New group aims to help reduce wolf population

A new group has been established to help hunters, outfitters and ranchers in Montana deal with the wolf population problem. The Sanders County Chapter for the Foundation for Wildlife Management was created only two weeks ago as the first Montana chapter of the organization, which started in Idaho 11 years ago because of the wolf problem there. 

"We've been trying to get a chapter in Montana for about five years now, but we've been legally blocked, but now we have it," said Dan Helterline, vice chairman of the newly established nonprofit group. Gov. Greg Gianforte signed Senate Bill 267 into law on April 23, which allowed reimbursement payments to hunters and trappers who legally harvest a wolf. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Bob Brown of Thompson Falls, opened the door for the Foundation for Wildlife Management - F4WM - to create a chapter in Montana. The purpose of the organization is to help hunters and trappers reduce wolf numbers to a manageable number because the wolves are not only decimating elk and deer numbers, but are impacting outfitters, which rely on hunters' business, and ranchers, according to Glenn Schenavar, the group's chairman. 

Schenavar, a Thompson Falls resident, and Helterline, a Plains resident, were elected to office at the group's first meeting at Trout Creek a week earlier. It was there that it was decided to officially form the chapter. Plains resident Rachel Doble was elected the group's secretary. Schenavar said they signed up 30 new members at that meeting alone. Only a dozen people showed up for last week's meeting at the VFW in Plains, but Schenavar is optimistic that more people will join as word of the group gets out. They plan to rotate meetings between Trout Creek and Plains with the next meeting scheduled for June 3 at 6 p.m. at the Lakeside Resort and Motel.  

The purpose of last week's meeting was to introduce the new group to community members and to discuss the fundraising banquet scheduled for July 24 at the Sanders County Fairgrounds pavilion. There will be a variety of costs for the dinner, starting with $40 just for the prime rib dinner and $75 for the dinner and a year's membership. A couple's package runs $125 and includes two meals, one membership, and $50 in general raffle tickets. People can pay up to $2,000 for a "corporate table," which includes eight meals, eight memberships, $1,000 in general raffle tickets, and a full sponsor advertisement. 

Several people at the meeting offered to donate items for the live and silent auctions at the banquet, including Plains resident Chryse Foster of Al's Foster Funny Farmer, who donated a hog. About a dozen guns have already been donated. The Montana Sportsman For Fish Wildlife gave the organization $10,000; the Montana Trappers Association donated $5,000; and the Montana Fur Harvesters gave $1,000. Kevin Hill of Trout Creek will be volunteering his auctioneer expertise.

"We aren't anti wolf, we are pro wildlife management and that includes wolves," said Doble, an avid hunter and trapper. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks believes there are about 1,200 wolves in the state, including an estimated 480 wolves in FWP's Region 1, which includes Lake, Flathead, Lincoln, and Sanders Counties, where there are an estimated 10 packs with an average of six wolves to a pack, according to Wendy Cole, an FWP wolf carnivore specialist. She said, however, the population might be larger due to wolf births in April. Mike Ebinger, an FWP biologist stationed in Thompson Falls, was at last week's meeting on an informational basis only.

The F4WM program isn't a bounty on wolves, said Schenavar, and it's not designed to make a profit for hunters or trappers. It's simply a means to reimburse trappers and hunters for their expenses relating to harvesting wolves. Schenavar, a member since 2019, said the program would hopefully entice others to take to the woods to trap or hunt wolves in an effort to reduce their numbers. Schenavar is a hunter and plans to get into the trapping side. The program in Montana will be similar to the one in Idaho, which was designed to help manage wolf numbers and to take pressure off suffering big game numbers, said Helterline, who added that the program there has been successful for 11 years. He said there are around 4,700 F4WM members in Idaho. 

"Trapping is an expensive endeavor," said Helterline, who has been a member of the Idaho organization for six years and a trapper for some 45 years. Helterline believes the reimbursement program will help manage the wolf population, as it has helped with the wolf population in Idaho, where reimbursements go up to $1,000. The reimbursement amounts in Montana will be established by a board. FWP and F4WM will meet and discuss amounts, but it will start at $500. A hunter or trapper must submit a copy of the harvest report to show the wolf was legally taken and submit receipts connected with the harvest, such as gas, ammunition, equipment, bait, lure, and even the cost of the license. In addition, a person must be a F4WM member, which cost $40 annually, to participate in the reimbursement program. Schenavar is certain the board will have the amounts determined before the season begins. All money raised at the banquet, donations and through membership go directly into reimbursement payments. "I think this is our best chance to get these wolves under control," said Schenavar, who also feels the program will be well supported in Sanders County. 

"I firmly believe that the F4WM's newly formed Sanders County chapter, as well as any of the new wolf regulations aimed at reducing wolf numbers, will in no way impact wolf numbers to the point that they will need to be relisted on the threatened and endangered species list," said Helterline, who added that when wolves were introduced there was a minimum viable population set at 150 wolves statewide. 

"The F4WM just wants to give trappers and hunters more tools to help bring the population back into check. The opposition are purely preservationists and are opposed to any harvest," said Helterline. "I am very excited to have the F4WM expand into Montana. I think they will be successful and receive much needed support." 

Schenavar said the group is off to a great start with 150 members from Heron, Noxon, Trout Creek, Thompson Falls, and Plains in the new chapter. He said there are already plans to create chapters in Flathead County and Butte. "We hope this will help entice more people to trap and that's more effective than hunting because you can have more traps out there, so the opportunity to harvest one is greater," said Doble.

Brown's 267 bill wasn't the only legislation designed to address the wolf situation. He also introduced Senate Bill 314, which increases wolf harvest limit and permits hunting over bait. Representative Paul Fielder of Montana District 13 sponsored HB 225, which extended the wolf season an additional 30 days. The goal behind all the bills is to reduce wolf populations in Montana to a sustainable level.

"Trappers spend a lot of money on harvesting wolves averaging about $1,500 per wolf," said Helterline. To be more effective, Helterline believes multiple traps should be set. On average, he puts out between 120 to 150 traps for wolves each season. Doble also puts out several traps in order to better her chances. Periodically, a trap will freeze and not activate. Once, she found a large paw print in the middle of a trap that failed to trigger. 

Helterline believes the reimbursement program will generate more trapping and hunting and make it more affordable for sportsman to harvest more wolves and give FWP more tools to target problem areas from predation and livestock destruction. 

"People are passionate about hunting and they have seen first hand what wolf predation has done to ungulates in the back country of western Montana," said Schenavar. "Our goal at F4WM is to bring back ungulate populations to the back country through our reimbursement program."