Montana seeks ideas for more effective wolf hunt

PREDATORS — Montana’s wildlife commission is soliciting ideas to make next season’s wolf hunt more effective.

The Fish, Wildlife and Parks commission invited county commissioners from across Montana to participate in a work session in Helena to discuss what additional measures can be taken to fill the wolf quota during the next hunt.

FWP had aimed to reduce Montana’s wolf population to 425 animals with the 2011 hunt. But only 165 wolves were killed out of a quota of 220, and the population actually increased by 15 percent.

FWP officials say no option is off the table for discussion but commissioners will not vote on any proposals until May.

Some actions, such as trapping, would require a change in state law.

Idaho added trapping as a harvest option this season.