Sanity rules in wolf decision

A federal judge has shown some sanity by ruling that wolf hunts in Idaho and Montana can move forward.

Judge Donald Molloy denied a preliminary injunction requested by Defenders of Wildlife and other plaintiffs who sued to stop the hunting season.

And the decision only makes sense. This delisting is what was promised to people in Idaho and Montana. It’s actually overdo, since wolf populations have exceeded goals set when the animals were released. To halt the hunt again because Defenders of Wildlife thinks it is wrong would be a huge mistake.

So kudos to Molloy.

And kudos to Robert Millage, who is credited with shooting the first wolf once the Idaho hunt (for up to 220 wolves) started on Sept. 1. The Montana hunt for up to 75 wolves starts Sept. 15.

Millage (pictured below) is a real estate agent from Kamiah who shot a female in the mountains near the Lochsa River.

“I just wanted to beat my buddies to the punch, but I didn’t know I’d beaten everybody in the state,” said Millage, 34, who has hunted in Idaho for 22 years. “It was really an adrenaline rush to have those wolves all around me, howling and milling about after I fired the shot.”

Since shooting the wolf, Millage has been hounded by angry callers.

“People are loons. If they want to call up and have a discussion, I’m all about having a discussion. But they call me a fat redneck and a wolf killer and compare me to Michael Vick,” Millage told the Lewiston Morning Tribune. “I have a thick skin and a good sense of humor. What am I going to do, yell back at them?”

That underlines the fact this issue is a long way from over, though. Molloy’s ruling is only temporary. No doubt there are more legal battles to come.

An estimated 1,650 wolves now live in the Northern Rockies thanks to a controversial reintroduction program that started in 1995. Federal surveys show Idaho has the densest concentration of wolves, with at least 846. Next high are Montana (496) and Wyoming (302).

“It’s way past time to do this. (Wolves) should be managed and that management should include hunting. The wolf population can’t keep growing. All the suitable habitat is filled now,” says Ed Bangs, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist who has overseen the reintroduction of wolves to the west. “So instead of having me in a helicopter shooting wolves after they eat a guy’s cow, you can have hunters pay for the same privilege. By have hunting as part of the equation, you can have a more effective program that’s cheaper.”

So far, Idaho has sold more than 10,700 wolf permits.