Montana Accused of "Trophy Hunting" After Wolf Count Drops by Nearly 400

Montana wildlife officials recently admitted they had been wrong about how many wolves live in the state. They lowered their estimate from 1,094 wolves down to about 725 — a drop of nearly 400 animals. Even so, state commissioners voted to allow hunters and trappers to kill up to 300 wolves in the next hunting season. That decision has sparked anger from wildlife groups, who are calling it "trophy hunting."

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks changed the method it uses to count wolves. The new method gave a much lower number than before. Because of the change, agency scientists suggested that no more than 250 wolves should be allowed to be killed this season. They wanted to be careful since the wolf population was smaller than anyone had thought.

However, the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission held a meeting on August 19 and voted to set the limit at 300 wolves instead. Some commissioners felt the new lower estimate might still be too cautious. They decided to split the allowed kills into different limits for different regions of the state. Critics said the commission should have been more careful given how uncertain the numbers were.

Greg Lemon, a spokesperson for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, defended the decision. He told Newsweek that the agency has a long history of managing wolves responsibly. "We felt that reducing the quota for this year would allow us to continue to follow state law and ensure that wolf numbers remain well above limits outlined in our wolf plan," Lemon said. He also noted that wolf numbers are still high enough that federal protections are not being considered.

Wildlife groups strongly disagreed with the commission's choice. Michelle Lute, the executive director of Wildlife for All, said officials were putting the interests of hunters ahead of the public good. "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," she said. Several other groups joined in condemning the vote.

A group called Team Wolf pointed out that 247 wolves were killed by hunters and trappers last year, even though the allowed limit was 458. An additional 81 wolves died from other recorded causes, bringing the total wolf deaths to 328 in 2025. Team Wolf argued that approving 300 kills this season — when there are already far fewer wolves than officials once believed — is reckless. "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," the group said.

Lemon pushed back on the "trophy hunting" label. He said hunting is an important tool for managing wildlife populations across many species, including elk and deer, not just wolves. He also noted that hunters contribute a lot of money toward conservation programs, habitat protection, and wildlife research in Montana. He said the phrase "trophy hunting" is often used by critics to describe any hunting they personally disagree with.

Critics have also drawn attention to a program run by the Foundation for Wildlife Management, a group based in Idaho. The foundation offers money back to hunters and trappers who legally kill wolves. Reimbursements can be as high as $1,500 in Idaho and up to $1,500 in certain parts of Montana. The foundation calls these payments expense reimbursements, not bounties, but opponents say the program encourages people to hunt wolves for financial gain.

This wolf debate is part of a larger fight over how wildlife is managed across the American West. Earlier this week, wild horse advocates warned that new policy changes could put federally protected horses at risk of ending up in slaughter pipelines. Wolf supporters say these two issues share a common problem — wildlife agencies are making big decisions even when the data they rely on is uncertain or contested. Many people on both sides agree that getting the population numbers right is key to making fair and effective wildlife policy.