A major environment-related decision was taken for the northern Rocky Mountains region, as the Federal Endangered Species Act protection of the gray wolves was lifted Friday in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, the three states thus gaining full management of the estimated 1,500 animals.

This comes as a consequence of the significant increase of complaints regarding wolf attacks received by authorities from livestock owners.

Despite the fact that environmental groups are planning to sue the federal government in order to restore wolf protection, the scheduling of hunts has already begun.

“Americans will howl with rage when they learn that their government is jeopardizing this iconic animal,” said NRDC’s Louisa Willcox last month after the US Department of the Interior decided that gray wolves should be removed from the endangered species list. “Why snatch defeat from the jaws of victory when we’ve made so much progress toward recovering wolves in the Greater Yellowstone region?”

There is however a clearly stated objective for this action, namely to bring down the population to somewhere between 900 and 1,250 animals. This number is considered ideal for this area. It appears that when the officials listed the wolves as endangered in 1973, when the species was almost extinct, they did not expect them to breed so rapidly. A genuine breakthrough was possible thanks to considerable efforts made by authorities in 1995 and 1996, when 66 wolves were placed in Yellowstone National Park and in Idaho.  In the case that the population drops below a certain critical point, the hunting will be ceased and the species reintroduced on the protection list.  

"We did a thorough analysis," said Ed Bangs, the wolf recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, quoted by CNN. "The consensus [for recovery] is a population of 300 wolves and 30 breeding pairs." "The wolf population is fully recovered. We have more wolves than we ever predicted and we have fewer problems than we ever predicted", he added.

During 2007, biologists documented 83 resident wolf packs in Idaho. A minimum population was estimated at 732 wolves. In addition, 13 documented border packs counted for Montana and Wyoming had established territories straddling the Idaho state boundary and probably spent some time in Idaho.

 The gray wolf or timber wolf, Canis lupus, is the largest wild member of the Canidae family, weighing in at around 70–150 pounds. Overall, across the world, the wolf is classified as being of least concern for extinction, as categorized by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN).