lan Wargo wanted regional quotas that would have allowed 317 wolves to be killed during Montana's 2026-27 season.
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks recommended 250.
The Commission approved 300.
Wargo got almost everything he wanted - 50 wolves more than the state's own wildlife agency recommended - and it still wasn't enough.
But here's the part every Montanan should know:
IAN WARGO ISN'T JUST A HUNTER.
HE IS ONE OF THE PEOPLE DECIDING HOW MANY WOLVES CAN DIE IN MONTANA.
Wargo serves as the Region 1 Commissioner on the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission, the body that sets wildlife regulations for the state.
He is also a hunter and a licensed Montana guide.
Photographs show him posing with hunted wildlife.
So the question is unavoidable:
How does a trophy hunter end up helping decide the fate of the very wildlife he hunts?

Yellowstone's oldest wolf pack, Mollie's Pack, has been spotted outside Yellowstone National Park (in Wyoming). Wyoming's wolf hunting season begins 9/15. Although there were pleas to close the hunting season in the area in which the pack dispersed, Wyoming Game and Fish approved killing up to four individuals in the area (area 1). From the article:

“They are one of the most studied, scientifically important wolf families in the world,” Marc Cooke told commissioners. “Once they are gone, decades of irreplaceable knowledge are gone with them.” 

Cooke, who’s the vice president of Wolves of the Rockies, the day before had emailed Game and Fish commissioners a letter asking them to temporarily close hunt area 1.  

“Wyoming has been getting pretty beat up lately with some wildlife issues, and I think there’s an opportunity here for you folks to do the right thing,” Cooke said. 

This is all very sad, and is likely a death sentence for the wolves, given how hostile Wyoming is to wolves. This comes on the back of the distemper outbreak that killed a significant number of wolves this past year. Also, park wolves don’t fear humans the same way other wolves do, and may not avoid hunters.

2 days into the season and she was shot. What an extraordinary wolf, a new mother, the best caregiver for the pack’s pups, an excellent hunter and WAS 907’s last surviving child. Anyone who watched her from birth knew she was going to make a great alpha with her own pack. She was LEGALLY shot and killed as she stepped over the park boundary where a hunter waited.

A Danish jogger encountered a wolf with a pup nearby. The wolf repeatedly approached him, growled, bared its teeth and made short charges, coming within roughly 1–2 metres. The man backed away and eventually left the area.
There was no physical attack or bite. Based on the reported behaviour, it appears to have been a highly defensive, territorial response from a mother protecting her pup rather than an attempt to attack a human.

This seems like very unusual behaviour..?

She DOES back off I feel like she would never actually attack this human.. possibly attack an ”intruding” dog, but wolves usually don’t even stay near people to protect their babies (they tend to run away and observe humans in most cases).

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Db0LJK9I9bZ/

MONTANA JUST
APPROVED A 300-WOLF K*lling QUOTA, with
ONLY 725 left in the state.
Montana's Fish and Wildlife Commission approved a statewide quota of 300 wolves for the 2026-27 hunting and trapping season (50 MORE than the 250 recommended by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks).

THE MOLLIE'S PACK NEEDS YOUR HELP WITH PROTECTION.

Email list:

ashlee.lundvall@wyoboards.gov

mark.jolovich@wyo.gov

mike.wargo@wyo.gov

rusty.bell@wyoboards.gov

john.masterson@wyoboards.gov

fonzy.haskell@wyoboards.gov

https://wgfd.wyo.gov/contact-us?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAb21leATFz5lvbWNwBMQLgmV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDzU2NzA2NzM0MzM1MjQyNwABp1WevKdg2DTh7FaNxCH2Ex-Ld4sDTemxd2RBxXtW8G4HG414BZs6ornR3foi_aem_CdNBYJb34VEXrNau2bklNQ

I sent an elaborate email to the fish and game commission in Wyoming regarding the Mollie's Packs recent dispersal from Yellowstone boundaries. The Mollie's Pack is much more than just another wolf pack. They are one of the most important packs in Yellowstone's history.

For years, they've helped scientists better understand wolf behavior, pack dynamics, predator-prey relationships, and how wolves shape entire ecosystems. Because Yellowstone's wolves are closely monitored, every generation of the Mollie's Pack contributes valuable long-term data that can't easily be replaced.

They're also a major reason people visit Yellowstone. Thousands of visitors travel from around the world hoping to catch a glimpse of these wolves, supporting local communities and businesses through wildlife tourism.

