The wolf hunting season has become so popular in the northwest part of the state, that Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is asking to expand the season starting next year in Region One.

Education and Program Manager Dillon Tabish explained the proposal.

“We are proposing some changes to the wolf hunting and trapping seasons up here in northwest Montana, in what is known as Region One,” said Tabish. “What we’re proposing is to extend the general hunting season for wolves to begin on August 15th and end on March 31st. Currently, the archery season begins on September 1st and the general season begins September 15th and end March 15th, so this would be extending it on the front end and the back end of general rifle hunting season for wolves, and for the trapping season we’re proposing to extend the season to March 15, where it currently ends at the end of February.”

Tabish said that every two years the FWP conducts public surveys about hunting seasons and the wolf hunting seasons were also surveyed.

“This year we traveled around our region here in northwest Montana and there were a substantial number of people who requested that we expand the wolf hunting season,” he said. “Biologically, we have the wolf population to sustain additional harvest opportunity up here and we really wanted to be responsive to the public input and the people who participated in that public process. We’re just trying to be as responsive as we can.”

Tabish says FWP sells a substantial number of wolf hunting and trapping licenses and the public has requested more opportunities.

The Commission will consider these and other proposals from the statewide season-setting process at its Feb. 13 meeting in Helena.

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