The Wolf Massacre Spreads Like Wildfire

Bitterroot Sportsmen Urge FWP To Make Sure Wolf Quota In Westfork Met

RAVALLI COUNTY

By Kevin Maki

POSTED: December 13, 2011

HAMILTON, Mont. -- Sportsmen are urging Fish Wildlife and Parks to help make sure the wolf quota in the Westfork near Darby is met. The quota for District 250 is 18 wolves.But hunters have only harvested three wolves so far. Fish Wildlife and Parks has extended wolf hunting season to February 15th. Hunt opponents say wolves are scapegoats, while many sportsmen say hunting, plus other measures may be necessary.Big game hunter Tony Jones is president of the Ravalli County Fish and Wildlife Association.

The Association suggests besides hunting, sportsmen be allowed to trap wolves in the Westfork.The Association is even suggesting electronic calls to attract wolves. But that would require a change in state law.The Association blames wolves on dramatically lower elk numbers."We want to make sure that when the wolf quota set by FWP in the Westfork of the Bitterroot is filled," we want it filled by hunters, sportsmen of the valley."Jones said the Westfork used to be about the best elk hunting country in Montana. Hunting opponents say wolves face an uphill battle from biased groups.

"The special interest groups," said Marc Cooke with the National Wolfwatcher Coalition, "like the livestock industry and the hunting groups."FWP only allowed 25 elk permits in district 250 this year. Hunters only got five elk all season in that area. On a scale of one to 10, Jones said, the crisis in the Westfork is an eleven."When you get down to three or four bulls per 100 cows and cow to calf ratios are down to 11 per hundred," he said, " you can't sustain an elk herd, eventually it will die off."But opponents blame hunters and other predators besides wolves. "The mountain lions, the bears," said Cooke.

"The wolves aren't the major problem here. I think the major problem here is that it's been hunted for years."Fish Wildlife and Parks is doing an elk calf survival study in the Westfork. The calves were born in June.FWP biologist Mike Thompson said the major predator in the first six months of that study is mountain lions, and the second bears. But he said other studies have shown wolf predation occurs in the winter, so wolf kills against young elk are likely to go up.

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