AS I listen to the quiet hum of the fan on my air board drying the last of this year’s coyotes, I reflect back on the challenges and hurtles that I fought during the season.
The fall was unusually warm and dry, and if I remember correctly, the last day of big-game season in November was a balmy 60 degrees, very unseasonably warm for that time of year. The lack of snow allowed me to drive virtually anywhere in the mountains for opening day of wolf trapping season, in certain WMUs (Wolf Management Units).
The previous legislative session had passed laws that were signed by the governor to start wolf season immediately following the close of the general big-game season, in order to allow more wolves to be harvested when conditions are more conducive to trapping. Wolf season was set to open statewide on the last day of November.
Just weeks before trapping season was set to open, the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission voted unanimously to have a “floating” opening day of wolf trapping season in all areas deemed occupied grizzly habitat. Wolf trapping season in these areas would now depend on input from bear biologists, who would determine when the majority of grizzlies were safely in their dens to eliminate the probability of one being accidently caught in a wolf trap. The probability of this is
