Act Now! Tell the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission to Adopt Sound Wolf Policies

For many, seeing a wolf in Greater Yellowstone is the pinnacle of wildlife-watching. With intense eyes and hues of fur ranging from smokey grey to inky black, these canids have captured hearts, inspired conservationists, and jumpstarted a local tourism economy. 

While undoubtedly riddled with controversy and conflict, the restoration of wolves in the Northern Rockies is a conservation story that has been celebrated around the world. 

Today, we need you to speak up for Montana wolves as the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission meets August 21 to decide on the 2025-2026 wolf hunting and trapping season regulations proposed by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.

A gray wolf of Yellowstone’s Canyon Wolf Pack. (Photo © GoeddelGallery.com)

Montana wolves were delisted from the Endangered Species Act in 2011 through congressional action in the midst of an ongoing debate about what would be needed to sustain recovery progress well into the future. Since then, hunting and trapping quotas have been in place across the state, and for the lands immediately north of Yellowstone, to ensure the state maintains commitments to minimum population benchmarks agreed upon through the delisting process, and to limit wolf mortality on the park boundary. The quotas on the park boundary represent a compromise between wolf hunters and trappers, wildlife viewers, and locals whose livelihoods depend on wildlife tourism. 

Despite the success of this common ground approach, unsound wolf management proposals are still a frequent challenge. The proposed regulations for the upcoming wolf hunting and trapping season are no exception. 

After reviewing the proposed regulations from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and amendments proposed by Commissioners, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition drafted a letter to the Commission that we’re asking you to sign. 

In the letter, we encourage the governor-appointed board to adopt regulations that are geographically tailored to meet the unique needs of each region in the state, maintain a scientifically sound quota in Region 3 that recognizes the $82 million wolf-watching economy in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, and reflect a balanced, moderate, and science-based approach to wildlife management. If you’d like to learn more about our arguments, you can take a look at the letter submitted by GYC’s wildlife team here. 

Speak up for Montana wolves by Friday, August 15 at 5 p.m. by adding your signature to our letter to the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commissioners. 

For Montana wolves, 

— Brooke Shifrin, Wildlife Program Manager  (Bozeman, MT)