Montana — Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks released its annual wolf report for 2025, with the new estimate showing fewer wolves across the state.

The report put Montana’s wolf population at 725 statewide, down from about 800 in 2024. It continued a yearslong decline in estimated wolf numbers.

Marc Cooke, president of Wolves of the Rockies, said he did not believe the drop happened by chance.

“There's less wolves on the landscape and it's all being driven through political pressure, starting at the governor on down. Politicians are pushing anti-wolf bills every opportunity that they get,” Cooke said.

The report highlighted a long-running split in Montana over how to manage wolves and bears. Conservation advocates and livestock producers have often taken different views on that question.

Gilles Stockton, an author, rancher and eastern district director with the Montana Cattlemen Association, said he understands why some people want wolves on the landscape, but that ranchers often carry more of the burden.

“The indemnity for flosses should be more. Not just for losses, but also for the work of surveilling and protecting the livestock because they've got to put up with a pack of wolves or a family of grizzly bears," Stockton said. "I wish the whole process was less political and more respectful of the needs of agriculture."

Another major part of the report is a new wolf population model called iPOM 2.0. This replaces the older model, iPOM 1.0, which appears to have consistently overestimated wolf numbers during the past decade.

Cooke said he welcomes the change in modeling.

“I think it's a step in the right direction. It couldn't have been easy for the department to acknowledge that the numbers had declined significantly," Cooke said, "We're still trying to understand it, but we're hopeful that the department will maintain, their energy to develop this.”

The lower estimate has the state considering a smaller wolf hunting quota this year. FWP is asking for public input on this until August 12.