Oregon Public Broadcasting

Idaho opened a new wolf-hunting season Tuesday in two parts of the state.

Just four months ago, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released the wolf from federal protection. The state of Idaho has made plans to allow hunters to kill up to a quarter of the 850 wolves in the state.

Conservation groups are waiting to see if a federal judge in Montana will declare an injunction.  Correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports.

Milt Turley is happy this day has finally come. The retired teacher and elk hunter  is headed for the mountains of north central Idaho. Does he have his treasured wolf tag?

Milt Turley: "Does a dog have a tail? Certainly."

Turley is one of several thousand Idaho hunters who, in the last week, have forked over 12-bucks for the right to shoot one of 220 wolves. The Nez Perce Tribe has authorized another 35 to be killed.

The wolves in Idaho and Montana have only been off the endangered list since May. That put wolf management in the hands of the two states. They soon scheduled fall hunting seasons to control the wolves.

To Edmund Ziegler, the animal is already a menace, competing with sportsmen for prized elk.

Edmund Ziegler: "They'll kill them and let ëem lay. They're a pack of dogs and they'll chase stuff down for the fun of it. They might only take a couple of chunks out of it and let it go for awhile because they're already so full from all the other animals they've been eating."

In most of Idaho, the wolf season won't open until October 1. But, in a few places, hunters are getting a head start with today's opening. Montana's season starts September 15.

Todd Hoffman says, when he goes hunting, he'll look for elk first, wolves second. But he says it's getting harder to find elk.

Todd Hoffman: "I think it's time to just get the wolves under some management policy so that we can kind of maintain a healthy balance or achieve a healthy balance of wolves and elk and the other prey in the ecosystem."

Who should be responsible for finding that healthy balance?

Todd Hoffman argues people. Members of the Northern Idaho Wolf Alliance argue nature.

Stephen Augustine: "I believe, for now, that we should let wolves and their prey balance themselves out."

Stephen Augustine is a member of the Northern Idaho Wolf Alliance. He protested Idaho's wolf hunting season outside the state Department of Fish and Game headquarters in Coeur d'Alene.

Stephen Augustine: "I think we need to find that balance and I don't think that we know what it is."

That's one of the arguments of conservation groups who are trying to stop the hunts. On Monday, they asked federal Judge Donald Molloy for an injunction to stop the hunt.

There are about 1300 wolves in Idaho and Montana. Environmentalists say that's a good sign that the wolves are recovering and that they should be left alone for now.

Dr. Ken Fischman from the wolf alliance agrees. He worries that many more wolves will die than those shot by hunters.

Ken Fischman: "And then you add to that the ones that Idaho Fish and Game kill every year for alleged depredation of livestock. Last year, that was 136. And to that you add accidents, illegal takings."

Fischman believes as many 500 wolves could die this year, more than half of the state's population.

Several biologists believe that's overstating the case. Some doubt hunters will be  able to kill anything close to the 220 wolves allocated by the state.

While members of the wolf alliance demonstrate, Milt Turley, Ron Mazurek and a few other men stand back and talk about the bigger picture.

Unidentified man: "It's more about the hunting than it is the wolf."

Milt Turley: "Oh yeah, I think it's more about gun control."

Ron Mazurek: "It's PETA. It's the Humane Society. It's the Friends of the Animals. It has nothing to do with a specific specie. It has to do with hunters. They do not want anything killed, period."

That last voice was Ron Mazurek's. He says he supports the professional, not the emotional, management of wildlife.

Ron Mazurek: "Let the managers manage the animals accordingly and don't let any of it get out of hand and the wolves have gotten out of hand."

Milt Turley: "Big time."

Ron Mazurek: "As far as this state is concerned."

Mazurek and Milt Turley will get their wish, unless Judge Donald Molloy issues an injunction stopping Idaho's wolf season.