LANDER - Now that a federal judge has reinstated endangered species protection for gray wolves in the Northern Rockies, the regulations regarding wolf management in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho are much the same as they were before delisting.

But with a couple of new twists for Wyomingites.

U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy issued an injunction Friday against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to remove Endangered Species Act protection for wolves in the Northern Rockies, triggering the return of the same protection that had been in effect for the canines before delisting.

But the ruling also activated two supplemental rules, now applicable to Wyoming, which are meant to afford Northern Rockies residents the right to kill wolves that are caught in the act of harassing or killing their livestock, pack animals or dogs.

These rules had been in effect in Montana and Idaho since 2005, and amended in 2008. Now that Wyoming has a wolf management plan approved by the Fish and Wildlife Service, the supplemental regulations apply here, as well.

And the 2008 "10-J" rule, theoretically, now gives Wyoming the chance to make a case for killing wolves in the interest of protecting herds of hoofed animals that are deemed to be in danger of decimation by wolves.

Although the privilege of residents to protect their pets and livestock from extant wolf attacks is likely to go unchallenged, the provision allowing for states to kill wolves in the name of protecting wildlife will almost certainly cause a legal battle if any of the states' requests are actually approved, the federal wolf coordinator said Monday.

State as a federal agent

Perhaps the most significant difference this go-round in terms of wolf management is that the Cowboy State is looking to participate in the program statewide, much as Idaho and Montana have done for the past three and four years, respectively, according to Eric Keszler, spokesman for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

The state is working toward an agreement with the federal government whereby it would be designated an agent of the Fish and Wildlife Service, federal and state officials confirmed Monday.

In this arrangement, Wyoming's wolf management team will remain active and will implement federal policy, but the federal agency will have the ultimate authority over all wolf management decisions.

While the idea of using state resources to carry out a federal program might be distasteful to some residents, Montana and Idaho opted to take the same approach in the past, because the states believed they were better able than small federal crews were to serve their citizens, state and federal officials said Monday.

"It's a much more efficient operation," said Mike Jimenez, Wyoming's state wolf coordinator, who is also, again, the federal wolf coordinator in Wyoming - a position he held prior to delisting.

"You have more people, and highly qualified people. You have networks of wardens who live in the areas they work in and people know them; they are community residents. Everything works much, much better (when the state is managing the wolf plan)," Jimenez said. "The constituents are much better served than they are under the federal program. Everything works better at that local level."

Although Jimenez is a state official, since his hire by the Game and Fish Department his salary has been paid by the Fish and Wildlife Service as part of what was intended to be a transitional period to state management through the end of 2008. Because of the injunction ruling, however, Jimenez has also returned to his federal role, but he is not receiving any additional compensation, he said.

Brian Foster, human resources manager for the Game and Fish Department, said of the three-person team of wolf specialists working under Jimenez, the two newer employees are paid $3,704 per month, and the third longer-term employee, who transferred into the position, makes $4,364 per month.

Since Friday's ruling, the state's three wolf specialists are functioning in the same capacities they were before the judge's decision, Jimenez and Keszler said.

Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal declined to comment Monday on the state's likely role as federal agent.

Details still uncertain

Because the decision was issued late Friday, the Game and Fish Department had just begun working with the Fish and Wildlife Service on Monday to try to iron out the particulars of the new cooperative wolf management agreement, Keszler said.

He does anticipate that the "10-J" rules will afford the state more options for managing wolves than had been previously the case in Wyoming, he said.

"The revised 10-J gives the state more flexibility to control wolves that are having impacts on wildlife," he said. "(Any wolf removal) still has to be approved by Fish and Wildlife before the state can take that action."

According to the 2008 10-J rule, a state can propose the removal of a wolf or wolves because of detrimental effects on a wildlife population - but each proposal of this type is subject to public comment, scientific peer review and ultimate federal approval, said Ed Bangs, the federal gray wolf recovery coordinator.

