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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In brief: General wolf season kicks off in Montana

From Wire Reports

BILLINGS – Montana’s general wolf season opens today with much looser rules than in past years, as state wildlife officials ramp up efforts to reduce the predators’ population in response to public pressure over livestock attacks and declines in some elk herds.

Lower license fees, a five-wolf-per-person bag limit and a longer season top the list of changes put in place for the 2013-14 season.

At the beginning of 2013 Montana had 625 wolves. That was a slight drop from the prior year and the first decline since Canadian wolves were brought to the Northern Rockies in the mid-1990s as a way to bolster the population.

State officials hope to continue driving the population down this year but have not set a number.

Woman says car rolled into Columbia

BRIDGEPORT, Wash. – Police are investigating a report from a 36-year-old Brewster woman who reported her car rolled into the Columbia River at Marina Park in Bridgeport Saturday morning.

The woman who owns the 1988 Ford Bronco told Douglas County sheriff’s deputies that she was in the passenger’s seat and a man she identified only as “David” was in the driver’s seat when they parked on the boat ramp to look at the river, Sheriff Harvey Gjesdal said.

She told police they heard a popping noise and the car rolled into the water, and she and the driver were able to get out of the car before it submerged in about 8 feet of water, the sheriff said. She told deputies that the man ran away. Gjesdal said the woman has a suspended license.

He said there were no other witnesses.