Wolf quota nearly filled

By Nick Gevock - 10/06/2009

Hunters have nearly filled the quota in one of Montana's wolf hunting districts after three weeks of hunting in one remote backcountry area that borders the northern boundary of Yellowstone National Park.

As of Tuesday, 11 wolves have been killed from the two hunting districts open to an early rifle hunt for elk. The districts include the Bob Marshall and Absaroka-Beartooth wilderness areas, which are rugged, remote terrain that require horses. The districts are open to rifle hunting for elk and wolves Sept. 15.

Of the wolves killed by hunters, two have been in the Bob Marshall. The other nine have come from the Absarokas, putting it close to that wolf management district's quota of 12 wolves.

"It is a bit of a surprise to us," said Carolyn Sime, wolf program coordinator for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. "Maybe wolves are more vulnerable, even in remote backcountry areas, than we thought." Sime said four of the wolves shot have come from the Cottonwood pack, which ranges between the Absarokas in Montana and Yellowstone along its northern border. Two of those wolves were wearing radio collars and another two were killed in the same area that is known to be the pack's territory.

The other five wolves came from deeper within the Absarokas and away from the park.

It's possible that the entire management district's quota could be filled before the general rifle season for deer and elk opens up statewide on Oct. 25, Sime said.

"It's totally weather dependent," she said. "If the snow comes early and it piles up deep, your season's over." She added that ideally the wolves closer to the mountain foothills and valley bottoms would be killed by hunters because those wolves are more likely to come into contact with livestock and get into trouble. But Sime said FWP set a conservative quota purposely in part to ensure that a hunt went forward this year, given that a coalition of environmental groups unsuccessfully sued in an effort to stop the hunt while a judge decides whether to return wolves in the northern Rockies to the endangered species list.

Next year the FWP Commission can make adjustments to the hunt, including higher quotas if it's determined that it's necessary, she said.

Biologists are learning a great deal about wolves and wolf hunting through this season, she said. Hunters who have been successful have reported using predator calls such as a distressed rabbit, or even howling, to attract wolves. She said even if the quota is reached, wolves will continue to have a healthy population in Montana.

"It's an opportunity for a legitimately recovered wildlife species to be hunted," she said. "Is the population still secure? Absolutely, and this isn't going to change that." Todd Davis, a Deer Lodge hunter who plans to go out specifically for wolves this season, is confident the quotas will be filled in all three management districts. He said he has brought in a pack of wolves while calling coyotes before.

"They do respond," he said of predator calling. "They weren't being shy about it, they were coming in ready to eat and they weren't going to pass up on that rabbit." Davis said once deer and elk hunters take to the woods, they will bump into wolves.

"I think in a short while they'll have them limited out," he said.

Reporter Nick Gevock may be reached at nick.gevock@mtstandard.com