The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission is considering changes to wolf trapping in the state. The Commission will be meeting on the 28th of October. During this meeting, they will talk about some changes to the wolf trapping regulations.
The main focus of these changes is to protect non-target species from being trapped. What that means is the Commission will focus on changes that protect both the lynx and grizzly bear populations from being trapped. Below we will list a few of the changes that may be implemented.
- FWP will clearly identify occupied grizzly bear habitats and adjust the season dates for trapping and snaring in these areas. The changed opening day in areas likely to have grizzly bears would be Dec. 31. However, if the FWP determined that the grizzlies have denned up in certain areas the opening day may be moved forward.
- Other changes to the wolf trapping season would focus on protecting lynx. As a result, the FWP would close snaring for wolves on public land within Lynx Protection Zones. Most of these zones are centered around the Yellowstone area. Likewise, there are some Lynx Protection Zones in Northwest Montana.
As stated above the Commission will discuss and vote on these changes on Oct. 28th. During the summer the Commission gathered ample public comment on wolf trapping changes. This meeting will take place at the Montana State Capitol, in room 303.
If you would like to keep up-to-date on these wolf changes be sure to check out the FWP website. Their website can be found by clicking here. Likewise, you can keep track of other Montana hunting news by checking out our Montana page by clicking here.