This portion of the 2008 supplemental rule had previously been challenged in court, before delisting, by the same conservation organizations that challenged the delisting rule. Delisting made the 10-J rules defunct, but Molloy's injunction ruling has now reactivated the supplemental rules, and possibly the court challenges to those rules, Bangs said.

Because Wyoming now officially has an "approved state plan," the 2008 10-J rule is valid here, he said. But if the state actually went through the steps to get an approval to kill wolves in the name of protecting an ungulate population - and Fish and Wildlife approved this proposal - it would almost certainly be challenged in front of Judge Molloy, and probably would be enjoined just like the delisting decision was.

When it comes to endangered species, Bangs said, federal courts tend to err on the side of caution.

When wolves were delisted in March, there were an estimated 1,500 of the canines in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.

As of late April there were probably about 2,000 wolves in the Northern Rockies, Bangs said, but since most wolf mortality occurs in summer - because of livestock conflicts and illegal killing - the region will likely finish the year with about 1,700 or 1,800 wolves.

Keszler said his agency should know more about the details of the state's new role in federal wolf management by the end of this week.

As for the state's next step in the larger legal battle, Wyoming Attorney General Bruce Salzburg said because the state is acting as in intervener, and not the primary respondent in the case, Wyoming will be following the lead of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Salzburg said it was too early Monday to say anything concrete, but the basic options will be to try an immediate appeal of the decision, to accept the decision as is, or to "start the process over again."

Molloy's injunction ruling does not throw out the decision to remove wolves from the federal endangered species list. Rather it affords the canines Endangered Species Act protection while the lawsuit challenging the delisting decision is being heard.

It could take months or even years before a final decision is rendered in federal court.

Environment reporter Chris Merrill can be reached at chris.merrill@trib.com or at (307) 267-6722.

BREAKOUTS

New twists on old rules

The supplemental "10-J" rules are now in effect for wolves in the Cowboy State, as they had been in Montana and Idaho for years.

Under these rules, it is legal for a resident to kill a wolf that is in the act of harassing or attacking or killing his or her livestock, horse, pack animal or dog.

It is illegal, however, to kill a wolf that is merely in the presence of one's livestock or other animals.

It is also generally illegal for a resident to kill a wolf that is attacking livestock, a pack animal or dog that belongs to another resident.

All legal wolf kills must be reported to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service within 24 hours, and all will be subject to investigation.

Some stockgrowers will now be eligible to get "shoot on sight" permits if they are experiencing "chronic depredation" of their livestock by wolves. These permits will generally be good for 45 days.

States will now have a formal process by which they can make a case for killing certain wolves that are causing severe damage to a population of hoofed animals - although if any state were to complete this process, and have its proposal approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the decision would likely be enjoined in court, much like the delisting decision.

Challenges to the "10-J" rules have already been submitted to U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy, the same judge who issued Friday's ruling to restore endangered species protection for wolves.

Source: Ed Bangs, federal gray wolf recovery coordinator with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

First wolf pack in Oregon confirmed in a century

LA GRANDE, Ore. (AP)- Oregon has its first wolf pack since the predator was wiped out by bounty hunting a century ago.

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife wolf coordinator Russ Morgan heard them howling under a bright moon in the predawn hours Friday in northern Union County.

He said there were at least two adults and two pups.

Individual wolves from Idaho have been swimming the Snake River and crossing into northeastern Oregon at least since 1999. But this is the first confirmation of wolves breeding in the state.

Wolves are protected as an endangered species by the state of Oregon, meaning hunters and ranchers cannot shoot them.

NEWS TRACKER

Last we knew: A federal judge restored endangered species protection for gray wolves in the Northern Rockies on Friday.

The latest: The state of Wyoming and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are working toward developing a cooperative approach to managing wolves, where the federal agency will have the final word on all management decisions.

What's next: The details of the new arrangement should be available in the coming days.