Hunters upset with wolf policy

To the editor,

Montana's hunters right now are not a very happy lot. Every chance I get, I will walk up to sportsmen in the local outdoor stores, especially those in the hunting departments, and ask them how they rate Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks when it comes to handling the wolf issue, and the problems wolves are creating. The number one complaint has been the true number of wolves in this state.

If there really are the 1,000-plus wolves in Montana that has been claimed by several top wildlife experts, then the 2009 wolf harvest represents less than 7.5 percent of the wolves in Montana. Come next spring, there will be 1,200 to 1,300 wolves in this state. And next fall there could be 20,000 to 25,000 fewer elk.

I recently watched for 20 minutes as a big gray wolf tried its best to cut a calf out of a herd of 19 elk. (The only calf in a herd with 17 mature cows!)

One of the hunters I spoke with this past week, out in the field, was one of the few who still believe in FWP, but who is still very disappointed in the agency. His comment was, "It's not right that Fish, Wildlife and Parks is forcing hunters … to take matters into their own hands … and to kill wolves whenever we get the chance. We're losing too much big game, and we're going to take care of the problem."

Toby Bridges

Missoula