With wolf harvest numbers still lower than anticipated for the
2011 hunting season, Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks is seeking
comments on a proposal to extend the current wolf hunting season by
an extra month.
If the season extension is approved, the current wolf hunting season would run through Jan. 31, 2012, or until the specific wolf management unit quotas are met, whichever comes first. Montana's wolf hunting season is currently set to end Dec. 31.
According to latest tallies, the statewide harvest for the 2011 season stands at 76 wolves, out of an overall quota of 220. Mike Thompson, regional 2 wildlife manager with FWP, said that the simple point of the proposed extension is to achieve the quota set prior to this year's hunting season.
"We're not talking about killing more wolves than the original quota," he said.
That said, comments are also being accepted on a proposal to allow hunters to participate in wolf depredation removals in 2012 and 2013. Such removals would serve as an additional response, alongside ongoing efforts by federal Wildlife Services personnel and livestock owners, aimed at protecting livestock. That move would not fall under the restrictions of hunting season quotas.
"Those efforts would be dedicated to a piece of private land or a particular land area," said Thompson, noting that such individual responses would still be managed consistently with FWP rules and regulations. "We definitely don't want to get in the way of the professional response by Wildlife Services, but we want to respond absolutely as quickly as possible to a confirmed depredation. In those cases, hunting might be one extra tool in the toolbox that we might use under circumstances when Wildlife Services has completed its response."
Thompson said that his agency hopes to hear from anyone with a perspective on either or both proposals. The deadline to comment is 5 p.m. on Nov. 28.
"We really welcome in particular those responses that get down to specifics," he noted. "Things that people can tell us about particular interests they have in participating in an extended season or particular conflicts they see in January or things they know about from personal experience and how they personally would be affected, those are the kinds of things that can really help us."
Comments can be submitted via mail to FWP-Wildlife Bureau, attention: public comment, P.O. Box 200701, Helena MT, 59620-0701. Comments may also be submitted online at fwp.mt.gov. Click on "Hunting."
source
If the season extension is approved, the current wolf hunting season would run through Jan. 31, 2012, or until the specific wolf management unit quotas are met, whichever comes first. Montana's wolf hunting season is currently set to end Dec. 31.
According to latest tallies, the statewide harvest for the 2011 season stands at 76 wolves, out of an overall quota of 220. Mike Thompson, regional 2 wildlife manager with FWP, said that the simple point of the proposed extension is to achieve the quota set prior to this year's hunting season.
"We're not talking about killing more wolves than the original quota," he said.
That said, comments are also being accepted on a proposal to allow hunters to participate in wolf depredation removals in 2012 and 2013. Such removals would serve as an additional response, alongside ongoing efforts by federal Wildlife Services personnel and livestock owners, aimed at protecting livestock. That move would not fall under the restrictions of hunting season quotas.
"Those efforts would be dedicated to a piece of private land or a particular land area," said Thompson, noting that such individual responses would still be managed consistently with FWP rules and regulations. "We definitely don't want to get in the way of the professional response by Wildlife Services, but we want to respond absolutely as quickly as possible to a confirmed depredation. In those cases, hunting might be one extra tool in the toolbox that we might use under circumstances when Wildlife Services has completed its response."
Thompson said that his agency hopes to hear from anyone with a perspective on either or both proposals. The deadline to comment is 5 p.m. on Nov. 28.
"We really welcome in particular those responses that get down to specifics," he noted. "Things that people can tell us about particular interests they have in participating in an extended season or particular conflicts they see in January or things they know about from personal experience and how they personally would be affected, those are the kinds of things that can really help us."
Comments can be submitted via mail to FWP-Wildlife Bureau, attention: public comment, P.O. Box 200701, Helena MT, 59620-0701. Comments may also be submitted online at fwp.mt.gov. Click on "Hunting."
source
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