Speak up for Montana wolves
UPDATE: Good news! This comment period has been reopened until March 9, 2024.
In October 2023, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) released a draft Montana Gray Wolf Conservation and Management Plan (wolf plan) and accompanying draft Environmental Impact Statement (draft EIS), which are currently open for public comment. This comment period represents an important opportunity for the public to influence the values and priorities that will direct wolf conservation and management efforts into the future. Wide-ranging perspectives surrounding wolf management highlight the compromise and nuance that will be required to successfully implement a plan that addresses the concerns of all Montanans.
A black wolf in Yellowstone National Park. (Photo Bobs Creek Photography/Shutterstock)
Gray wolves are an icon of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. But the management of wolves has long been contentious in the West. As settlers made their way across the continent, they implemented aggressive predator-control policies and outcompeted wolves for prey species — including, surprisingly, within the boundaries of Yellowstone National Park itself. Wolves were completely eliminated from the park by 1926 and remained absent until the ecologically reasoned insights of biologists led to reintroduction efforts in Yellowstone and central Idaho in the mid-1990s. Since then, populations of this keystone species have expanded across the northern Rockies, leading to the removal of Endangered Species Act protections, and a return of management responsibilities to the states.
The Greater Yellowstone Coalition wildlife program staff have thoroughly reviewed FWP’s draft plan and EIS. We will submit comments aimed at improving the ways that wolf management in Montana incorporates science and public input.
Broadly, we are advocating for science-based, balanced state management policies that ensure wolves continue to play their critical role on the landscape.
Our remarks recommend that:
The plan should account for differences in economic, ecological, scientific, and cultural values of wolves across the various geographies of the state of Montana. In the communities surrounding Yellowstone National Park, wolf prevalence contributes to significant economic opportunities for local residents — $82 million annually. The plan should recognize and reflect that wolves are valued differently by different communities, not just represent the concerns of a narrow few.
The plan should manage wolves based on ecological function within the boundaries of social tolerance for the species. The statewide population objective of 450 wolves in Montana is an arbitrary target not grounded in wolf social dynamics or population ecology. This target was designed to give keep populations above the 15 breeding pairs required by the 2009 delisting agreement between the state and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, rather than managing for a population substantial enough for wolves to fulfill their ecological role on the landscape. Additionally, justification for this numerical objective is couched in the language of “hunter opportunity” and “livestock protection,” even as elk populations are robust and over objective in many areas, and livestock depredations had fallen by roughly half compared to a decade prior.
The plan should be based on the best available science. FWP has chosen an inadequate statistical technique to estimate the abundance of wolves in Montana – a shortcoming the agency recognizes. It is impossible to responsibly manage to a target population if confidence in the current population size is lacking. Should novel population abundance estimation methods evolve, these techniques should be incorporated into the plan where possible.
The plan should provide specifics on how wolves would be managed at different population levels and allow for public input when tactics change. While we appreciate the aim of adaptive management outlined in the plan, the lack of specificity around management strategies is problematic and leaves the public out of the decision-making process should changes be required in the future.
Given the prominent role wolf management plays ecologically and socially in the state of Montana, submitting comments is an important way to ensure that your perspectives are incorporated into the statewide decision-making process.
A group of wolf pups in Yellowstone National Park from 2014. (Photo NPS/Dan Stahler)
Should you wish to submit comments on the plan, we recommend focusing your remarks on the following:
The plan should reflect the differing values of wolves to different communities across the state of Montana.
Wolves should be managed such that they can fulfill their ecological role on the landscape, and not to an arbitrary number with suspect justification.
The best available science should be used to estimate wolf abundance in the state. Only then can sound management recommendations proceed with confidence.
Take action
FWP is accepting public comments on the wolf plan until 5:00 pm, Tuesday, December 19. The draft plan and draft EIS may be found here, and here, respectively.
The most effective comments will be those that are personalized and substantive. Please submit your remarks through the FWP form located here.
Thank you for your support of wolves in Montana, and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem at large.
For questions or further discussion, please feel free to reach out.
—Matt Cuzzocreo, Senior Wildlife Conservation Associate
