INTRODUCED
BY P. Fielder, B. Brown, J. Ellsworth, C. Glimm, S. Hinebauch, J. Fuller, W.
Galt, C. Hinkle, J. Hinkle, B. Ler, B. Phalen, J. Read, J. Schillinger, D.
Skees
By Request of the ****
A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT ALLOWING THE SNARING OF WOLVES BY LICENSED TRAPPERS; AND AMENDING SECTION 87-1-901, MCA."
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
Section 1. Section 87-1-901, MCA, is amended to read:
"87-1-901. Gray wolf management -- rulemaking -- reporting. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), the commission shall establish by rule hunting and trapping seasons for wolves. Trapping seasons must allow for the use of snares by the holder of a trapping license. For game management purposes, the commission may authorize:
(a) the issuance of more than one Class E-1 or Class E-2 wolf hunting license to an applicant; and
(b) the trapping or snaring of more than one wolf by the holder of a trapping license.
(2) The commission shall adopt rules to allow a landowner or the landowner's agent to take a wolf on the landowner's property at any time without the purchase of a Class E-1 or Class E-2 wolf license when the wolf is a potential threat to human safety, livestock, or dogs. The rules must:
(a) be consistent with the Montana gray wolf conservation and management plan and the adaptive management principles of the commission and the department for the Montana gray wolf population;
(b) require a landowner or the landowner's agent who takes a wolf pursuant to this subsection (2) to promptly report the taking to the department and to preserve the carcass of the wolf;
(c) establish a quota each year for the total number of wolves that may be taken pursuant to this subsection (2); and
(d) allow the commission to issue a moratorium on the taking of wolves pursuant to this subsection (2) before a quota is reached if the commission determines that circumstances require a limitation of the total number of wolves taken.
(3) Public land permittees who have experienced livestock depredation must obtain a special kill permit authorized in 87-5-131(3)(b) to take a wolf on public land without the purchase of a Class E-1 or Class E-2 license.
(4) The department shall report annually to the environmental quality council regarding the implementation of 87-5-131, 87-5-132, and this section."