Montana wolf hunt update
by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks
August 4, 2009
Montana’s Fish, Wildlife & Parks will offer licenses for sale beginning Aug. 31 for the state’s first regulated wolf hunting season.
In July, officials set the statewide harvest quota at 75 wolves for hunting seasons that are set to open Sept. 15 in select backcountry, or wilderness, areas.
Licenses will be valid within three specifically defined wolf management units. Hunters must obtain permission to hunt on private lands.
Wolf licenses will be available for purchase online at fwp.mt.gov, or from any FWP license provider. Hunters must have, or also purchase, a valid 2009 conservation license. Wolf hunting licenses are $19 for residents and $350 for nonresidents.
Wolf hunting-season dates correspond to Montana’s early back-country big game hunting season, which runs Sept. 15 through Nov. 29; and the big game rifle season set for Oct. 25 through Nov. 29. If certain quotas aren’t met, the wolf-hunting season could be extended in some areas from Dec. 1 through Dec. 31.
The wolf-hunting season, however, could still be blocked by groups that recently sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to prevent wolf delisting. Such legal challenges prevented wolf delisting and a 2008 hunting season and could affect the sale of wolf hunting licenses this year. FWP intends to join the court proceedings in defense of the delisting decision at the appropriate time.
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