Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Montana Wildlife
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks seeks to understand public perceptions about wolf populations and management. Efforts toward this end have included a survey of Montana residents’ attitudes towards wolf hunting. In 2010, MFWP employed four separate surveys to gather information from MT residents, resident private landowners, resident wolf license holders, and resident deer/elk license holders. Data gathered through these surveys are available in a report from the agency. Findings in this report have been challenged by various segments of the public. Among the critiques is an assertion that the sample did not represent the full MT public. MFWP has asked for assistance in replicating the 2010 study to examine longitudinal change in attitudes, solidify sampling techniques, use an independent research team to validate methods and sampling procedures, and engage in peer-review publication to further validate methods and results.