Earlier in the month, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks tabled a proposal to the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission that contained their recommendation of tripling the wolf hunting quota in an area bordering Yellowstone National Park.
In the proposal, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks recommended that the quota of wolf harvest be bumped up from two to six in wolf management unit 313, close to Gardiner, Montana.
After this week’s meeting, three of the four commissioners present were uncomfortable with the proposed increase of hunting pressure on the wolf population, shooting down the proposal in a 3-1 vote.
While this is not the final nail in the coffin on the proposal, John Vore, FWP’s game management bureau chief reiterated that the proposal was designed to balance the interests of hunters as well as stabilize, not eliminate the wolf population in the prescribed areas.
“It strikes a good balance,” Vore said.
The vote does not open to public comment until June 17th, and a final decision on the changes is not expected until sometime in July.
H/T: Bozeman Daily Chronicle