Fish and Wildlife Commission Set to Consider New Wolf Trapping Regulations
Last year, a federal court order shortened trapping season in grizzly bear habitat to avoid conflicts with the endangered species, as well as prevent accidental bycatch. This year, state wildlife managers have also proposed some regulations on coyote trapping.
By Tristan Scott
The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission on Nov. 12 is set to consider a crowded agenda of proposed fishing and hunting regulations for the upcoming year, including approving a shortened wolf-trapping season and enacting rules surrounding the trapping of predators like coyotes, which are designed to avoid incidental captures of grizzly bears.
Montana has allowed regulated gray wolf hunting, including archery, general hunting, and trapping, since 2011. However, because wolf and grizzly habitats significantly overlap, trapping, baiting, and snaring have long been controversial practices.
The newly proposed trapping regulations by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) build upon a federal court order that last year limited wolf trapping to Jan. 1 through Feb. 15 within a specific geographic area, including all grizzly bear-occupied habitat in western Montana (FWP regions 1, 2 and 3) along with the western portions of FWP regions 4 and 5 (see map below).
But the proposed trapping regulations also include an unprecedented proposal to impose trapping restrictions on predators like coyotes, which FWP officials say has incited some confusion and concern among trappers.
“Coyotes are predators and under Montana statute, there’s no season or limit for them,” according to a statement from FWP spokesperson Greg Lemon. “However, we believe that if we can get a better understanding of coyote trapping, whether for personal reason or for livestock protection, we’ll be better able to understand how we might develop future proposals that would further help us prevent incidental capture of grizzly bears.”
Beginning Dec. 1, the proposed rule says trappers inside the court-established geographic area who are trapping on the ground, not in water, must obtain a free Supplemental Trapping Permit if they are targeting nongame species, such as racoons, badgers and red fox, or predatory animals, such as weasels, skunks and coyotes. People using live cage traps would be exempt from the requirement. Also, the proposal says trappers engaged in livestock protection activities must complete and sign an affidavit identifying the producer’s name, that the producer has provided permission for trapping activities to occur on their private or leased property, and the county where the trapping will occur.
The purpose of the proposed Supplemental Trapping Permit is to gather data and insight on trapping for nongame animals, according to agency officials, as well as help the state advance its case for delisting grizzly bears from the Endangered Species Act.
FWP Director Dustin Temple on Monday morning released a video statement to clear up confusion over the proposed regulations surrounding predator trapping; specifically, trapping for coyotes.
“For the first time the department is proposing to provide some regulation of recreational coyote trapping in parts of Montana. The parts of Montana that we are talking about are that area that has been outlined by a federal court judge as grizzly bear-occupied habitat,” Temple said. “The proposal would provide some limits on trap sizes and make some requirements for snaring that would take effect only for recreational trappers, only inside this polygon, outside of the normal wolf season trapping dates, which is Jan. 1 through Feb. 15 and only if a grizzly bear is caught. So, there’s a trigger for this regulation. It’s not in effect unless we get a bycatch, it would only apply to recreational trapping, and it would not affect trapping for livestock depredation either on private land or on an allotment the producer may hold. We want to make sure that the tools that livestock producers need to protect their operations remain in place, we want to limit recreational opportunity only to the extent we have to [in order] to make sure we are doing everything we can to protect grizzly bears and advance the state’s case for delisting.”
In past years, the wolf trapping season began on Dec. 15, but in August 2023 the Commission set the 2023-2024 season to begin in late November in most parts of the state, including northwest Montana. Last year, however, U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy pushed back the start date of Montana’s wolf trapping season to Jan. 1 on the grounds that trapping in November and December puts grizzly bears at risk of being maimed by wolf traps and snares. Molloy limited the wolf trapping season to fall within the period when grizzlies, which are federally protected under the Endangered Species Act, are in their dens and are therefore not at risk of being injured.
“Defendants acknowledge that grizzly bears have been caught in public wolf and coyote traps in Montana,” Molloy wrote in his order. “It is reasonably certain that more grizzly bears in Montana will be out and about during the time period and in the locations that wolf trapping is permitted under Montana’s 2023 regulations.”
The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by two conservation groups, the Flathead-Lolo-Bitterroot Citizen Task Force and WildEarth Guardians, which named as defendants the state of Montana, Fish and Wildlife Commission Chair Lesley Robinson and Gov. Greg Gianforte. The conservation groups’ legal action challenged the Fish and Wildlife Commission’s decision to lengthen the 2023-24 wolf trapping season by over one month.
The proposal on the Fish and Wildlife Commission’s Nov. 12 agenda also outlines the requirements for trappers following the incidental capture of a grizzly bear by a trapper. These requirements would go into effect 48 hours after FWP is notified of the capture and would only apply to recreational trappers within the court-established geographic area:
- All foothold traps used in ground sets (regardless of the target species) must have an inside jaw spread of less than or equal to 5 1/2 inches.
- The use of snares is not allowed unless they meet ALL the following criteria:
- The snare is equipped with a breakaway lock device installed on the loop end and designed to release when more than 350 pounds of force is applied;
- The snare is fastened to an immovable object solidly secured to the ground (i.e., the use of drags is unlawful); and
- The top of the loop of the snare is not placed more than 26 inches above the ground; in snow, 26 inches is measured from the compacted snow in a trapper’s footprint established by the full body weight of the trapper.
The proposal is open for public comment. Public comments may also be made at the Nov. 12 commission meeting.
Also, on the agenda for the Nov. 12 commission meeting are 2025 – 2026 Fishing Regulations, the closure of Brogan’s Landing Fishing Access Site (FAS), management agreement of Intake Dam FAS, prairie habitat conservation leases, deviations from public use rules, and several commissioner amendments to fishing and trapping regulations.
To see the full agenda for the Nov. 12, click here.
The meeting will be held in person at Montana WILD in Helena, starting at 8:30 a.m. The meeting will also be streamed online, and people who want to comment virtually on agenda items must register here by 12 p.m. on Nov. 11.