Tag Archives: Montana FWP

Regional wolf management specialist has big territory and big job

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

Today’s Daily Internet Lake has an interesting story about Kent Laudon, Northwest Montana’s wolf management specialist for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The guy really has his hands full these days . . .

Wanted: Social arbiter and diplomat in one of the most emotionally charged arenas of wildlife management. Must be a detective and data cruncher with an uncanny ability to trap live gray wolves.

That’s pretty much the job description for Kent Laudon, Northwest Montana’s wolf management specialist for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Continue reading . . .

Montana FWP using new approach to ‘reboot’ cubs into the wild

Environmental Issues, News, ,

It’s kind of quiet right now, so here’s an interesting story about a new “soft release” method Montana FWP is trying for returning orphaned bear cubs to the wild before they become too habituated to human presence. Sounds like it might just work . . .

Erik Wenum can hardly see inside the small plywood box, where two orphaned black bear cubs at the state’s wildlife shelter in Helena are acting like teenagers trying to be rousted before noon. They just want to sleep, but Wenum’s got other plans for them. . .

Read the full article . . .

FWP plans to reintroduce mountain goats to Whitefish Range

Environmental Issues, News, ,

Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks wants to reintroduce mountain goats to the Whitefish Range where they were pretty much hunted out by the 1960s. The plan is to capture an initial population of about 15 goats from a large herd in the Crazy Mountains near Big Timber and release them near Stryker Mountain on the west side of the Whitefish Divide. The project is scheduled to start this January.

For more information, see the write-up in this week’s Hungry Horse News, as well as the story in the Daily Inter Lake.

Check out the draft environmental assessment for project-specific details. If you want to put your oar in, the project is open for public comment through Wednesday, Nov. 3.

Wolf hunt quota set at 186

Environmental Issues, News,

As expected, Montana FWP set this year’s wolf hunt quota at 186. The Associated Press has a write-up . . .

Montana wildlife regulators on Thursday set this year’s wolf-hunt quota at 186, more than doubling 2009’s quota, with the aim of reducing the state’s wolf population for the first time since they were reintroduced to the Northern Rockies in 1995.

Advocates for the wolf hunt hailed the decision, although some said they would still like to see a bigger number.

But whether a hunting season actually happens may be in the hands of a federal judge…

Read the full article . . .

Montana FWP will recommend wolf hunt quota of 186, up from 75 last year

Environmental Issues, News,

The Montana FWP commission will likely set this year’s wolf hunt quota at 186 this Thursday, up from last year’s 75. No word on quotas for the North Fork or other specific management areas yet.

State wildlife officials will recommend increasing the quota of wolves allowed to be killed by hunters this year to 186, compared to 75 in last year’s inaugural hunt.

The increased hunting quota could decrease the state’s wolf population for the first time since the gray wolf was reintroduced to the Northern Rockies in 1995.

Read the full article for details . . .

Wolf licenses on sale August 17th — maybe

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

The Clark Fork Chronicle reports that hunting licenses for Wolves go on sale in Montana on August 17. In northwest Montana, the Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission set a quota of 41. Interestingly, the North Fork has a specific sub-quota of 2 wolves.

As just about every article on the subject has mentioned, this year’s wolf hunts in Montana and Idaho are sort of theoretical at this point. They will almost certainly be challenged in court.

For more details on wolf regulation and many related subjects, visit the Montana FWP “Wolf Conservation” page.

Bear evictions

News, ,

It must be spring. Montana FWP is back in the bear eviction business again. According to an article in today’s Daily Inter Lake, they had to relocate a sow and her cub a few days ago that were getting into garbage in the Swan Range foothills. Tim Manley, a grizzly bear management specialist, reports that half the radio-collared bears he monitors are already up and about, looking for food. So, this would be good time to make sure there aren’t any bear attractants — garbage, dog food, bird seed, etc. — around the property.

Read the entire article . . .