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HELENA - A federal judge in Montana will soon decide whether or not gray wolves will remain delisted, and if they do, Montana will maintain certain management responsibilities.

Some of those responsibilities were scrutinized Friday in Helena as the MT Environmental Quality Council addressed the issue of wolves. The meeting began with a report from MT Fish, Wildlife & Parks about its wolf management policies.

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FWP Chief Legal Counsel Bob Lane reported that federal judge Donald Molloy is reviewing the lawsuit about the delisting of wolves and says he doesn't know when that decision will be made.

The part of the meeting that drew the most attention was when the committee opened up for public comment, as the hallways were lined early in the day by people who wanted to offer their thoughts about the matter.

Toby Bridges of Missoula said, "We are losing way too much game. I mean they didn't even...you got the light side today in the presentation from FWP. They didn't touch on anything as much as they should have. Our elk herd is dying right now."

Charles Kleffner of Montana Sportsmen United said, "Does the MT FWP expect Montana sportsmen to continue funding this bunk while purchasing worthless wolf and game licenses while the Montana FWP continues to bow to outside interests?"

Even with the attacks on FWP's wolf management, FWP director Joe Maurier is standing by his staff, saying, "I think our staff, especially with how emotional this whole situation is, have done really a quite a remarkable job getting to where we are today. However wolf numbers have grown and they have grown a lot."

Growth that Maurier says will likely result in higher hunting quotas for next hunting season.

To learn more, visit our Living With Wolves series page.