Independently reported news stories of Montana's people, land, water and wildlife.
The two new members of the Fish, Wildlife & Parks commission got off to an easy start on Friday with minimal public comment on wolves, lions and grizzly bears. But wolves still sparked discussion.
Commission chair Dan Vermillion praised an FWP proposal to finally include wolves in the regular season-setting agenda that comes before the commission every two years.
Read MoreWildlife Services helps Montana livestock producers kill thousands of wild predators every year. But as its funding decreases, the agency may have to leave producers to their own devices, which may include bounties.
On Friday, John Steuber, Montana State Director of Wildlife Services, told the Montana Board of Livestock that Wildlife Services, a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, probably couldn’t continue killing predators without the money it gets from the state, especially from cattle producers who pitch in 50 cents to a dollar per head.
Read MoreMontana Fish, Wildlife & Parks requested state legislators’ blessings for a dozen proposed bills, but two dealing with wolves and trout didn’t get the nod.
On Thursday, FWP Director Jeff Hagener stepped the Environmental Quality Council through 12 bills that would either improve FWP procedures or help preserve a few species. But Hagener got an earful from Sen. John Brenden, R-Scobey, when he described a bill intended to allow the Fort Peck Hatchery to produce a few more cold-water fish.
Read MoreMontana hunters and trappers can still kill only two wolves north of Yellowstone National Park.
On Wednesday, the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks commission decided against a FWP effort to assuage elk hunters by increasing the quota in wolf management unit 313 near Gardiner.
Read MoreMontana Fish, Wildlife & Parks tried to justify a big jump in a Gardiner area wolf quota, but after lengthy public comment, the Fish and Wildlife commission didn’t buy it.
On a 3-1 vote, the commission decided against an FWP proposal to increase the quota in management unit 313 to six wolves, even though the six would be meted out over time. The period of September 4 through November 30 would have a limit of three wolves and another three would be allowed between December 1 and March 15.
Read MoreMontana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is proposing a noticeable increase in the number of wolves that can be killed outside of Yellowstone National Park, a move that wolf advocates claim is political, not scientific.
When the FWP commission meets on Thursday, dozens of people will probably once again line up to oppose each other on specifics of Montana’s wolf hunt, namely a proposal to increase the wolf quota in management unit 313 to six. Currently, hunters and trappers can kill only two wolves in the area around Gardiner.
Read MoreWildlife restoration has seen both triumphs and challenges in the past few decades, but challenges will dominate the future if biologists can’t learn to forge new relationships to overcome intolerance, according to leading Montana biologist.
This week in Missoula, some of the finest wildlife researchers in Montana are attending an annual state meeting of The Wildlife Society to discuss their latest projects and learn of new research on everything from bison to bighorn sheep and beavers. The conference theme is wildlife restoration, so during Wednesday’s kick-off session, experienced conservation leaders told their younger colleagues that future restoration efforts need to focus on large landscapes owned by several entities so the most important part of a biologist’s job would be building relationships with a wide array of people.
Read MoreAt the urging of both trappers and wolf advocates, the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks commission has killed a proposal to allow FWP to put its wolf-trapping course online.
FWP Big Game chief John Vore asked the commissioners to approve the online course Thursday mainly to save FWP time and effort.
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