A new report from Explore Big Sky suggests that Montana’s long-running debate over wolf management may not be as bitterly divided as previously assumed, with ranchers and conservationists reportedly finding more common ground than anyone expected — or, in some cases, wanted.
“I don’t hate wolves,” said area rancher Vern Tillis, who has lost calves to predation in three of the last five years. “I just want to be able to manage the situation without someone in Missoula writing a letter about it.”
Meanwhile, a Bozeman-based wildlife advocate who asked to be identified only as “Sarah, but not that Sarah” said she understands the ranching perspective more than her peers might expect. “Nobody wants to lose livestock. That’s real. I just think we can talk about it without anyone bringing a billboard to a public meeting.”
The report noted that in private conversations, both sides frequently agree on the same management principles: maintain a sustainable population, compensate ranchers for verified losses, and stop using the issue as a political football. The disagreement, researchers found, is almost entirely about tone.
“In person, these folks get along fine,” said Benjamin Polley, who authored the dispatch. “It’s when they get near a microphone or a comment section that everything falls apart.”
A public meeting on the subject is scheduled for next month in Helena. Both sides have already begun drafting strongly worded statements they will later describe as “just trying to start a conversation.”
