In a devastating blow to wolf conservation, the Montana Fish & Wildlife Commission has approved the killing of up to 558 wolves for the 2025-2026 season, the highest quota since wolves in the Northern Rockies lost Endangered Species Act protections in 2011. This staggering number marks a grim escalation in the ongoing war against wolves and threatens to undo decades of hard-won progress.
The core quota allows for 458 wolves to be hunted and trapped across the state, excluding a small carve-out near Yellowstone National Park. Even more alarming, the Commission approved an additional 100 wolves to be killed through so-called “controlled removals,” a vague term that includes killing by federal agents or private citizens who believe a wolf poses a “potential threat” to livestock, pets, or people. In practice, this opens the door to preemptive killing based on little more than suspicion.
Perhaps most appalling is the Commission’s decision to raise personal kill limits. This season, one person can legally kill up to 30 wolves, 15 by hunting and 15 by trapping. These are not tweaks. This is state-sanctioned slaughter. Even Montana’s own wildlife agency warns that a quota of 450 wolves could drop the population below sustainable levels in just one year. Yet the state has approved even more.
In a further erosion of protections, Montana has scrapped regional wolf management in favor of a single, statewide quota, except for Region 3 near Yellowstone. This change ignores the state’s ecological diversity and subjects wolf populations to blanket, indiscriminate killing. Deer, elk, and moose aren’t managed this way. Wolves are being singled out for political eradication.
Even Yellowstone’s famous wolves remain in danger. Region 3 permits the killing of up to 60 wolves, with Units 313 and 316, which border the park, each allowing three. These corridors are essential for the survival and genetic health of Yellowstone’s wolf packs. Losing even a few individuals can destabilize entire families and damage the ecosystem.
One of the few limits that survived was a proposal to extend hunting into spring, during the critical pup-rearing season. The fact that this was even considered speaks volumes about the priorities shaping Montana’s wolf policy. This is not responsible wildlife management, it’s a thinly veiled campaign of destruction.
The truth is undeniable: Montana is not managing its wolves, it is dismantling them. Scientific guidance is being ignored. Ethics are being pushed aside. Wolves, which are intelligent, social, and ecologically vital, are being turned into trophies and targets.
The war on wolves continues, but it is not over. It is up to us—scientists, conservationists, advocates, and citizens—to fight harder than ever. This is no longer just about numbers. It’s about the future of coexistence, and whether we will stand by as one of North America’s most iconic species is wiped out in plain sight.
“Montana’s proposed wolf-hunting amendments are nothing less than orchestrated assaults on a keystone species,” Leslie Williams and Samantha Attwood, founding members of Team Wolf, told WAN. “Mandating the killing of uncollared wolves, expanding trapping zones, and nearly halving the population with a record-high statewide quota are not ‘management measures,’ they are a blueprint for eradication. These measures ignore science and betray the public’s trust in wildlife management.”
#TeamWolf, a coalition of NGOs, wildlife experts, and advocates is demanding full federal protections for wolves under the Endangered Species Act. Their survival depends on our action. Join the pack HERE!
