Conservation groups have asked a federal judge in Montana for an injunction to stop the trapping of coyotes and wolves in areas occupied by grizzly bears, asserting the bears could also be snared in the traps.
The Flathead-Lolo-Bitterroot Task Force and WildEarth Guardians filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana, asserting that grizzly bears are harmed by unlawful take in areas where trapping for wolves occurs in violation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Court documents state in recent years, 21 grizzly bears were caught in traps and the number could increase as the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission issued new rules expanding wolf trapping.
“We sent Montana a 60-day notice to sue in May. We got our answer on August 17th when the Fish and Wildlife Commission doubled down on its archaic approach to wildlife management by expanding snaring and trapping across grizzly bear range in Montana,” said Patty Ames, president of the Flathead-Lolo-Bitterroot Citizen Task Force.
The wildlife commission considered at the Aug. 17 meeting to keep the recommendations from last year of a floating trapping date tentatively set as Nov. 27. The regulations allow one person to trap 10 wolves and hunt 10 others each season, an increase from five total in 2020, according to the lawsuit.
Additional recommendations are to reduce the wolf population by trapping 289 wolves throughout the hunting regions and to reduce trapping for bobcats and close trapping of martens.
According to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (MTFWP), the wolf population in 2022 was 1,087 animals.
“Montana’s regulations adopted on August 17, 2023, authorize a trapping season across large swaths of occupied grizzly bear habitat in Montana, and future take of grizzly bears would thus be directly attributable to the State of Montana,” court documents state.
“In the early winter, when grizzly bears are in hyperphagia, the bears are attracted to trappers’ baits and lures,” the documents continued. “In late winter and spring, grizzly bears emerge from their dens with high protein needs after months of hibernation. Montana’s regulations permit baited trapping and snaring during these months of peak consumption of meat by grizzly bears—because other food sources are scarce—and grizzly bears are particularly likely to be drawn to the baits and scented lures intended to attract wolves to traps and snares.”
In 2021, Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) signed two bills to reduce wolf populations by legalizing neck snares and expanding the hunting season.
The commission also began the rulemaking process for Senate Bill 295, passed during the 2023 legislative session, which would further clarify how Montana will manage delisted grizzly bears relative to human safety, conflict with livestock and genetic exchange.
Gianforte petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in late 2021 to delist grizzly bears in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE) in northwest Montana.
According to MTFWP, grizzly bears are listed under the ESA in the lower 48 states. In 1993, USFWS recognized six areas, four of which are partly or wholly within Montana, with recovering grizzly bear populations. USFWS found that bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) and NCDE met the criteria for delisting under the ESA. The grizzly population in the GYE varies based on method and ranged from 737-1,040 bears in 2019. In the NCDE, the population was estimated at 960 bears in 2014, with an annual 3% growth rate.
As of the end of 2018, approximately 55-60 grizzly bears were estimated to inhabit the Cabinet-Yaak area in the northwestern portion of the state. In the grizzly bear management plan, MTFWP stated it would maintain a population of 932 bears in the GYE and about 1,000 bears in the NCDE.
The groups contend that absent any intervention from the court, the unlawful take of grizzly bears will likely occur, and they are asking the judge to enjoin the trapping and snaring in grizzly bear-occupied territory.
According to the court docket, Judge Donald W. Molloy will hear the case on Nov. 20. — Charles Wallace, WLJ contributing editor
