As gray wolf hunts loom in Idaho and Montana, opponents make last-minute bid to halt hunting

Court asked to stop wolf hunts in Idaho, Montana

MISSOULA, Mont. — Opponents of the first gray wolf hunts in the Northern Rockies in decades are making a last-minute bid to stop the hunting before it begins this week.

Idaho and Montana have set seasons that would allow a combined 295 wolves to be killed this fall. That’s about one-fifth of the predator’s population in the states.

Wolves were taken off the endangered species list in the two states in May. Wildlife officials say they need to keep the wolves’ numbers in check to prevent livestock killings.

The case is before U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy Monday, who last year sided with environmentalists in a similar case.

As a result of that ruling, the federal government kept about 300 wolves in Wyoming on the endangered list.