Montana to target 75 wolves

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is preparing to allow up to 75 wolves to be killed by hunters this fall. If the hunt isn't halted by lawsuits, we're betting less than half that number are actually killed.

Idaho is also taking steps to allow the state's first wolf hunt since reintroduction. The Gem State may set its quota as high as 250. With a burgeoning wolf population in the tough to hunt Idaho panhandle, we again expect a lot of tags to go unfilled.

The hunt, however, is an important milestone in the remarkable success story of wolf reintroduction in the Northern Rockies. The claims of some that these limited hunts could drive the animals back to extinction are laughable.