Former members of Montana’s Wolf Management Advisory Council will gather in Helena, April 12, to review and discuss the wolf management plan they helped create.
The disbanded 12-member citizens’ council last met in 2007 to discuss specific hunting and trapping recommendations in anticipation of the official recovery of grey wolf in the northern Rocky Mountains.
“A lot has transpired since the council last met in 2007,” Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Director Jeff Hagener said in a statement. “Governor Steve Bullock and I have invited the members to gather in Helena for a one-day meeting to review the status of the wolf in Montana today and to discuss the effectiveness of the management plan.”
The April 12 meeting, set to begin at 8:30 a.m., will be held at FWP Headquarters in Helena, 1420 E. Sixth Ave. The meeting will be video streamed live to each FWP regional office. A live audio stream will also be available via the FWP website.
The meeting agenda includes introductory remarks from Gov. Bullock, Hagener and Chase Hibbard, the former chairman of the council. The core of the agenda includes an update on existing federal requirements; a review of the legal procedures that led to delisting in 2011; and reviews and updates on the wolf population’s status, research activities, hunting and trapping seasons, livestock depredation, recent wolf-related legislation, and wolf-program funding.
The agenda also includes opportunities for public comment at 2 p.m. FWP ensures its meetings are fully accessible to individuals with special needs. To request arrangements call FWP at 406-444-3186.
The wolf advisory council was created in 2000 to advise FWP on the development of a wolf conservation and management plan. Montana’s plan was approved by federal officials in 2004.
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