A judge has issued a temporary restraining order to reduce the wolf hunt in Montana this winter/NPS file

A ruling by a Montana state judge has forced the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to greatly reduce, at least temporarily, the number of wolves that can be taken near Yellowstone and Glacier national parks.

The ruling on Tuesday granted WildEarth Guardians and Project Coyote a temporary restraining order against the state agency, the state of Montana, and the state's Fish and Wildlife Commission from moving forward with their planned "bag limits" for this season. The TRO only runs through November 29, but a hearing is scheduled the day before on the groups' bid to obtain a permanent injunction against the hunting regulations as written.

The TRO reduces the annual bag limit of individual hunters by 75 percent, and stops the use of strangulation snares once trapping season begins later this month, the groups said. 

According to a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks announcement, the changes under the TRO:

• Reinstitutes wolf management units (WMU) 110, 313, and 316 as they existed in the 2020 wolf regulations. WMU 110 borders Glacier National Park and WMUs 313 and 316 are north of Yellowstone National Park
• Reinstitutes the quotas for WMU 110, 313, 316 as they existed in the 2020 wolf regulations, which are two wolves in WMU 110 and one wolf each in WMU 313 and 316. Currently, one wolf has been harvested in WMU 313 and no wolves have been harvested in WMU 316 and 110. Wolf hunting and trapping in WMU 313 is now closed.
• Restricts all hunters and trappers to harvesting five wolves total per person, per season.
• Prohibits the use of snares as a legal method of take for trapping wolves.

The conservation groups maintain that Montana's "anti-wolf hunting and trapping policies violate the Montana Constitution, Montana Administrative Procedure Act, Public Trust Doctrine, and several federal laws meant to protect wildlife on federally-managed lands."

Specifically, they allege in a pending lawsuit that the state's hunting regulations were built upon "stale and insufficient scientific data in order to authorize the killing of roughly 40 percent of the state’s wolf population this coming winter. Moreover, the lawsuit alleges that the state is flouting its responsibility to manage wildlife for the benefit of the entire public and is overstepping its management authority by allowing wolf slaughter on the boundaries of federal lands."

“We collectively breathed a sigh of relief when we saw this order, knowing that Yellowstone’s wolves—and wolves across the state—will have some protections in place while we wait for their day in court,” said Lizzy Pennock, the Montana-based carnivore coexistence advocate at WildEarth Guardians. “This is a promising step in the right direction, and we will continue using all means necessary to end the senseless, politically-motivated slaughter of Montana’s beloved wolves.”