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MISSOULA - This winter a federal judge will be asked to decide if gray wolves should go back under federal control, or if the state should continue its management plan as part of our Living with Wolves series.

The gray wolf was considered extinct in Montana 74 years ago, but wolf sightings and wolf signs turned up throughout the years- well before re-introduction. Now there's no doubt wolves are present in Montana, and there's also no doubt they'll continue to be part of the Montana wildlife landscape.

Gray wolves received full protection and went on the Endangered Species list in 1974, and all events since then over helped to rehabilitate and maintain a healthy wolf population.

In 1980, There was proof wolves returned to Montana when a lone wolf killed livestock near Big Sandy in 1980. By 1986, wolves lived and breeded in Montana once again with the confirmation of a den in Glacier National Park, meaning that Canadian wolves had moved back down to the U.S.

The Federal Government gave the population a boost in 1995 by reintroducing gray wolves in Yellowstone Park and in Central Idaho. The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service then declared in 2002 that the wolf population reached biological recovery under the Endangered Species Act, signaling the beginning of the de-listing efforts.

Two years later, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service approved Montana's state management plan and managers started to implement the plan in 2006. The come March of 2008, the federal government de-listed wolves, but that shift away from endangered species protection was temporary. By July of 2008, a preliminary injunction granted wolves federal protection once again.

But last May, the government again de-listed wolves, this time, maybe for good. And in September, Montana began its first wolf hunting season with a quota set at 75 wolves. The state determined that hunters met that quota on November 16th, so the season ended two weeks prior to its scheduled closing date.

Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials said that there were at least 500 wolves in Montana at the end of 2008, and most likely many more since then.

During our special series, we'll learn how these wolves impact the livestock industry, how they're monitored and managed, and how conservation groups are fighting for more protection.