Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks

Montana wildlife managers are allowing hunters to kill a record number of wolves this season. Supporters of the policy say the practice helps reduce livestock losses to wolves. New research indicates that's not necessarily the case.

Wildlife managers this week decided to increase this year's wolf hunting and trapping quota by more than 100 animals and change how wolf hunting regions are divided.

The Congressional Western Caucus met with federal and state officials at a conference in the Flathead this week. They called for more aggressive natural resource management, more state control and less federal bureaucracy.

Wildlife managers earlier this month proposed new hunting and trapping regulations that could cut the state’s wolf population in half.

Briefs: Polson medical center expansion will double primary care services; Montana launches teacher apprenticeship program; Public comment opens on proposed BLM oil and gas leases; FWP urges anglers to kill and report brown trout caught on the Flathead River.

Wildlife officials create new CWD management zone in Flathead;

In 2023, a state audit found a culture of retaliation among Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks’ leadership. Last week, legislators were told the agency has made progress, but there’s more work ahead.

A pair of north-central Montana bighorn sheep have tested positive for pneumonia-causing bacteria; Montana wildlife officials are already intercepting boats fouled with invasive species.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has published its final statewide wolf management plan. This is the final step in updating the 22 year-old document that guides how the agency manages wolves.

As grizzly bears continue expanding eastward outside of federal recovery zones, landowners are prepping for life with their new neighbors. Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks is hosting a series of Grizzly Bear Educational Workshops in central Montana.