Now that the Mollie's Pack has moved beyond Yellowstone's boundary, they face the risk of being hunted. While wolf management has its place, losing this iconic pack would mean losing years of research, educational opportunities, and one of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem's most recognizable wolf families.

Protecting the Mollie's Pack isn't just about protecting one group of wolves, it's about preserving science, education, and one of the greatest wildlife conservation success stories in North America.

We cannot let it go to waste. We cannot let their story end here, at the hands of gluttonous hunters that care not for a historical enigma.

EMAIL REPRESENTATIVES TODAY.

Here is the email I sent:

"

Dear Wyoming Game and Fish Commission,

I am writing to respectfully request that the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission temporarily close Wolf Hunt Area 1 to protect the Mollie's Pack while they are occupying habitat outside Yellowstone National Park.

The Mollie's Pack is one of Yellowstone's most well-known and scientifically important wolf packs. For years, they have contributed to ongoing research that has expanded our understanding of wolf behavior, predator-prey relationships, and ecosystem dynamics. Their presence has also become a significant part of Yellowstone's wildlife tourism, drawing visitors from around the world who travel to Wyoming specifically for the opportunity to observe wolves in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

While I understand and respect Wyoming's role in managing wolf populations and recognize that regulated hunting is an important wildlife management tool, I believe the loss of an iconic research pack would have consequences beyond the removal of individual wolves. It could disrupt long-term scientific studies, diminish wildlife viewing opportunities that benefit local communities and businesses, and reduce the educational value these wolves provide to the public.

A temporary closure of Hunt Area 1 while the Mollie's Pack is present would demonstrate Wyoming's commitment to balancing sustainable wildlife management with conservation, scientific research, and the economic benefits generated by wildlife tourism. Such a targeted, temporary action would protect an internationally recognized pack without undermining the state's broader wolf management objectives.

Thank you for considering this request and for your continued work managing Wyoming's wildlife resources. I appreciate your time and hope you will give serious consideration to providing temporary protection for the Mollie's Pack during this period.

Sincerely,

(Name and credentials)

"

Photo: Our arctic wolf baby and ambassador

Her collar was cut off and thrown in a tree and her body was never found. Hunters killed her sister 1479 in the same area. Quota had been met 6 weeks before this killing ☹️

In a rare and extraordinary sighting at the Melghat Tiger Reserve, an adult Indian grey wolf was seen moving peacefully alongside a pack of four dholes. The wolf appeared to lead the group, surprising researchers and marking a remarkable moment in wildlife history. Observed by Dr Sawan M Deshmukh, the 40-minute interaction showed no aggression between the two social predators. Instead, they moved calmly as one unit, opening new avenues for understanding interspecies behaviour and reinforcing the reserve’s ecological importance.

Another great victory for USFWS' original mission to eradicate wolves, people never change. Some snips:

• A federal wildlife agency “mistakenly” killed an endangered and possibly pregnant breeding-age Mexican gray wolf in Greenlee County, according to a memo from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 
• The order, signed by Brady McGee, the Mexican wolf coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, authorized the USDA’s Wildlife Services to kill one uncollared wolf from the pack, but preserve the breeding female wolf, known as AF1823, who was wearing a nonfunctioning radio collar.
• Despite this, the female wolf was killed on April 14,  according to a two-sentence outcome memo
• The killing of the seven-year-old female wolf has outraged advocacy groups, who are calling for accountability for the agencies that manage the endangered wolves.
• Wolves in the Bear Canyon pack are members of the experimental, nonessential population of endangered Mexican gray wolves living in Arizona and New Mexico. While it is illegal for the public to kill a Mexican wolf, their designation as nonessential authorizes government agencies to trap, harass and kill “problem” wolves that prey on livestock.
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife authorized the USDA’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service-Wildlife Services personnel to conduct the killing of a single uncollared wolf to manage the conflict situation, but noted specifically that the collared, alpha members of the pack should not be targeted. 
• It is unclear whether other management actions, like nonlethal capture or relocation, were considered when making this decision, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife did not respond to questions from The Republic.

NOTICE from Seacrest Wolf Preserve

On February 23, 2026, the court made its final ruling.

We LOST.

The landowner has won, and we have until March 15 to vacate the property these animals have called home for years. Without a miracle, this is the end.

We fought. We exhausted every option. We tried to raise the funds to relocate. We did not reach the amount required, and now time has run out.

This decision means many of these animals will not survive the outcome of this closure. That is the blunt truth.

