The Idaho-based Foundation for Wildlife Management (F4WM) promotes wolf-killing bounties of $1,000–$2,000 per wolf, funded by donations and sponsors.
Now, they want to profit from a Montana wolf license plate they designed, easily misleading wolf supporters into unknowingly funding these bounties.
Follow the money—and question the claims!
“Save the Elk”? Montana reportedly has approximately 157,000 elk today, compared with 90,000–95,000 when wolves were reintroduced. Yet F4WM promotes the narrative that wolves are decimating elk populations and hunters open their wallets.
Where is the science? F4WM celebrates paying bounties for dead wolves with proof from the killers of receipts for outdoor clothing, ammunition, gas, and truck payments, etc., while promoting claims about the hundreds of thousands of elk and big game saved without adequately accounting for wolf hunting success rates, pack dynamics, or the ecological consequences of killing individual wolves.
The bigger picture matters. Elk hunting seasons, population-management policies, and other sources of elk mortality must be considered when evaluating wolf impacts. Hunters in Montana kill on average 25,000 elk annually and have ~ 20% success rate. FWP this summer lowered the estimated wolf population from ~ 1,100 to ~ 600-800 wolves. A wolf reportedly kills ~ 16-20 elk per year basically with other pack members and has a 3-14% success rate. Undoubtably, pack size, structure, and winter conditions impact success.
Follow the money. F4WM claims to have helped kill more than 3,049 wolves using over $3.2 million in membership and sponsor funds. The organization says it has funded 75% of Idaho’s wolf kills and 55% of Montana’s each season.
DON’T BE DECEIVED BY THE MONTANA LICENSE PLATE and their misrepresentation! A wolf-themed plate will appeal to people who love wolves, but proceeds support the very organization funding their deaths.
If F4WM were to show one iota of integrity, they would have put a bullseye on the wolf like many anti-wolfers and trappers have done to images. That, or they would have depicted a wolf baring blood stained teeth as their favorite go to image. Instead, F4WM stayed true to their form and sugarcoated what this wolf license plate will support—–not the killing of wolves and paying bounties for their deaths.
We do not have to tell our Montana supporters, THINK BEFORE YOU BUY!
Please tell others, don’t unknowingly fund wolf-killing bounties through a license plate designed to appeal to wolf lovers.
Wolves are an essential part of our natural world. Wildlife management should be grounded in sound science, not emotional appeals, misleading claims, or financial incentives to kill.
DON’T BE FOOLED. DON’T FUND THE BOUNTIES. SHARE THIS MESSAGE!
BE ADVISED:
Most do not know, but a very popular billboard advertiser, LAMAR, with their many great billboards in Montana and elsewhere, supports and grants funds to the Foundation for Wildlife Management. Trap Free Montana refuses to use them, but we do have some new wonderful billboards with another company to share with you soon!
Please, spend your money and your vote, wisely, for wildlife, our public lands, and against trapping!
Speaking of which, although we hate to ask, it has been a challenging year for us financially. We would sincerely appreciate donations. Any amount helps, and we are especially grateful to our monthly donors, big and small.
DONATIONS are tax-deductible to Trap Free Montana.
Hopefully, soon you will see the fruits of our labor for the animals and against trapping.
We do not expect to hear the rulings on the 3-wolf cases from the 9th Circuit of Appeals Oct 13, 2026 hearings.
A shout out to all the wolf supporters who joined us in Missoula!