Support Needed For Montana Wolf Management-Trapping Meeting Tomorrow In Helena
By Kjel

Posted: May 9, 2012

Sportsmen of Montana,

We need your help in a big way tomorrow. Wolf trapping in Montana is being recommended at the Fish Wildlife and Parks commission meeting, tomorrow, May 10, 2012. If you only attend one wildlife meeting in Montana this year, please attend this meeting. The meeting is not at Montana FWP Headquarters. Here is where and when the meeting will happen:

8:30 AM, May 10, 2012
FWP Wild Center
2668 Broadwater Avenue
Helena, Montana
FWP Wild Center – 2668 Broadwater – Helena, MT
(Wolf management is on the agenda at 9:45am)
 

Sierra Club, Footloose and other groups are reportedly working very hard to get big numbers of anti-hunters out to tomorrow’s meeting. No matter where you live in Montana, please attend this meeting. Let me be so bold as to state that the future of recovery of Montana’s elk, moose and deer will depend on the outcome of this issue. We all take days off work to go fishing, hunting and scouting. If you have to take a vacation day from work, please attend this meeting. We need you there.

I can’t overstate the importance of trapping for successful and responsible management of wolves. As many of you are aware, Idaho allowed trapping of wolves during the 2011-2012 season. Montana did not. Idaho was able to harvest adequate numbers of wolves. Montana fell short of reaching their wolf management objectives. There is a reason why the federal government uses trapping to remove wolves. It is one of the few tools that works and that is also cost effective.

Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks is supporting the use of some trapping for wolves next season. These proposals are a step in the right direction, but they also fall short is some important ways. It appears that Montana FWP’s recommendations, once again, are far too restrictive to allow for adequate wolf management by sportsmen. For example, the use of several proven wolf trapping techniques would be restricted or not allowed by Montana FWP’s proposal. It is time to loosen these restrictions and return to an emphasis on recovery of key elk, moose and deer herds. Here is a link to these proposals: http://fwp.mt.gov/doingBusiness/insideFwp/commission/meetingsagenda.html?si&coversheet&itemId=26404906

Those who are trying to demonize responsible predator management are also working to stop the use of trapping to control wolves in Montana. They don’t care about the future of abundant elk, moose and deer herds. Otherwise they would work to protect every tool needed to restore healthy wildlife populations in the state. Big Game Forever fully supports the use of all ethical tools to control wolves, including trapping. We do not support unnecessary restrictions that make responsible predator management difficult, ineffective or overly costly.

Thank you for your support of recovery of Montana’s wildlife resources and support of much overdo responsible predator management.

 

Ryan Benson
www.biggameforever.org
ryandbenson@msn.com
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