The backcountry wolf hunt in Montana just north of Yellowstone National Park will be halted half an hour past sunset today by order of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Even though the quota of 12 wolves in hunting district 316 hasn't been met, nine have been harvested so far, and state officials fear the quota would have been filled by the time the general hunting season starts on Oct. 25 had the hunt continued. That would mean hunters would only take wolves from the backcountry, instead of near ranches where they might have been preying on livestock.

"… We don't want to kill the wilderness wolves and the wolves that don't need some education, (we want to go after) those on the ranch land," Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commissioner Ron Moody said on Thursday. "I want to ensure sufficient opportunity to be available during the general season."

FWP will reopen the backcountry area and most of the rest of Montana to wolf hunting when the general big game rifle season begins on Oct. 25. Wolf hunting is still allowed in backcountry districts 150, 151 and 280 near the Bob Marshall and Scapegoat wilderness areas; two wolves have been taken there.

The commission plans to hold a conference call on Tuesday to discuss whether to increase the quota in wolf management unit 3, known as WMU 3, which includes district 316 and most of southern Montana. To do that, the commission would have to lower the quotas in one or both of the other WMUs to keep the total statewide quota at 75 wolves.

WMU 3 runs across the southern tier of Montana from Dillon east to the Montana border, and the backcountry hunt is in district 316, in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness Area north of Cooke City and east of Gardiner. WMU 1 generally extends across Montana, north of I-90, with a quota of 41 wolves. WMU 2 is a small patch of southwestern Montana stretching from Missoula south through the Bitterroot and Upper Big Hole valleys, with a wolf harvest quota of 22.

"We support this closure immediately. Close it as quickly as you can but at the same time we should go ahead and take five or seven or whatever and immediately start the process of transferring (those quotas) down there (to WMU 3) for the general big game season," FWP Commissioner Willy Doll said on Thursday. "Because if you're going to get nine of them and possibly the other three today, we feel it's a little unfair to the other hunters coming in if that area is closed" for wolf hunting.

But FWP Attorney Bob Lane warned that the state is facing a delicate balancing act if it tries to tweak the quotas now, especially in light of ongoing litigation over the removal of gray wolves in Montana and Idaho from the list of animals protected by the federal Endangered Species Act.

He noted that the state placed the quota low in WMU 3 to show it was responsive to the need for genetic diversity among the wolf population, and this is an area where Yellowstone National Park wolves can move into Montana, and vice versa. That type of "connectivity" is an essential component of the wolf reintroduction.

"The worst thing we could possibly do is to somehow make a (quota) shift into WMU 3 that would upset our ability to have a hunt in WMU 1 and 2," Commissioner Dan Vermillion said. "The last thing we want is to have the plaintiffs go back to Judge (Donald) Molloy on Monday, say 'Look what they did' and stop the hunt. I think we should be as cautious as possible."

Lane noted that if the commission is going to shift the quotas, it must be done through a public process including a comment period. He added that in his opinion, the Montana Constitution says they have to give the public a "reasonable" opportunity to comment, but doesn't set out any time requirements.

"I think that maybe you want to direct the department to proceed and come back during a conference call … Tuesday with a more specific plan," Lane told the commission. "You will know what you have left in unit 3 - three or none - and that may make a difference in how you approach it. If you set the stage here, that the commission is considering this and come back with a conference call, that may be the best compromise."

If hunters overshoot the quota in WMU 3, the commission would have to reduce the number of wolves that can be shot in the other two management units to retain the state's 75-wolf limit.

The state set the 75-wolf ceiling based on scientific models showing that at the current birth and death rates, including wolves shot for preying on livestock, the adopted quota shouldn't significantly lower the number of wolves in Montana and the population may continue to grow. Idaho, whose wolf hunting season is in full swing, has a quota of 220 wolves, and as of Thursday 32 have been shot.

Montana is home to about 500 wolves, with at least another 850 in Idaho and about 300 in Wyoming. They remain listed as endangered species in Wyoming, so hunting isn't allowed.

Both the commission and FWP staff were quick to note that everyone involved in the wolf reintroduction and management effort knew all along that it is an ongoing learning experience, and adjustments will be needed throughout the process. That includes possibly discontinuing early season backcountry hunting seasons.

"It seems to me we have an educational opportunity here, showing we are in an experimental situation," Lane said. "We might have to close off any possibility of hunters taking wolves in the Madison, Beaverhead, Gallatin areas where we do have problems with depredations" if they don't shift the season dates or quotas.

Joe Maurier, FWP director, added that they were unsure about the level of hunter success in the remote, early-season backcountry areas. This is Montana's first ever fair-chase wolf hunt.

"One thing we hope to achieve with closing the backcountry hunt in WMU 3 is to provide some hunting opportunity in other portions of the management unit where we've seen conflicts with livestock," Maurier said. "We also need to learn as much about wolf hunting in the valleys as we're learning about hunting in the backcountry."

Upon harvesting a wolf in Montana, hunters must call 1-877-FWP-WILD (1-877-397-9453) within 12 hours to file a report. When a wolf management unit reaches its quota, FWP will close the season there upon 24-hour's notice.

The status of Montana's wolf hunt is online at FWP's Web site and updated every day at 1:30 p.m. It shows the quotas for three hunting unit and one sub-unit; how many wolves have been taken in each unit; and how many wolves remain that can be shot.

Idaho has a similar Web site. To view both Web sites, follow the links in this story online.

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