Sign of success

Buying a wolf tag won't be on my fall shopping list anytime soon, but the fact that state officials are planning for wolf hunts in Montana in 2008 is nothing short of miraculous. When I first move to Montana in 1992 there were only a handle of wolves (mostly expat Canadians) roaming the state. Reintroduction was barely a decade ago. And now its fair to say the species is recovered in the state.

It will take diligence to keep it that way, but letting hunters kill a few wolves won't make a difference. And it will probably help on the PR front. Remember friends of the wolf, hunting was always part of the bargain when the program was sold to the public.