Montana's only formal public hearing on the proposed delisting of wolves in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho took place in Helena Thursday night, and opinions in the crowd of about 50 people seemed fairly cut and dried.

Ranchers want the wolves delisted, so they can be managed by individual states. That management could include public hunting seasons, similar to what takes place for bear or mountain lions, to control wolf populations. State laws also would allow landowners and those with grazing permits on public lands to shoot wolves attacking or molesting their domestic animals.

"Wolves in our area don't have fears, and we need to change that without the fear of being imprisoned and fined for protecting our property," Livingston area rancher Steve Thompson said. "We need to delist them as quickly as possible and hopefully without a bunch of litigation. It's time to go after it and control the population."

Avon rancher Brian Quigley added that he can tell when the wolves pass through and harass or kill his livestock. It's not just the dead animals that concern him and others; stress from the wolves lowers cattle's weight, making them less valuable.

"The wolf has just as much right to be there as I do, but he doesn't have a right to steal from me and that's just what he's doing when he's killing my livestock or when their weight goes down," Quigley said.

But representatives from a range of environmental organizations said delisting is premature, especially in light of Wyoming's inability to put together a management plan so far.

"The story of the wolf makes me proud to be an American, but hold off on delisting until all three states have plans," said Derek Golman with the Endangered Species Coalition. "We've driven the football 99 yards down the field; let's not fumble it in the end zone by trying to claim victory now."

Wolves were put on the Endangered Species list in 1973, after being hunted to near extinction in the lower 48 states.

But with more than 1,200 gray wolves now populating the Northern Rockies and 89 breeding pairs, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service considers it to be a recovered species that no longer needs protection by the Endangered Species Act. In fact, the wolves have far exceeded the recovery goal of having 300 wolves and 30 breeding pairs.

If an agreement can be reached with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, wolves throughout the northern Rockies, could be delisted as early as this year.

Wildlife biologist Geri Vistin cautioned, though, that wolf recovery is not all about numbers. Instead, she argued that it's about dispersing the animals over a large region so they can create healthy populations. To do that, they must be free from persecution, she said, which means people need to develop more tolerant, humane attitudes.

"We must have a large vision, looking at landscape level conservation, not piecemeal state-by-state mandates that are based on wolf control, not conservation," Vistin said. "We must not be in a hurry to delist because of the flawed perception that delisting will result in more tolerance. It will not."

In Montana and Idaho, state agencies have been managing wolves since 2004 under a cooperative agreement between those states and the USFWS. Under those plans, hunting could be allowed, as long as the wolves meet minimum population requirements of 10 breeding pairs and 100 wolves.

But in Wyoming, the debate over wolf management is ongoing, with the USFWS being concerned that state's plan is insufficient to conserve that state's portion of the population.

If Wyoming and the USFWS can't agree upon a plan, wolves would still be delisted in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, except in the northwest corner of Wyoming. In that locale, which is where most of Wyoming's wolves roam, they would still come under federal protection. Elsewhere in Wyoming, they would be classified as predators and managed by the state.

The recovery area for the delisted wolves also covers the eastern third of Washington and Oregon, as well as a small part of Utah, generally north of Salt Lake City, according to Ed Bangs, USFWS wolf recovery coordinator.

Wolves that roam out of these areas would still be protected because they're not part of the delisted area.

Bangs said his agency is eager to turn responsibility of managing wolves over to the states because they have hundreds of biologists, wardens, researchers and others who already are doing outstanding jobs of managing wolves in their states.

Jeff Hagener, director of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said his agency also supports delisting the wolves, and that Montana shouldn't be penalized for Wyoming's inability to put together a workable wolf management plan.

However, he noted that management costs could top $1 million annually, and asked that the federal government shoulder the bulk of the costly burden.

"We are ready and we think it's time to get on with this delisting," Hagener said. "I urge the Fish and Wildlife Service to make this a high priority and get it done as soon as possible."