HELENA – With almost two months remaining, this season’s wolf harvest is on par with past seasons in the state of Montana. As of today, 166 wolves have been harvested during the current hunting and trapping seasons, a number similar to that of previous years. The general hunting and trapping seasons are open until March 15.
“I know we’ve had many people watching Montana’s wolf hunting and trapping season this year,” said Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Director Hank Worsech. “However, harvest numbers in the state are very similar to years past. We’ll continue to monitor these numbers closely as the hunting and trapping season continues.”
The graph above shows cumulative wolf harvest for the years 2009 through Jan. 19, 2021.
After the 2021 Legislature passed legislation requiring FWP to make efforts to reduce Montana’s wolf population to sustainable levels, the Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted several changes to the 2021/2022 wolf regulations. These changes included eliminating quotas, increasing the number of wolf trapping and hunting licenses allowed per hunter, extending wolf trapping seasons, and allowing snares for trapping wolves.
While there are no quotas, the commission established harvest thresholds in each of FWP’s administrative regions, which total 450 statewide. If harvest meets any of these thresholds, the commission will convene to revisit the regulations and season structure.
Those interested in up-to-date information on the status of Montana’s wolf harvest can view FWP’s wolf dashboard, which is an interactive map that shows the number of wolves harvested by region and wolf management unit (WMU). The dashboard is updated multiple times per day.
For all wolf hunting and trapping regulations and information, visit FWP’s wolf webpage.
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(photo of Dan Helterline with wolf from 2018)
