Gallatin County now debating a predator policy

(BOZEMAN)- The thorny question of whether Montana counties should have any say in the state's management of wolves has come to Gallatin County. 

This week the Gallatin County commissioners held their second public hearing on a proposed "predator policy", which is similar in scope to similar measures already adopted elsewhere in the state. Those policies are seeking to give local governments more of a "voice" in urging the state to local concerns into account when developing wolf management plans. 

However, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports the issue is dividing along typical lines, with ranchers and hunters urging the county to take action, but environmental groups, many of them based in Bozeman, saying Gallatin County should leave the management of wolves up to the state. 

Ravalli County was among the first to adopt a predator policy earlier this year.