Oregon Public Broadcasting

Idaho's first wolf hunting season ends Wednesday with 185 animals killed. Idaho wildlife officials had set a goal of 220, but they deem it a success anyway.

Idaho Fish and Game Department wildlife manager Jon Rachael says the state wants to show that it can manage wolves just as it manages other big game. He thinks it worked.

“What we have achieved, for the first time, is we have stopped the growth of the wolf population. We did not drive wolves extinct in a single year,” Rachael said.

Rachael and his staff estimate there are now about 840 wolves in Idaho. They'd like to push the population down to about 500 by taking a more aggressive approach in the coming years.

Of course, it's possible there will be no second wolf season.

Conservation groups have asked a federal judge in Montana to put the animal back on the Endangered Species List. They believe its population is not yet large enough to sustain hunting.