The only public hearing in Montana on proposed revisions to the federal management plan for gray wolves in the Northern Rockies will be held in Helena next week.

Federal officials are considering changes that would allow people to shoot wolves on public lands in southern Montana and Idaho if they’re “in the act of attacking” dogs or stock animals like horses, mules, donkeys or llamas.

In addition, the government may allow those states to shoot wolves if they’re killing big game animals in a population that’s smaller than what the state deems acceptable.

That action would have to be part of a plan approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Wyoming would operate under the same revisions if the state can come up with a plan acceptable to the federal USFWS for managing wolves after they’re taken off the endangered species list.

Plans in Montana and Idaho already have been approved by the USFWS, and those states’ plans carry the same provisions as those being proposed by the federal government. The changes are being requested, however, since the states have to follow the federal rules for wolf management until they’re delisted.

The current plan calls for the gray wolves to be removed from protection under the Endangered Species Act by mid-February 2008.

Since the earliest these proposed revisions can be instituted is this fall, the revisions would only be in effect for a few months — unless lawsuits are filed opposing the delisting of the wolves, which is what Ed Bangs, USFWS wolf recovery coordinator, expects to occur.

“If we publish this rule in the fall as final, and delist in February, this rule is almost meaningless,” Bangs said on Thursday. “However, if the delisting gets tied up in lawsuits for the next five years, this gives the states some additional management flexibility. This is kind of an insurance policy. If delisting goes smoothly, they’ll probably never have to use this.”

Tom Palmer, spokesman for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said the proposed changes already are included in Montana’s wolf management plan. He added that the revisions only take place in the “nonessential experimental populations,” which generally includes an area in eastern Montana south of the Missouri River, then follows Interstate 15 south to Interstate 90, across Montana to Idaho.

“It’s kind of the southern half of Montana,” Palmer said, adding that the proposed revisions won’t change Montana’s wolf management plan. “We are not into going back and revising our plan whatsoever.”

The proposed revisions are being opposed by conservationists opposed to delisting wolves, who say this change in the plan is just a “license to kill” and would allow most of the wolves to be “exterminated.”

The new plan “allows the slaughter to begin even before the wolves are formally delisted, said Louisa Wilcox with the National Resources Defense Council.

“The government wants to treat wolves like vermin instead of an endangered species,” Wilcox said. “The federal government is giving the states a license to kill under almost any circumstance. It’s going to be open season on wolves.”

Suzanne Stone, northern Rockies representative for Defenders of Wildlife added, “This is clearly a back door attempt by the Bush administration to remove Endangered Species Act protections for wolves by sidestepping the public delisting process.”

Ranchers, however, are eagerly awaiting the delisting, saying wolf predations are harming their livestock and are long overdue.

Since their reintroduction in 1995, 43 wolves have been legally killed by private citizens defending their property or with authorized shoot-on-sight permits, according to the USFWS. Bangs said there hasn’t been any documentation in the past 12 years of wolves attacking livestock that were accompanied by their owners, although some have been spooked by wolves.

While at least 91 dogs were killed by wolves between 1987 and 2007, none were pet dogs that were accompanied by their owners. At this point, no wolves have been killed solely to protect dogs.

Gray wolves once were on the edge of extinction in the Northern Rockies, but an estimated 1,200 now roam the area with 89 breeding pairs. That’s surpassed the recovery goal of 300 wolves and 30 breeding pairs in the tri-state area. Under state management, wolves may be hunted — the parameters for that are being discussed — but both Montana and Idaho must ensure that they each have at least 200 wolves and 20 breeding pairs.

Oral, written comments accepted

An open house is from 6 to 7 p.m. July 18, at Jorgenson’s Inn, 1714 11th Ave., in Helena.

Oral testimony will be accepted from 7 to 9 p.m. and will be limited in length to accommodate all who wish to comment.

Written comments can be submitted at the hearing, or should be sent by Aug. 6 to U.S. Fish and Wildlife service, Western Gray Wolf Recovery Coordinator, 585 Shepard Way, Helena, MT 59601. They also can be e-mailed to WolfRuleChange@fws.gov, with the subject line identifying RIF number 1018-AV39.

The proposed revisions can be viewed online from www.fws.gov.

Other public hearings will be held July 17 in Cody, Wyo., and July 19 in Boise, Idaho.

Reporter Eve Byron can be reached at 447-4076 or at eve.byron@helenair.com.