A quota of 75 wolves for Montana's first ever state-sanctioned hunting season will be discussed Thursday during the Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission meeting in Helena.

The 75-wolf quota from the state FWP agency is fairly consistent with a recommendation in December by Montana's Wolf Management Advisory Council. That 12-person panel of ranchers, hunters, scientists and others noted that 130 wolves could be killed in Montana in one year without reducing the overall number of wolves in the state; half of those deaths were expected to come from wolves shot for preying on livestock.

The 130 figure is similar to the anticipated population increase next year because of births and immigration, according to Carolyn Sime, statewide wolf coordinator for FWP.

Any quota adopted at Thursday's commission meeting will be submitted for public comment through at least July 18, with the final quota adoption set for Aug. 5.

Public hunting of wolves has been long been a part of Montana's wolf conservation and management plan, which is moving forward after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in February removed wolves from the list of animals protected under the Endangered Species Act.

That delisting currently is the focus of a federal court lawsuit, with U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy expected to rule soon on a request by 11 environmental groups for an injunction that would halt the delisting in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho.

Still, Montana wildlife officials want to have a plan in place to manage wolves if Molloy decides he won't issue an injunction, saying that without some type of hunting season, the wolf population will grow exponentially.

Wolves were put on the Endangered Species Act list in 1973 after being hunted to near extinction in the lower 48 states. But reintroduction and recovery work started in 1995 have expanded their population, with more than 1,200 gray wolves populating the Northern Rockies.

Montana's management plan calls for a minimum population of 100 wolves. Initially, the state found 10 breeding pairs to be a sustainable population goal, but the advisory council revised that upward to 15 pairs to ensure the success of the species.

Montana now is home to at least 422 wolves, which includes 39 breeding pairs in eight packs, Sime said, and many people believe wolves are ready to be managed as any other wildlife species, which includes hunting.

Last February, the FWP Commission adopted a regulatory framework and season structure for public hunting of wolves. The season will run from Oct. 26 through Dec. 31, or whenever the quota is reached.

Reclassification of wolves as a species in need of management also needs to be done as part of the regulatory steps for the FWP Commission. That will take place through an administrative rule process, which also will include wolf conflict management guidelines.

FWP officials have said they intend to proceed cautiously to ensure continued wolf recovery.

Reporter Eve Byron: 447-4076 or eve.byron@helenair.com