Second wolf hunting season opens in Montana this September

It's been a summer of contention for the Endangered Species Act, and gray wolves are about to find out how their status changed.

This Saturday, Sept. 3, the second wolf hunt of the 21st century opens in Montana. Wolves were previously delisted in 2009, before being reinstated in 2010.

This April, Congress lifted federal protections of wolves in Montana and Idaho as well as parts of Oregon, Utah and Washington. The removal of wolves in these states from the endangered species list takes away their federal protections and hands management of the animals over to state wildlife agencies. Wolves in Wyoming will remain listed as an endangered species.

This year's congressional involvement came after Judge Molloy ruled in August 2010 that endangered species in different states could not be managed separately.

"Including hunters in wolf management is still a pretty new practice and a learning experience," said Vivaca Crowser, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesperson. "It's exciting, because hunters are so much a part of wildlife management. Now wolves are part of this management as well."

Numerous groups, including the Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Friends of the Clearwater and WildEarth Guardians, sought to overturn this congressional action, arguing Congress overstepped its authority in doing so. Yet, last Thursday District Court Judge Donald Molloy rejected arguments to stop this fall's wolf hunt ,while the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decides if the act of Congress was constitutional.

"Licenses sold quickly in 2009 [for the wolf hunt]," Crowser said. "This was due in part to the novelty of it being the first hunt. This year, people haven't been too sure if the hunt was going to continue, but with the ruling earlier this month, people are more confident in spending money for tags."

Other conservation organizations continue to question whether the current wolf populations are sufficiently recovered.

"Looking particularly at Idaho, and somewhat for Montana, wolves are being irresponsibly managed," said Gary MacFarlane, director of Friends of the Clearwater, a conservation organization based in Idaho.

"In Idaho, they have no specific limits on how many wolves can be killed, they can be trapped in some wilderness areas and the season can last up to 10 months," Macfarlane said. "It's an all out assault on wolves."

Though his organization did not succeed in halting this year's hunt, Macfarlane thinks there is a strong legal case to declare the Congressional move unconstitutional.

He said wolf management in states like Minnesota is an example of responsible management, because they won't even consider a wolf hunt for another five years.

There they are looking at wolf behavior and how a pack structure is changed when dominant males are killed.

"You have younger males vying for territory and fragmented packs may turn to livestock for food," he said.

Yet, state wildlife agencies have determined that populations are healthy enough to support a wolf hunt to benefit wildlife and people alike. Hunters in Montana may take 220 wolves in this year's hunt. As of Aug. 28, there were 5,331 resident wolf tags and 34 non-resident tags sold in Montana alone.