Current work in wildlife, rivers, public lands, and climate

MISSOULA, Mont.—Conservation groups sent a letter today to the director of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (“FWP”) asking that the state wildlife agency create and improve opportunities for public engagement in the ongoing development of a new gray wolf management plan.

In January 2023, Governor Gianforte ordered FWP to update the state’s wolf management plan, more than two decades after it was initially drafted. Between March and April, FWP permitted the public to provide ‘scoping’ comments to help the agency identify the issues it should consider when drafting the new plan. FWP will soon release its draft wolf management plan and associated draft environmental analysis and invite the public to comment.

The conservation groups request that FWP create multiple avenues for public participation in the formation of the new wolf plan. First, the groups are asking that the agency establish a citizen advisory council—composed of citizens who fairly represent the public—which can guide FWP in the development of the new wolf plan. The groups are particularly concerned with fair representation of ‘non-consumptive users,’ which are members of the public that do not kill wolves through actions such as hunting, trapping, or livestock production.

The letter also requests that FWP host at least 15 public meetings to discuss the ongoing planning process and provide at least 60 days for public comment on the draft plan and environmental impact statement. The groups’ requests for public participation opportunities are driven by standard procedures for collecting public input in the formation of wildlife management plans, including  the Wolf Conservation and Management Plan approved in 2004 and FWP’s most recent Draft Elk Management Plan.

“We’re calling on FWP to steward the wolf population for the public, not just for a loud minority that want wolves ‘managed’ out of existence,” said Lizzy Pennock, carnivore coexistence attorney at WildEarth Guardians. “So far, the level of public engagement that FWP has provided is the absolute bare minimum for any species, let alone one that inspires such extraordinary public engagement as the gray wolf.”

“No other species in Montana is managed by FWP like the wolf, with the past few years as the exception and to the extreme,” said KC York, president and founder of Trap Free Montana. “Several years ago in the annual wolf report, FWP proclaimed, ‘The contentious nature of wolf management in Montana, and the importance of continued efforts on the part of FWP to involve the public in wolf-related outreach and education, wolf management decisions, and season setting processes.’ The department should honor their words and support the democratic process for wolf management.”

“Wildlife are held in public trust for all citizens,” said Clint Nagel, President of the Gallatin Wildlife Association, “not just for those who want to exercise their privilege to hunt and fish, but for all citizens. Therefore they should have the right to exercise their voice in how wildlife, including wolves, should be managed. It is also imperative that citizens, agency personnel, and advocates alike inform themselves of the best available science, only then will we have a management policy that will maintain the integrity and sustainability of our natural systems.”

“FWP has a solemn responsibility to the citizens of Montana to move forward immediately with a Wolf Management Advisory Council that includes representatives of the non-consumptive use of wildlife, and wildlife and wolf advocates,” said Connie Poten of Footloose Montana. “In January, 2023, the governor directed FWP to develop a new wolf management plan, yet little has been done nine months later. The delay of moving forward with an advisory council and a wolf plan shows complete disregard for stakeholders and irresponsible neglect of the agency’s required duties.”

“So much has changed in Montana over the past two decades since the last wolf plan was crafted, including land ownership, population, our wildlife tourism economy and social attitudes toward the diverse wildlife issues in our state,” said Nick Gevock, with the Sierra Club. “Every major wildlife issue in Montana gets its best results when a diverse, large group of all stakeholders comes together to hammer out solutions to these complex issues, just like we did with the last wolf plan, and that’s why an advisory council is so badly needed.”

“Montana should be protecting, not slaughtering, its wolf population,” said Kristine Akland, Northern Rockies Director for the Center for Biological Diversity. “It’s time that the state let Montanans’ voices be heard and give us the opportunity to participate in important decisions for this iconic species.”

Gray wolf. Photo by Sam Parks.

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