Groups ask Forest Service to ban commercial wolf hunts in wilderness

A coalition of groups has petitioned the Forest Service asking it to prohibit commercial hunting and trapping of wolves in wilderness areas in Montana and Idaho.

The move comes after both state Legislatures recently passed bills that would allow individuals to be paid to hunt and trap wolves in both states.

In essence, the groups claim, it’s bounty hunting and contrary to the the Wilderness Act.

They claim the new laws “will degrade wilderness character in these areas by authorizing direct and intentional predator-control actions aimed at eliminating or reducing wolf populations through, among other things, commercial activity.”

The petition specifically asks the Forest Service to enact:

• New measures to prohibit wolf hunting and trapping activities by private contractors in congressionally designated wilderness areas.

• New measures to prohibit wolf hunting and trapping activities by private individuals obtaining, seeking, or intending to seek reimbursement from any person, firm, or club for expenses incurred in such hunting and trapping activities, or seeking or intending to sell any part of hunted or trapped wolves.

The groups are not opposing traditional hunting and trapping of wolves, noted Erik Molvar of the Western Watersheds Project, one of the groups listed on the petition.

The groups are asking for the measures in local wilderness, like the Bob Marshall Wilderness and the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness and a host of others across both states.

When wolves first migrated south into Northwest Montana from Canada, one of the first places they gained a foothold was in the Bob Marshall Wilderness and surrounding wildlands.

The coalition claims commercial hunting and trapping of wolves in wilderness is contrary to the law itself, which says wilderness is “an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, … retaining its primeval character and influence, … which is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural conditions.”

“The issues presented in the petition are complex, and we will thoughtfully review the state laws and petitioner’s concerns and requests. Our intent is to respond promptly after thorough review of the petition,” said Forest Service spokeswoman Babete Anderson.

The Montana Outfitter and Guides Association, some of whose members rely on wilderness for hunting trips, did not respond to requests for comment.

The Forest Service typically does not manage fish and wildlife on its lands. In Montana, and most other states, it’s done by state agencies, in this case, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Senate Bill 267 exempted wolves from a law that generally makes it illegal to give gifts or money for taking of game animals, which opened the door to the bounty.

FWP spokesman Greg Lemon said the agency has no oversight of the payment program, so it had no comment on the petition. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation also declined to comment on the matter, spokesman Mark Holyoak said.

Molvar said he was a hunter himself and has successfully hunted for game like elk in wolf country.

“Our hope is the (Forest Service) will take its wilderness management seriously,” he said.

He claimed those that supported the wolf bounties were on the “extreme end of the hunting spectrum.”

He claimed that most elk populations across the states are at or near their objectives.

“The real culprit is the lack of hunting skills,” he said.

In 2019, FWP estimated there were about 830 wolves across 30,115 square miles in the state.

The number of hunters that actually see a wolf is quite low — anywhere from 4.5% in 2017 to 7.5% in 2011.

Wolf numbers in the state reached their peak in 2013 when there was an estimated population of more than 1,350 animals, the report notes.

The petition was submitted by the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, Friends of the Clearwater, the Human Society, the International Wildlife Co-existence network, the Montana Wildlife Federation, the Sierra Club, The Western Watersheds Project, Wilderness Watch and Wolves of the Rockies.