Ian Brickey, ian.brickey@sierraclub.org
Helena, MT-- Today, the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission met to determine the framework for the 2022-23 wolf hunting and trapping season, including quotas around Yellowstone National Park.
In response, Bonnie Rice, Senior Representative for the Sierra Club in the Yellowstone and Northern Rockies regions, issued the following statement:
“Wolves are a valued native species in Montana and play a key ecological role in reducing the spread of chronic wasting disease and keeping natural systems in balance.
“Today, the Commission missed an important opportunity to restore the public’s trust in the state’s wolf management. Its decisions – including allowing the killing of another 456 of Montana’s wolves in the upcoming hunting and trapping season – were made in the face of significant uncertainty about the actual number of wolves in Montana and the methodology used to calculate the wolf population.
“Moving ahead without accurate data is extremely harmful both to wolves, and to the state’s reputation regarding science-based wildlife management.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.