Montana has made room for wolves,” Hagener said. We are long past the period of recovering wolves, and we are committed to managing for a recovered population.”

FWP manages with an eye to how wild resources affect each other, he said, and also addresses related issues like public tolerance.

Montana’s wolf advisory council, originally convened in 2006 to help develop Montana’s Wolf Management Plan, will reconvene following completion of FWP’s annual report.

New wolf management law adds management tools

FWP sought and received from the 2013 Montana Legislature additional tools to increase the wolf harvest in the future, Hagener said. The wolf management bill – sponsored by State Representatives Kelly Flynn, R-Townsend, and Ted Washburn, R-Bozeman – won bipartisan support and was signed into law on Feb. 13 by Gov. Steve Bullock.

The new law immediately allowed hunters to purchase up to three wolf licenses and lowered the price of a nonresident wolf license from $350 to $50. It also allows hunters to use a license 24 hours after purchase, instead of after a five-day wait; authorizes the use of electronic calls; and removes the requirement for wolf hunters to wear hunter-orange after the general deer and elk hunting seasons have ended.

The legislation allows FWP to close areas near national parks only if established wolf harvest quotas are reached. While signing the bill into law, Gov. Bullock asked FWP to ramp up educational efforts aimed at averting the harvest of collared and heavily studied wolves near national parks.

More than half of the total 2012-2013 wolf harvest, or about 51 percent, occurred on public lands. Top counties included Lincoln with 38, followed by Park with 24, and Missoula with 22. In all, the harvest was distributed across areas of Montana inhabited by wolves.

Outlaw Realty Outlaw Realty
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Listen

Hoary Marmot Podcast

Joe Borden & Michele Veale Borden

Lastest Episode
See More Episodes
outlaw realty montana outlaw realty montana
ADVERTISEMENT
Outlaw Realty Big Sky Bozeman
ADVERTISEMENT

Upcoming Events

Jul 6
11:00 am - 5:00 pm Event Series

June Show at the Big Sky Artists’ Studio & Gallery

Jul 7
8:00 am - 5:00 pm Event Series

Brian Stumpf

Jul 7
9:00 am - 12:00 pm Event Series

Community Hike Big Sky

Jul 7
11:00 am - 5:00 pm Event Series

June Show at the Big Sky Artists’ Studio & Gallery

Jul 7
5:30 pm - 6:30 pm Event Series

Al-Anon Support Group

View Calendar
Event Calendar

Related Posts

Gallatin Whitewater Fest celebrates community, competition and crowns river royalty
Local

Gallatin Whitewater Fest celebrates community, competition and crowns river royalty

July 1, 2025
Uncle Dan’s Cookies moves forward with new owner, same sweet legacy
Business

Uncle Dan’s Cookies moves forward with new owner, same sweet legacy

June 30, 2025
To the Tune of Hope
Featured

To the Tune of Hope

June 27, 2025
Big Sky Community Food Bank looks ahead to summer opportunities, reflects on pandemic challenges
Local

Big Sky Community Food Bank looks ahead to summer opportunities, reflects on pandemic challenges

June 26, 2025

An Outlaw Partners Publication

Facebook-f Instagram X-twitter Youtube

Explore Big Sky

  • About/Contact
  • Advertise
  • Publications
  • Subscriptions
  • Podcast
  • Submissions

Outlaw Brands

  • Mountain Outlaw
  • Plan Yellowstone
  • Big Sky PBR
  • Wildlands Music
  • Outlaw Partners
  • Outlaw Realty
  • Hey Bear

Copyright © 2025 Explore Big Sky | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Your Privacy Choices

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Regional
    • Business
    • Outlaw Partners
  • Yellowstone
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Real Estate
  • Events

©2024 Outlaw Partners, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Explore Big Sky Logo
  • News
    • Local
    • Regional
    • Business
    • Real Estate
    • Outlaw Partners
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Yellowstone
  • Events
Subscribe
Facebook X-twitter Instagram Youtube