State House advances Fielder's wolf hunting bills

The Montana House of Representatives has approved two bills seeking to expand the season and methods by which Montanans can trap the state's gray wolf population.

Rep. Paul Fielder, R-Thompson Falls, a wildlife biologist of 31 years, sponsored both measures and introduced them to the full House during a floor session Wednesday.

House Bill 224 would allow trappers licensed in Montana to also use snares to trap wolves.

Fielder said the measure would help keep wolf populations down in the state.

"It seems wildlife managers need another tool to manage wolf populations that seem to be high in some areas of the state," Fielder said.

Rep. Connie Keogh, D-Missoula voiced her opposition to the measure, echoing fears from other opponents of the bill that more snares on Montana lands would mean more accidentally caught deer, elk, and dogs.

"This is another case of trying to micromanage Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks," Keogh said.

Fielder said existing laws require snares to be set back away from trails, roads and campgrounds, and that he's spoken with more hunters afraid of losing their "hounds" to wolves rather than snares.

Fielder's second bill, House Bill 225, drew more arguments among lawmakers as they debated whether to extend the wolf trapping season by two weeks on either end. Under the bill, wolf trapping season would begin the first Monday after Thanksgiving and run through March 15.

Fielder, echoing his defense of HB 224, called the extension another "wildlife management tool."

But Rep. Brian Putnam, R-Kalispell, said the bill would overstep the

Legislature's bounds.

"I'm not against hunting or trapping wolves," Putnam said. "I just think we should leave this up to the Fish, Wildlife and Parks commissioners to determine the number of wolves that need to be hunted and killed, and also let them decide the season and dates."

Lawmakers in favor of the change said cutting down Montana's wolf population would help ranchers and hunters seeking game the wolves prey on.

Both bills cleared the House and are now heading to the Senate.