BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Montana officials say gray wolves killed livestock at the rate of one animal per day in 2009 — a sharp increase over 2008 and fueled largely by a single attack in which 120 sheep were killed near Dillon.
But despite the increasingly heavy toll taken by the predators in Montana and neighboring Idaho, the prospects of increased hunting to curb livestock attacks are in doubt.
Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks attorney Bob Lane says a pending lawsuit from environmentalists could return wolves to the endangered species list by late spring or early summer.
Otherwise, Lane says his agency would likely increase the wolf hunting quota for 2010. It was set at 75 wolves in 2009, although only 72 were taken.
Wolf season remains open in Idaho, with 142 taken to date out of a 220-animal quota.
