FWP admits to constitutional violations, enters consent decree with wolf advocacy group
The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks admitted to violating the state constitution by not handing over public documents to a wolf advocacy group and has agreed to a consent decree that aims to ensure it follows the constitution and public meetings laws moving forward.
FWP and Wolves of the Rockies signed a consent decree, or legal agreement, on Oct. 11 in which the department admitted to violating the organization’s constitutional rights and agreed to allow the organization more time for public comments on wolf policy at next June’s Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting and to train commissioners on open meeting and records compliance, among other things.
Wolves of the Rockies had sued FWP last year after it filed six public records requests seeking emails that showed four of the then five-member commission (it has since been expanded to seven) members held an illegal meeting via email in 2021, excluding one member appointed under Gov. Steve Bullock, in which they discussed policy decisions ahead of a meeting on elk hunting and wolf trapping and hunting.
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