Wyoming has similar demographics to Montana, so I'll just share this.
I was in a class with a guest lecturer talking about autonomous farm vehicles. One of these has sensors that can recognize a rabbit in its path and will stop until the rabbit moves on. One of my classmates said, "That's stupid! It's just a rabbit", and others agreed with him.
I've also seen my city open up hunting on beavers, because they flood the (city-owned) plains where ranchers let their livestock roam for free. Wildlife are just pests to these people, and being a wildlife biologist in these areas is very much a political task.