Hunters asked to share wolf data

BILLINGS – Wildlife officials expect more than 100,000 deer and elk hunters to go afield in Montana this fall, and they want their help in monitoring gray wolves.

The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks is asking hunters to report any sightings or signs of wolf activity. The information may be useful both in tracking gray wolves, a protected species, and in finding new packs, officials said.

The Fish, Wildlife and Parks Web site – http://fwp.state.mt.us/wildthings/wolf/default.html – includes an electronic observation form for hunters’ use.

Agency spokesman Tom Palmer said the appeal for help is a way for the agency to broaden “our ability to know where wolves are.”

Officials want to know where hunters see wolves and would be especially pleased to get the geographic coordinates, Palmer said. Other information sought includes the locations of previous sightings, the number of wolves spotted and their behavior, and whether the wolves were observed with use of equipment, such as binoculars.

Cards detailing the difference between wolves and coyotes, basic information on wolves and the relationship between wolves and big game will be available late this month at offices of Fish, Wildlife and Parks and at other places where hunting licenses are sold, Palmer said. People sometimes confuse wolves with coyotes.

In a preliminary calculation released this summer, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated there were 912 wolves in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. Of those, about 166 were in Montana, the service said.