Northwest wolf take up 21.6 percent over last year

Montana’s wolf season came to a close last week, with hunters and trappers taking just five more wolves than they did last year.

All told, hunters took 144 wolves and trappers caught 86 for a total of 230 wolves statewide. Last year, hunters took 128 wolves and trappers caught 97.

In Region 1, Northwest Montana, hunters and trappers took 101 wolves — a 21.6 percent increase over last year’s take of 83.

Kent Laudon, wolf management specialist for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, estimates the wolf take this year was about 30 percent of the population, which is considered sustainable.

Laudon notes 64 wolf packs inhabit Northwest Montana, including Glacier National Park and transboundary packs that cross into Indian reservations, Canada and Idaho. Each pack has averages about 5.4 wolves, based on last year’s estimate, giving a total of 345 wolves in Northwest Montana. Laudon notes that an average wolf pack has a range of about 200 square miles.

Hunters and trappers in Region 1 posted the most success of anywhere in the state. In Wolf Management Unit 101, which includes the Whitefish Range, the kill was the highest of any in the state with 38.

The kill in Unit 100, the state’s far northwestern corner along the Idaho border, was 28, second highest in the state.

The fewest number of wolves taken was one in Unit 110, the North Fork of the Flathead, adjacent to Glacier National Park. Unit 110 has a two-wolf quota in deference to the Park.