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Heated testimony as Montana committee considers allowing thermal and infrared scopes for wolf management
Summary
Rep. Paul Fielder told the committee HB259 would clarify 2021 law to include infrared and thermal scopes as night-vision methods for wolf management on private land; opponents argued it erodes commission discretion, violates fair-chase ethics and risks wolf population impacts, while FWP warned a court ruling limits prior interpretations.
Representative Paul Fielder opened the hearing on House Bill 259 by saying the measure is a statutory cleanup of 2021 legislation and "just adds the language ... infrared scopes, or thermal imagery scopes" to clarify methods allowed for hunting or management of gray wolves on private land.
Supporters — including conservation and hunting groups — framed the bill as a clarification that restores tools the department and landowners intended to use for population management. Chris Killorn of the Outdoor Heritage Coalition and others urged the committee to pass what they called a narrowly targeted fix to an earlier judicial interpretation.
Opponents, including tribal representatives, environmental groups and multiple conservation organizations, asked the committee to reject the bill as written. They said it would erode the Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission’s rulemaking authority and "violate fair chase" hunting ethics. "This bill does require the use of this night vision and infrared equipment to kill more wolves," Nick Gevock of the Sierra Club told the committee.
Several witnesses cited a 2023 judicial action. "When this bill was first passed, it was interpreted that night vision scopes included thermal imagery and infrared ... A judge ruled that that was not indeed the fact," said Ron Howell, chief of law enforcement for Fish, Wildlife and Parks, summarizing the legal background that prompted the statutory clarification.
Howell also provided the committee with reported wolf harvests attributed to night-vision techniques; he cautioned the figures are imperfect because of time-reporting ambiguities in the mandatory harvest system. FWP’s counts provided to the committee for 'night-vision' wolf harvests were: 2021 — 10; 2022 — 8; 2023 — 14; and 2024 — 9, numbers Howell said should be taken "with a grain of salt" because the reporting system gives only a 24-hour time stamp that can obscure exact timing.
Committee members repeatedly pressed whether changing statutory language from "may" to "shall" would remove the Commission's discretion. Quentin Kujala advised that making the shift would convert discretionary wording into a directive: "That is correct. It's it would be a must do to the commission," he said. Several opponents urged that technique choices and management decisions remain with the Commission and its biologists rather than being mandated in statute.
Other lines of questioning addressed enforcement and the potential for increased poaching if more powerful optics were broadly legalized. Howell said wardens already seek evidence of unlawful night hunting when investigating complaints and that the department enforces existing night-hunting restrictions for game species other than predators.
Sponsor Paul Fielder closed by arguing the bill is about management tools, not ethics, and urged members to view it as restoring the intent of previous legislation. The committee closed the hearing without taking a vote on HB259 during this session.
