Yellowstone National Park Visitation Ticks Down Slightly, on Pace for Third Busiest Year
Montana's wolf population estimate revised down to 725, but a proposed 250-wolf quota risks driving numbers below the legal minimum of 450, prompting conservation concerns.
- Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks revised its wolf population estimate downward from 1,094 to 725 wolves, prompting the agency to propose a reduced statewide quota of 250 wolves, down from 452 last year.
- The proposal follows FWP's admission that its iPOM counting method may have overestimated wolf populations by nearly 370 animals; new modeling shows a 22% decline in abundance from 2021 to 2025.
- Region 3 Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Susan Kirby Brooke proposed limiting hunter harvests to one wolf per license in Wolf Management Units 313 and 316, located north of Yellowstone National Park.
- The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission is accepting written comments through Wednesday, August 12, ahead of an August 19 meeting where commissioners will review the quota adjustments virtually.
- Footloose Montana executive director Anja Heister criticized the 250-wolf quota as excessive, citing surveys showing 74% of Montanans support maintaining wolves on the landscape and requesting a hunting moratorium.
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16 Articles
Oil City News
Cap City NewsYellowstone reports 958K visitors in July; visits down 2% from 2025
YELLOWSTONE, Wyo. — Yellowstone National Park hosted 958,706 recreation visits in July 2026, down 2% from July 2025, when 975,109 people visited the park. Visitation in July 2026 showed an 11% decrease from July 2021, when the park hosted 1,080,767 visits, both part of Yellowstone’s record-breaking year with over 4.8 million recreation visits and the busiest July on record. So far in 2026, the park has hosted 2,635,384 recreation visits, down 1%…
Helena Independent Record
The Livingston EnterpriseChanges proposed for Montana's most popular wolf hunting area near Yellowstone
This year, Region 3 Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Susan Kirby Brooke is proposing that Region 3 hunters be limited to five wolves.
Wolf hunting changes floated
When it comes to wolf hunting in Montana, the state's southwestern corner bordering Yellowstone National Park attracts about 40% of the estimated hunters and hunter days for the expansive state, according to Fish, Wildlife & Parks.
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