FWP proposes wolf population collapse | Lizzy Pennock

Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks (“FWP”) has proposed that 600 wolves should die at the hands of hunters, trappers, and landowners in the next year.

Under FWP’s proposal, 500 wolves would be killed through hunting and trapping and another 100 would die by “management” killing, which usually means wolves killed by, or at the behest of, livestock owners. The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission (“Commission”) will consider these proposals on Aug. 21.

FWP points to its population estimate to support these staggering numbers, up 166 from last year. Killing 500 wolves, they say, is sure to keep the population above the minimum of 450 that’s been established as the floor for relisting the species under the Endangered Species Act. But in their justification, FWP failed to consider several crucial pieces of information (most obviously that they actually proposed to kill 600 wolves).

First, the model that FWP uses to estimate the wolf population provides an inaccurate population estimate. Dr. Bob Crabtree concluded that the model has an overestimation bias of 150%, meaning the true population is more likely around 700 wolves — not 1,091. Other experts have also urged FWP to use accurate counting methods so that FWP, and the public, might know how many wolves are really in Montana.

Second, FWP failed to consider an additional source of mortality that we can expect will increase this year. Montana has a legal loophole that allows landowners and their agents to kill wolves on their property without a permit if that wolf is a potential threat to human safety, livestock, or dogs. If you’re wondering how they defined “potential threat,” they didn’t. And if you’re wondering how much of a threat wolves are to livestock, wolves killed 62 out of 2,000,000 livestock in Montana last year, or 0.0031%. FWP has proposed a quota of 100 wolves for these “controlled removals,” which also includes wolves killed by the government.

Usually only a handful of wolves are killed under the landowner loophole each year. But during the 2025 legislative session, HB 219 made bounty payments available for any lawful killing of a wolf, meaning landowners and their agents now have a financial incentive to kill wolves. Last year, wolves in Montana’s regions 1 and 2 had a price on their head of $1,000 each, and $750 in the rest of the state. Absurdly, FWP is not forecasting an increase in these types of killings.

Even using FWP’s faulty population estimate, the number of wolves they’ve actually proposed for death — 600 — would take the population close to the legal minimum, which still doesn’t account for lives lost to poaching, vehicles, or other unknown causes. But we know that in reality, we may have just a few wolves left. It’s never been more clear that the state is trying to annihilate the wolf population.

The Fish and Wildlife Commission is accepting written comments until Aug. 4, and accepts comments either in person or via Zoom at their meeting on Aug. 21. Speak up now.

This article originally ran on ravallirepublic.com.