CurThe new and most significant threat to wolves in and around Yellowstone National Park is the highly aggressive and liberalized wolf hunting and trapping regulations enacted by the surrounding states, primarily Montana and Idaho, since the federal delisting of the gray wolf in the Northern Rocky Mountains.
This has led to a significant increase in mortality among wolves that stray outside the protected boundaries of the National Park.1
🐺 The Core Threat: State Hunting Regulations
The greatest danger to Yellowstone’s wolf population—which is a huge draw for tourists—occurs the moment a wolf steps across the park’s invisible boundary into state-managed land.
1. Increased Mortality Rate
- Tripled Death Rate: According to Yellowstone Wolf Project data, the average annual number of collared wolves from the park killed legally by hunters and trappers nearly tripled between 2021 and 2024 compared to the previous decade (from an average of about 4.3 wolves per year to over 12.75 wolves per year).2
- Targeting of Park Wolves: Wolves that live in the park are often more tolerant of humans due to constant observation, making them uniquely vulnerable once they cross into areas where they are hunted.3
2. Liberalized Hunting Methods in Montana and Idaho4
State legislatures have passed laws allowing for management policies aimed at reducing wolf populations through methods considered highly aggressive by conservationists:5
| State | Specific Aggressive Methods |
| Montana | Increased individual bag limits (up to 30 wolves per hunter/trapper), increased overall quotas, and allowing the use of snares, baiting, and night hunting on private lands. |
| Idaho | Allows the use of snares, traps, bait, night vision, and even aerial gunning in certain areas, with virtually no regulations in the state’s “predator zone” (which covers 85% of the state). |
3. Destruction of Pack Structure
The killing of wolves that cross the border, particularly alpha males and breeding females, can have a devastating impact on the social structure and health of entire packs within Yellowstone, which rely on established hierarchies and territories for successful hunting and pup rearing.6
🗺️ The Boundary Problem
The fundamental issue is the stark difference in management policies on either side of the park line:
- Inside Yellowstone: Wolves are strictly protected and managed for their ecological benefit and for the enjoyment of park visitors (a huge economic driver).7
- Outside the Park: Wolves fall under state jurisdiction and are managed primarily to mitigate conflict with livestock owners and to satisfy hunters concerned about declining elk populations.8 This conflicting mandate creates the “no-where zone” where the federally recovered wolves face the most danger.9
The debate continues between conservation groups, who argue that the new regulations are unscientific and threaten the long-term health of the wolf population, and state officials and ranching interests, who maintain that the methods are necessary to manage wolf numbers at a sustainable level and reduce livestock losses.
Would you like to learn more about the economic impact of wolf watching tourism in the Yellowstone region?