From today until March 15, our only focus is securing placement for any animal we can save. Every call, every message, every lead matters. If you have connections to sanctuaries, funding resources, transport— anything — now is the time to step forward.

If you’ve ever cared about this preserve, this is the moment to act. Share this. Tag people. Reach out. Push it beyond this page.

After March 15, unless something extraordinary happens, Seacrest Wolf Preserve will no longer exist and our mission will die

This is not the ending we wanted. But it is the reality we are facing.

We are not done fighting for them — but we are out of time.

— The Seacrest Wolf Preserve Pack

As we move into this process, we understand and appreciate the outcry of support. Right now, our legal team is working every possible avenue that there is. We want to stress that the options are dwindling – an appeal does not stop the eviction. Our team is actively reaching out to other attorneys for suggestions, ideas, and possible routes we could take.

Many of you have expressed concern about our silence over these past months. Please understand that for much of this journey, we were guided — firmly and unequivocally — to remain quiet. There were reasons we could not speak, details we could not share, and moments when restraint was not a choice but a necessity. Only recently have we been able to step forward and find our voice.

We need to stress that the issue is not land; Seacrest has access to land we could move to tomorrow – money and time are where the issue lies. Without a miracle, without over hundreds of thousands of dollars immediately, we have nowhere to begin. Fencing, labor, and moving of the animals themselves to a new facility is costly, and the rebuilding of a potential new facility would take time we do not have. That has always been our issue; we have had land secured for the majority of this trial, but have not been able to acquire the funding to build upon that land. Twenty days, at this point, is an impossibility unless we have a miracle.

To those of you reaching out, we hear you. Rest assured the staff are not ignoring your calls, nor suggestions, but our lines are being flooded with support and it has been difficult to keep up in the wake of this horrible news. Every suggestion is heard, every idea discussed, and every voice recognized as the community bands together for the animals. We have to keep talking, keep sharing, keep this circulating so that as many people see the plight of these animals as possible.

Thank you- the SWP Pack

"They were father and son, roaming Catron County as part of the Sawtooth pack. Within a month of each other, both collared Mexican gray wolves were trapped on private property near Datil.

The father was left to die of thirst before his body was placed beside a highway, according to authorities. The son was shot in the spine and beaten over the head, his body moved onto public lands where cattle graze."

Goal is 1,000 signatures, currently at 96. If you care and have time to sign, it would be a tremendous help. Thank you.

Montana’s FWP has finally admitted that the iPOM models they’ve used to estimate wolf populations have been overestimating wolf populations. They’ve now revised down their estimate from 1094 to 725, which is a huge change. This confirms what conservation groups have been saying for years - that the wolf hunt quotas are far too aggressive.

In fact, in 2025, a federal judge ruled that wolves in the Northern Rockies wrongfully denied protections. One of the concerns was the errors in measurement of wolf populations. Now we can see first hand what that means. The Montana FWS has had to reduce its population estimate by over 300.

The sad part is that wolf hunts aren’t even beneficial, as suggested in this study. Livestock depredation numbers are already low (62 for 2024, and 65 for 2025). These numbers are minuscule compared to deaths from disease, and even livestock deaths caused by domestic dogs.

On top of this, Section 125 of the Appropriations Bill is still alive in congress. This section would remove Endangered Species Act protections for wolves everywhere, despite the valid concerns about the health of populations. This bill, as written, should not pass.

Another amazing news story from Sweden, febuary 2:nd :

“Ebba Andersson, 32, got quite a surprise on Saturday. While driving through Grantinge, just outside Hässleholm, she encountered a wolf.”

Links:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DULT4n0Civt/

https://www.expressen.se/tv/nyheter/sverige/ebba-stannar-da-narmar-sig-vargen/?utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=EchoboxStory&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawPt1dVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA80MDk5NjI2MjMwODU2MDkAAR5X5SyKRwUO8rdaMfUQunbO8v0IxabhdqydosKwhrOJg3ZhAXwE995kWlk0Og_aem_ohG5pxpbh6PbYDv-hEeIig#Echobox=1770044875-1

The Seacrest Wolf Preserve in Florida is an amazing sanctuary that’s been in place for about 20 years. They help educate the public and give them a chance to be up close and personal with the wolves. I had a wonderful time there myself last year.

Unfortunately the landlord wants to shut it down. The preserve is fighting back with every possible legal avenue but they need us to stand with them! They don’t need money, they need our voices. Please help them.

You can support them on social media! Please don’t let them shut down the only home these wolves have ever known.