Wolf hunting quotas cut back near Yellowstone

A file photo of the black and grey female wolf named "Half Black" from the Druid pack stands in the road near Lamar River bridge in December 2003.

Wolf advocates got a small win Thursday, as wildlife officials decreased the limit on wolves taken in two Paradise Valley hunting zones.

The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission approved decreasing the number of wolves that can be killed each year in two hunting districts near the north side of Yellowstone National Park from three to two. That means after two wolves are killed, wolf hunting in those districts would be shut down.

The change affects hunting districts 313 and 316, which border Yellowstone National Park and are two of the three more tightly controlled wolf hunting districts in the state. The third is near Glacier National Park, which already had a quota of two wolves.

Missoula commissioner Gary Wolfe offered the amendment after the department proposed no changes to the wolf hunting regulations.

Marc Cooke, of Wolves of the Rockies, was happy to see the commission take up the idea, saying it signaled that commissioners cared about people other than hunters and anglers.

“It shows that the commission is listening to what the non-consumptive people are saying,” Cooke said.

Abigail Wilson, an FWP wolf management specialist based in Bozeman, said they’ve seen more wolves in those areas in the past year.

Many of the wolves that appear there are often migrating out of the park and following elk and other prey.


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