Montana judge restores state wolf hunting regulations

The state of Montana A temporary restraining order that limited wolf hunting and trapping in the state was lifted by a judge on Tuesday.

District Judge Christopher Abbott rejected the concerns raised by environmental groups that the wolf population in the park could be harmed by the harvesting of wolves outside the park.

The court has allowed countless more wolves to be killed under the unscientific laws and regulations we are challenging.

She said that they would keep fighting for Montana's wolves in the courtroom.

Abbott had issued a temporary restraining order to prevent the use of snare traps.

The Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission set hunting rules in August and they take effect immediately. On Monday, the trapping season began.

The interests of hunters and ranchers are included in the state's interest in managing wolves.

The state changed the way it estimates the wolf population in a way that the groups believe leads to an overestimation. The population tells the population how many hunters there are.

Abbot said the state's population estimates were not unreliable and that this year's wolf quota would cause harm.

Even though 322 wolves were taken in 2021, the number of wolves in Montana is still estimated at 1,100.

The 2021-22 quota had no limits near the park. There were 23 park wolves killed last winter.

According to officials with the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, the state set this year's quota based on a law that requires the Fish and Wildlife Commission to decrease the number of wolves in Montana.

Idaho loosened wolf hunting rules at the request of hunters and ranchers.

Montana hunters have killed 69 wolves since the season began.

As a result of the dispute over Montana's wolf hunting season, there is a push for the animals to be restored to more areas.

The Center for Biological Diversity is trying to get the federal government to draft a national recovery plan for gray wolves.

Wolves were killed in most of the U.S. in the 1930's. They were reintroduced from Canada into the north in the 1990s.

The mountains and forests of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming have become strongholds for wolf populations since they were reintroduced.

In the region, the animals were removed from the federal list.

The Biden administration said in a preliminary finding last September that protections for wolves may need to be restored.