When interviewed last Friday, Hanian and Idaho Fish and Game officials said they did not believe Idaho was going to become a safe haven for anti-wolf activity. But they did say a new policy was expected to be unveiled this week - which was confirmed on Monday with Otter's statements.

In 2006, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service accepted wolf management plans from Idaho and Montana as the federal agency moved toward removing the wolf from Endangered Species Act protections. Both states included public wolf hunts as part of their plans.

Montana and Idaho wolves were delisted in 2008, but a coalition of conservation groups sued the federal government to block the action. U.S. District Judge Don Molloy allowed a 2009 wolf hunt to take place, but decided this August that the Fish and Wildlife Service had improperly kept Wyoming wolves under federal protection while releasing the other two states.

That decision canceled the planned 2010 wolf hunts in Montana and Idaho and maintained the wolf's protected status in all three states.

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