Bill to allow unlimited statewide wolf quota when population above 450 draws intense testimony from ranchers, conservationists and tribes

Representative Shannon Maness opened the HB176 hearing saying the bill’s goal is “to increase harvests of wolves in Montana in a faster manner” and cited a statewide population estimate of about 1,100 wolves. Maness referenced the 2009 federal delisting rule and said the bill was intended to allow the department to reduce statewide wolf population more rapidly and consistently than current practice.

Supporters — including sportsmen’s organizations, trappers, livestock and ranching groups, and some regionally based hunters — urged the committee to approve the bill. Justin Webb, representing the Foundation for Wildlife Management, told the committee that he preferred legislative direction to the commission in the face of perceived political pressure on commission decisions; he argued hunting and trapping seasons used to reduce wolves but that recent commission action had not delivered targeted declines. Several speakers said elk and mule deer herds have declined in parts of the state and that stronger harvest tools were needed; trapping and year‑round seasons in other states were cited as examples.

Opponents included conservation groups, wildlife scientists, tourism and wildlife‑watching business representatives, and tribal representatives. Scientific witnesses and wildlife biologists raised concerns about the population estimate method used by FWP (the Integrated Patch Occupancy Model, IPAM), arguing that IPAM was designed to estimate distribution rather than precise abundance and that additional sampling (for example, genetic capture–recapture) would be required to produce a firm head‑count. Several scientists warned that misestimating population size could lead to overshoot or unintended overharvest. Tribal representatives, including Patrick Yawaki for the Blackfeet Tribe, said tribes were not properly consulted and urged a “do not pass.” Tourism business owners and guides said wolves are a major economic driver in parts of Montana and warned that aggressive statewide harvest could concentrate on Yellowstone‑adjacent packs and harm local economies.

FWP staff testified as informational witnesses and reiterated that the agency supports tools to manage wolves but stressed technical limits of population estimation and the need for transparent methodology. FWP officials said they use IPAM and that other methods (including genetics) are under consideration to improve estimates.

The hearing included extensive questions from committee members about IPAM’s uncertainty, the harvest numbers recorded by FWP (roughly 200–300 wolves in recent seasons, as cited at the hearing), how seasons and quotas interact at district and statewide scales, and the potential for unintended consequences such as relisting under the Endangered Species Act.

Ending: The committee reached the hearing time limit and took no formal vote at the hearing. Testimony and multiple technical requests left outstanding questions about monitoring, commission authority and economic impacts.