Despite protests and alleged death threats, a wolf and coyote hunt will go on as scheduled this weekend in Sanders County. 

Vice President of the Montana Trappers Association, Jason Maxwell,  said the hunt was originally sponsored by the owner of  the Lakeside Resort and Motel in Trout Creek.

"A local organization here in town that's against hunting and trapping, went on social media and spread his phone number all over the internet," Maxwell said. "He started getting death threats, and what ended it for him, was a death threat that was directed towards his grandchildren."

Maxwell said at that point, the FBI was notified and the event was cancelled, but that's not the end of the story.

"As an avid outdoorsman, hunter and trapper, I didn't like the idea that these 'antis' could just bully someone out of having a hunt, and so we ended up making a poster and basically responsored the event through Montana Sportsmen and Wildlife and Idaho For Wildlife," he said.

The event is scheduled on private land from Friday, January 16 through Sunday January 18, with registration on Friday.

"We're putting up signs on Friday afternoon to direct people," he said. "The event will be on a private ranch, so this way we can close off the traffic to the people who aren't supposed to be there and keep the protesters out. Basically, just follow the signs when you get to Trout Creek."

Maxwell said the intense nature of protests from groups like Footloose Montana has engendered wide interest from hunters and trappers from all over the country.

"The response has been great," Maxwell said. "I think the 'antis' going after us the way they did helped to get the word out. Right now, we have people coming in from as far away as Pennsylvania and we have people coming in from Washington, so they've helped make this event a lot bigger than it was supposed to be."

KGVO News contacted the executive director of Footloose Montana, but did not receive a response.

 

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