Gray wolf
TROUT CREEK -- One of the organizers
of the first Great Montana Coyote and Wolf Hunt in Sanders County says
the event -- scheduled for Jan. 16-18 -- took shape after local hunters
noted a lack of big game in the mountains this hunting season. “Deer,
elk and moose numbers are going downhill, and (bighorn) sheep are way
down,” John Harris said Monday. “Between the mountain lion population
blowing up and the number of wolves -- hunters noticed a lack of game up
in the mountains this year. There’s a lot more in the valley floors.”
The hunt, Harris said, is a way to “get sportsmen out and about.” “We
checked with (Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks) to make sure we were
abiding by all laws,” Harris said. “They do this in eastern Montana all
over the place, and they have them in Idaho and Wyoming, too.”
Harris said response to the hunt has been “really good, and we’ve had a few negative comments.”
Some
conservation groups oppose such organized hunts. WildEarth Guardians
calls them “wildlife killing contests” and says they “give ethical
hunters a bad name and serve no legitimate management purpose.”
Harris
said all prizes awarded will be through random drawings and will not be
associated with numbers, weights or colors of predators killed. A
notation on a flier promoting the event that says that in addition to
random drawings, prizes will be be awarded based on sizes and colors is
wrong, he added. “The way I understand it, you can’t pay
for a wolf or coyote to be brought in,” Harris said. “All the prizes
will be from random drawings, whether you’re hunting or trapping, and
whether you get one or not. It’s a way to get people out in the woods
for a fun weekend.”
Organizers will weigh and measure all predators turned in during the contest.
Properly
licensed hunters and trappers will pay $5 to participate in the Sanders
County predator hunt. All entry fees will be returned in the form of
prizes.
Registration is Friday, Jan. 16, at 7 p.m. at the
Lakeside Resort and Motel in Trout Creek. Any coyotes or wolves taken
Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 17 and 18, must be submitted to event
officials by 6 p.m. each day.
All Montana fish and wildlife laws and regulations must be followed by participants, according to the rules.
