Fish and Wildlife Commission to consider new rules for trapping wolves

The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission on Nov. 12 will consider a packed agenda of proposed fishing and hunting rules for the coming year, including approving a shortened wolf trapping season and establishing rules around trapping predators such as coyotes. to prevent incidental captures of grizzly bears.

Montana has allowed regulated hunting of gray wolves since 2011, including archery, general hunting and trapping. However, because wolf and grizzly habitats overlap significantly, trapping, baiting, and snares have long been controversial practices.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks’ (FWP) newly proposed trapping rules build on a federal court order that last year limited wolf trapping to January 1 through February 15 within a specific geographic area, including all grizzly bear-occupied areas habitats in the west of the country. Montana (FWP Regions 1, 2, and 3) along with the western portions of FWP Regions 4 and 5 (see map below).

But the proposed trapping rules also include an unprecedented proposal to impose trapping restrictions on predators such as coyotes, which FWP officials say has caused some confusion and concern among trappers.

“Coyotes are predators and under Montana statute there is no season or limit for them,” said a statement from FWP spokesman Greg Lemon. “However, we believe that if we gain a better understanding of coyote trapping, whether for personal reasons or for livestock protection, we will be better able to understand how to develop future proposals that can further help us prevent incidental capture of grizzly bears. bears.”

Effective December 1, the proposed rule requires trappers within the court-defined geographic area who trap on the ground and not in the water to obtain a free additional trapping permit if they target non-game species such as raccoons, badgers and red foxes . or predatory animals, such as weasels, skunks and coyotes. People who use live cage traps would be exempt from the requirement. The proposal also requires trappers engaged in livestock protection activities to complete and sign an affidavit stating the name of the producer, that the producer has consented to conducting trapping activities on their private or leased property, and the province in which the capture will take place.

The purpose of the proposed supplemental trapping permit is to gather data and insights on the taking of non-wild animals, agency officials said, and to help the state make its case for removing grizzly bears from the Endangered Species Act.

FWP Director Dustin Temple released a video statement Monday morning to clear up the confusion over the proposed regulations surrounding predator trapping; specifically, capturing coyotes.

“For the first time, the department is proposing to implement some regulations on recreational coyote trapping in parts of Montana. The parts of Montana we are talking about are the areas designated by a federal court judge as grizzly bear habitat,” Temple said. “The proposal would place a number of trap size limits and set a number of trapping requirements that would only be in effect for recreational trappers, only within this polygon, outside of the normal trapping dates of the wolf season, which is January 1 through by February 15 and only if a grizzly bear is captured. So there is a trigger for this regulation. It has no effect unless we get a bycatch; it would apply only to recreational fishing, and would not affect fishing for livestock depredation, either on private land or on a property owned by the producer. We want to ensure that the tools ranchers need to protect their operations remain in place, we want to limit recreational opportunities only to the extent necessary to ensure we are doing everything we can to protect grizzly bears and support the state’s case for delisting.”

In recent years, the wolf trapping season started on December 15, but in August 2023 the Commission started have the 2023-2024 season begin in late November in most parts of the state, including northwestern Montana. Last year, however, U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy postponed the start date of Montana’s wolf trapping season to Jan. 1 because grizzly bears risk being maimed by wolf traps and snares when captured in November and December. Molloy has limited the wolf trapping season to the period when grizzly bears, which are federally protected under the Endangered Species Act, are in their dens and therefore not at risk of injury.

“Defendants acknowledge that grizzly bears have been captured in public wolf and coyote traps in Montana,” Molloy said. wrote in his order. “It is reasonably certain that more grizzly bears will be in Montana during the period and in the locations where wolf trapping is permitted under the 2023 Montana regulations.”

The statement is a response to one lawsuit filed by two conservation groups, the Flathead-Lolo-Bitterroot Citizen Task Force and WildEarth Guardiansnaming the state of Montana, Fish and Wildlife Commission Chairman Lesley Robinson and Governor Greg Gianforte as defendants. The conservation groups’ legal action challenged the Fish and Wildlife Commission’s decision to extend the 2023-2024 wolf trapping season by more than a month.

The proposal on the Nov. 12 Fish and Wildlife Commission agenda also outlines requirements for trappers following the incidental capture of a grizzly bear by a trapper. These requirements take effect 48 hours after FWP is notified of the take and apply only to recreational trappers within the court-defined geographic area:

• All foothold traps used in ground sets (regardless of target species) must have an inside jaw spread of less than or equal to 5 1/2 inches.
• The use of bows is not permitted unless they meet ALL of the following criteria:
  • The snare is equipped with a breakaway lock device installed on the loop end and is designed to release when more than 350 pounds of force is applied;
  • The snare is attached to a fixed object that is securely attached to the ground (i.e. the use of tow ropes is illegal); And
  • The top of the bow’s loop is no more than 26 inches above the ground; in snow, 26 inches is measured from the compacted snow in a trapper’s footprint, determined by the trapper’s full body weight.

The proposal is open for public comment. Public comments may also be made at the Nov. 12 commission meeting.

Also on the agenda for the Nov. 12 commission meeting are 2025 – 2026 fishing regulations, Brogan’s Landing Fishing Access Site (FAS) closure, Intake Dam FAS management agreement, prairie habitat conservation leases, variances from public access rules use, and various Commissioner amendments to fishing and catching regulations.

Click to view the full agenda for November 12 here.

The meeting will be in person at Montana WILD in Helena, beginning at 8:30 am. The meeting will also be streamed online and people who wish to respond to agenda items virtually must register here before noon on November 11.

(email protected)