Montana Title 87. Fish and Wildlife § 87-1-217. Policy for management of large predators--legislative intent

(1) In managing large predators, the primary goals of the department, in the order of listed priority, are to:

(2) With regard to large predators, it is the intent of the legislature that the specific provisions of this section concerning the management of large predators will control the general supervisory authority of the department regarding the management of all wildlife.

(3) For the management of wolves in accordance with the priorities established in subsection (1), the department may use lethal action to take problem wolves that attack livestock if the state objective for breeding pairs has been met. For the purposes of this subsection, “problem wolves” means any individual wolf or pack of wolves with a history of livestock predation.

(4) The department shall work with the livestock loss board and the United States department of agriculture wildlife services to establish the conditions under which carcasses or parts of carcasses from wolves or mountain lions are retrieved during management activities and when those carcasses or parts of carcasses are made available to the livestock loss board for sale or auction pursuant to 2-15-3113.

(5) The department shall ensure that county commissioners and tribal governments in areas that have identifiable populations of large predators have the opportunity for consultation and coordination with state and federal agencies prior to state and federal policy decisions involving large predators and large game species.

(6) As used in this section: