Wolf season will go on under 2022 regs
A gray wolf in this file photo.
Hungry Horse News
Montana’s 2022 wolf regulations passed by the Fish and Wildlife Commission in August will go back in effect immediately after a court ruling in a lawsuit against Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks denied the plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction and lifted a temporary restraining order.
The lawsuit challenges Montana’s wolf management. Two weeks ago the judge in the case issued a temporary restraining order reverting wolf regulations back to the 2020 wolf hunting and trapping season. That temporary restraining order expired last Tuesday.
Though the court denied the plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction, the lawsuit is still ongoing.
“We are devastated that the court has allowed countless more wolves—including Yellowstone wolves—to be killed under the unscientific laws and regulations we are challenging,” said Lizzy Pennock, the Montana-based carnivore coexistence advocate at WildEarth Guardians, one of the plaintiffs in the suit. “We will keep fighting for Montana’s wolves in the courtroom while our case carries on and outside the courtroom in every way possible.”
The lawsuit claims that there are significant flaws in the population model used to estimate the total number of wolves in the state. Since the 456 quota for the 2022-2023 season relies upon a flawed population model, reaching the quota could have devastating consequences on the state’s wolf population, they claim. Per allegations in the motion, “Montana does not have an accurate picture of how many wolves are living in Montana and cannot sustainably and legally manage the species through another wolf hunt this winter.”
Wolf hunting season is open across Montana, as defined in the 2022 wolf regulations. This includes wolf management unit 313, which borders the area north of Yellowstone National Park. The quota in this WMU 313 is six wolves.
A preliminary move by the court also reinstated a two wolf-quota in Wolf Management Unit 110, which is the North Fork of the Flathead just outside Glacier National Park.
But with Tuesday’s action, that quota has been lifted.
To date, according to FWP, 22 wolves have been taken in Trapping District 1, includes most of Northwest Montana. The quota is 195. Nine have been killed in Flathead County.