Montana District Court hears arguments over wolf hunting regulations
Lawyers for multiple conservation organizations argued during a hearing in Helena Friday new Montana regulations around wolves could harm the species long term.
Several new state regulations, including new rules allowing for the killing of up to 558 wolves during the current hunting season, could put the species at risk of “severe population depletion,” they argued.
The conservation groups, WildEarth Guardians, the Earth and Land Institute, Footloose Montana, and the Gallatin Wildlife Association are asking First Judicial District Court Judge Christopher Abbott for a preliminary injunction to stop the 2025-2026 wolf hunting regulations from going into effect.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission, which sets policy and regulations for the department, are the defendants in the suit, which is attached to a legal battle stretching back to 2022 over state wolf laws. The Outdoor Heritage Coalition and Montana Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife are intervenors due to a similar lawsuit they brought against the state, but arguing wolf hunting regulations are too lenient.
“We’re here today because the state’s own population projections indicate that Montana’s wolf population will plummet if defendants are permitted to implement their plan,” Jessica Blome, an attorney for the plaintiffs, told the court Friday.
Those new rules include increased wolf pelt reimbursement maximums and usage of night vision scopes on private land, in addition to an increased hunting quota. In arguments, the state said just one wolf has been killed this year at night. There have been 62 wolves killed so far this hunting season. Attorneys for the conservation groups also argued it’s a violation of the state constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment.
The state is operating on the assumption that 15 breeding pairs and 450 total wolves in Montana is enough for the species to survive. In their verbal arguments on Friday, a state lawyer said there are a little more than 1,000 wolves in Montana. That number is in dispute and lawyers for the conservation groups said only about half that number is confirmed to exist.
“Expert evidence will also show the defendants do not know how many wolves are in the state of Montana,” Susann Bradford, an attorney for the conservation groups said. “They will not know when they achieve the arbitrary number of 450 wolves, and they cannot ensure that the population will stay above this number, or that it is sufficient to sustain the necessary breeding population to ensure genetic health and is sustainable.”
The state’s arguments centered around defending its scientific practices and that the conservation groups can’t prove that 2025-26 wolf hunting regulations will harm the species long term.
The state — in this case, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks — also argued they’re being told to bring the wolf population down.
“The reason that the quota was so high this year was due to the fact that we have not recognized a decent reduction in the population in our eyes, that it has remained stable,” said Alex Scolavino, a lawyer for the state. “And we are statutorily mandated to reduce the wolf population.”
An attorney the intervenors, Gary Leistico also spoke in the state’s defense during the hearing. Outdoor Heritage Coalition is wrapped up in a separate lawsuit in Sanders County saying the state hasn’t reduced the wolf population.
Abbott said he would rule on the preliminary injunction soon. The wolf hunting season goes until March 15, and the trapping season begins Dec. 1 in some areas pf the state.
