KALISPELL - Registration is now open for an advanced wolf trapping workshop in Kalispell taught by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) game wardens and instructors from the Montana Fur Harvesters.
The workshop is part of an ongoing effort by state wildlife officials to provide hands-on in-person learning experiences to help grow advanced outdoor skill sets.
Instructors will focus on trapper ethics, regulations, trap sets, and snaring. They will show actual trap sets and techniques with special attention to avoiding non-target species, simply not catching the wrong species.
FWP spokesperson Dillon Tabish said instructors are teaching the proper techniques of trapping, so trappers won't accidentally target federally protected animals such as grizzly bears or lynx.
“We want our trappers just like a hunter who has a tag to hunt and harvest a deer, trappers have certain things they’re targeting and they have the ability to harvest and that’s what we want them to be able to target, we don’t want to be catching things that we shouldn’t be catching, so a focus of this workshop is how we can minimize their chances of having by-catch of other species," said Tabish.
Data from FWP shows 108 wolves were harvested in northwest Montana in 2021.
The workshop is free and open to the public. It will take place on Saturday, July 23, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the pavilion at Pine Grove Pond off Rose Crossing Road in Kalispell. A link to sign up for the workshop can be found at https://register-ed.com/events/view/183720.
