Coyote Derbies

There’s a growing divide in Montana.

And while it’s not yet political, it’s going to be, and it mimics the split our country faces.

Coyote derbies pit urban sentiments against rural traditions.

A winter staple in small towns across much of the state, -- Dillon, Melstone, Winnett, and Big Sandy all held derbies this winter -- coyote killing contests have stirred opposition in Montana’s more urban areas.

Called a “stain on our hunting tradition of sportsmanship and fair chase” in a recent letter to the editor, the derbies are deemed necessary by event organizers.

The issue pits those who view the coyote as a prized piece of the native landscape against those who consider the song dog a varmint.

It doesn’t really make much difference to the coyote. He thrives either way.

Sen. Mike Phillips (D) Bozeman, has introduced a bill to prohibit killing contests. A wildlife biologist and former director of the Turner Endangered Species Fund, Phillips has also introduced a bill to prohibit vehicular injury of predatory animals. In other words, running them over with truck or snowmobile would become illegal. It isn’t now.

Coyotes, just like skunks and weasels, are classified as varmints by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, and there are no limits and little restriction on their harvest. Folks have been killing coyotes indiscriminately in Montana for a very long time with very little effect on their numbers.

The problem appears to social instead of scientific. Opponents of the derbies call them the worst in unethical hunting. Proponents call them pest control.

Comparing coyote derbies to hunting, however, is like comparing news to commentary. There is a huge difference, but way too many folks can’t – or don’t want -- to see it.

Coyotes are the ultimate survivors. Hunt them hard and they simply produce larger litters. You’ll never kill them all.

But coyote derbies, unlike the critters themselves are an endangered species. Phillips’ bill may not go anywhere this session, but it’s indicative of the direction Montanans are headed: kinder, gentler, further removed from the land. Clueless, some would say. About time, say others.

Derby season is over until next winter. So is all the hand-wringing. The coyotes that survived the onslaught will soon be getting together and making more coyotes. By next winter there will no doubt be as many as ever.

So what’s the problem?

It depends on whom you ask.

Parker Heinlein is at [email protected].