As hunters take aim at wolves in Montana and Idaho this month, Wyoming's wolf population remains the target of a long-fought political battle.In a decision earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy upheld wolf hunts in Idaho and Montana. He added that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to delist the predator in those states, but not Wyoming, may violate its own rules.Politics, rather than nature, are driving decisions, Molloy noted.“The (U.S Fish and Wildlife) Service has distinguished a natural population of wolves based on a political line, not the best available science. That, by definition, seems arbitrary and capricious,” he wrote.Wyoming's management plan differed from its neighbors' mostly because it contains a predator zone —about 90 percent of the state — where wolves could be shot at any time, by anyone. Molloy's statement indicates that while Idaho and Montana have reasonable wolf-management plans that include limited hunting, the animal could return to the endangered species list in those states if Wyoming doesn't adopt a similar plan.It's clear that among many Cowboy State ranchers and hunters, a wolf season would be a welcomed one. Yet wolves won't be hunted in Wyoming — and hunts may be suspended in Idaho and Montana — until state leaders devise a management plan that receives a federal blessing.Wyoming leaders may fight for dual classification, but it will only prolong legal battles and, quite possibly, allow wolves to enjoy federal protection for years to come. As a Casper-Star Tribune editorial stated Sunday: “Where state officials go overboard is in insisting that unlicensed hunting be allowed over most of the state. It's unrealistic to expect that federal judges would sanction taking a species off of the endangered species list and giving it absolutely no level of protection over much of its historical range.”In June 2010, U.S. District Judge Alan Johnson will hear Wyoming's case and evaluate whether the service's rejection is based on science or politics.Wolves may be hunted in Wyoming in the future, but not until the right management plan is devised. We hope it is based on both science and compromise, and a plan that truly protects the state's livestock industry while also maintaining a viable wolf population in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem.

As hunters take aim at wolves in Montana and Idaho this month, Wyoming's wolf population remains the target of a long-fought political battle.

In a decision earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy upheld wolf hunts in Idaho and Montana. He added that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to delist the predator in those states, but not Wyoming, may violate its own rules.

Politics, rather than nature, are driving decisions, Molloy noted.

“The (U.S Fish and Wildlife) Service has distinguished a natural population of wolves based on a political line, not the best available science. That, by definition, seems arbitrary and capricious,” he wrote.

Wyoming's management plan differed from its neighbors' mostly because it contains a predator zone —about 90 percent of the state — where wolves could be shot at any time, by anyone.

Molloy's statement indicates that while Idaho and Montana have reasonable wolf-management plans that include limited hunting, the animal could return to the endangered species list in those states if Wyoming doesn't adopt a similar plan.

It's clear that among many Cowboy State ranchers and hunters, a wolf season would be a welcomed one. Yet wolves won't be hunted in Wyoming — and hunts may be suspended in Idaho and Montana — until state leaders devise a management plan that receives a federal blessing.

Wyoming leaders may fight for dual classification, but it will only prolong legal battles and, quite possibly, allow wolves to enjoy federal protection for years to come.

As a Casper-Star Tribune editorial stated Sunday: “Where state officials go overboard is in insisting that unlicensed hunting be allowed over most of the state. It's unrealistic to expect that federal judges would sanction taking a species off of the endangered species list and giving it absolutely no level of protection over much of its historical range.”

In June 2010, U.S. District Judge Alan Johnson will hear Wyoming's case and evaluate whether the service's rejection is based on science or politics.

Wolves may be hunted in Wyoming in the future, but not until the right management plan is devised. We hope it is based on both science and compromise, and a plan that truly protects the state's livestock industry while also maintaining a viable wolf population in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem.