For Immediate Release: August 19, 2026
Despite Overwhelming Public Opposition, Montana FWC Approves Killing 300 Wolves
If total wolf deaths resemble last year’s, over half of alleged population will be killed
Helena, Mont.—Today, the Montana Fish & Wildlife Commission (the Commission) approved regulations for the 2026-27 wolf hunting and trapping season, which will allow for the killing of 300 wolves using anti-fair chase methods including night hunting, thermal and infrared imagery, and bait. Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) recommended a quota of 250. The Commission passed this much higher quota despite 92% of commenters—2,019 people out of 2,203—speaking out in favor of killing fewer wolves, such as a hunting/trapping moratorium or a significant quota reduction from FWP’s original number of 250.
As a response to the public outcry, the Commission actually increased the total quota by 50 through a last-minute amendment that was not noticed before the written public comment period expired, and transitioned to a regional system, rather than using a statewide quota. The aggressive killing quota comes on the heels of FWP admitting that the state’s model for estimating the wolf population—iPOM (Integrated Patch Occupancy Model)—has been vastly overestimating the number of wolves in the state for years. And the state’s newest estimate, nearly 400 fewer wolves than FWP told the public last year, is still disputed by independent scientists and is not peer-reviewed.
Commissioner Ian Wargo, who proposed the last-minute amendments, said at the end of the meeting that “nothing that was said in comments would change anything,” despite more than 2,000 written comments and hours of public testimony raising substantive concerns about the proposed regulations. This included testimony from a former FWP carnivore specialist who said Montana’s wolf population could not support a quota of more than 175 wolves, as well as comments from a woman whose dog was shot while being mistaken for a wolf and lost a leg. Speakers on both sides of the debate also questioned the reliability of iPOM 2.0 and called for the model to undergo independent peer review.
“When 92% of people voice their opposition to a proposal that the Commission passes anyway, the state reveals that the ‘public participation process’ is merely a performative sham meant to conceal the fact that a few well-connected fringe special interests set wildlife management policy behind closed doors,” said Josh Schott, Rocky Mountain Coordinator at Team Wolf. “Year after year, the Commission ignores the will of the people and silences Montanans at the cost of our most vulnerable wildlife.”
The number of people who actively voiced opposition to the proposed wolf hunting and trapping regulations this year aligns with recent research that shows 74% of Montanans are tolerant or very tolerant of wolves on the landscape. According to the study, “a strong majority of Montana residents have positive attitudes toward wolves and tolerate them on the landscape.” The study also noted that the “minority of Montanans who have exceedingly negative attitudes towards wolves represent… an influential segment of the population.”
“Montana is treating wolves as a commodity to be handed over to the special interests that want to kill them, rather than as wildlife held in trust for all Montanans,” said Michelle Lute, PhD in wolf-human coexistence, executive director for Wildlife for All. “When politically-fueled hatred and ignorance override science, agency expertise, and overwhelming public concern, the result is not just ecological damage—it is the destruction of public trust and the betrayal of future generations.”
The seven governor-appointed Commissioners who passed the regulations represent specific industries with a strong interest in reducing the wolf population, such as livestock ranching, outfitting, and hunting. None of the current Commission members has a background in wildlife science or management.
“Wolves belong in Montana, they’ve been here for thousands of years and it’s up to us to share the landscape with them,” said Lizzy Pennock, carnivore coexistence attorney at WildEarth Guardians. “The Commission should be setting policies that steward our state’s wildlife, not capitulating to special interest groups who want to kill off the wolf population.”
“Montana’s wolf hunting and trapping is abjectly cruel, ecologically destructive, and pushing wolf families and the entire population to the brink,” said Nadia Steinzor, carnivore conservation director at Project Coyote. “The Commission just demolished any pretense that it cares about science, a healthy environment, or public opinion.”
Despite public outcry, Montana allows many killing methods that violate fair chase principles, including baited traps and snares, artificial light, night vision, and thermal and infrared imaging. Fair chase principles are widely shared and cherished values of Montana hunters. The Idaho based Foundation for Wildlife Management pays bounties of up to $1,500 per wolf killed. No other species carries bounties from out-of-state enterprises.
“For years, we have warned about the serious decline in the wolf population, citing a flawed model as our evidence,” said KC York, president and founder of Trap Free Montana. “This was reinforced by the failure of hunters and trappers to hit the quota, instead reporting killing 272 wolves on average annually, and despite the egregious means of unfair chase and unethical methods exacerbated since 2021. Now, rather than heeding the alarm call, the Commission persists in prioritizing lethal management for special interests. Appalling, the quota was increased to 300, with one bright outcome, one wolf each in 313 and 316.”
After five years of controversy and public outcry, FWP admitted it has been overestimating the wolf population and updated iPOM into a new version called iPOM 2.0. According to this updated version, iPOM overestimated the wolf population by nearly 400 for 2025. iPOM 2.0, on the other hand, estimates roughly 725 wolves in Montana, but this updated version has not been peer reviewed. Further, wolf researchers still challenge the validity and scientific legitimacy of iPOM 2.0 because the model underpinning both iPOM and iPOM 2.0 is fundamentally flawed, so the state can’t accurately estimate how many wolves are in Montana and it’s likely far less than the estimated range provided by iPOM 2.0.
“Wolf management decisions should not be based on iPOM (versions 1.0 or 2.0). FWP touted the accuracy of iPOM 1.0, then a year later admitted that it greatly overestimated wolf population size, as we indicated it would in our work to improve how wolves are counted and managed,” said Robert Crabtree, Chief Scientist and Founder of the Yellowstone Ecological Research Center. “How could anyone now trust iPOM 2.0 when they fixed two of some twenty-plus problems that other scientists and we identified? iPOM 2.0 still has serious bias that stands unaddressed and uncorrected. All this while, they ignore other methods successfully used in other states and in Europe.”
According to FWP’s 2025 Wolf Report, hunters and trappers killed 247 wolves last year despite a quota of 458, and 81 wolves died from other documented causes, bringing the wolf death total to 328 in 2025. The 300 quota for this season is an authorization to kill even more wolves than were killed last year, even though there are at least 400 fewer wolves in Montana than previously stated.
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