The geographic and temporal sweep of Montana’s wolf trapping and snaring regulations shrank Thursday when the state Fish and Wildlife Commission approved a measure that brings those regulations into alignment with legal settlements governing management of grizzly bears and Canada lynx, two federally protected species that share habitat with wolves.

Wolf trapping areas that overlap with grizzly habitat will now have a default season start date of Dec. 31, when grizzly bears will be in their dens. The commission also approved a regulation change that shrinks the area where trappers can set neck snares in an attempt to limit adverse impacts to Canada lynx. The changes are intended to prevent the accidental capture of grizzly bears and lynx in leg-hold traps and neck snares, which would work counter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s efforts to help those species recover.

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