Yellowstone Officials say Wolves Threatened by Montana’s Plan to Relax Hunting Rules

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Yellowstone National Park administrators say a tentative plan to relax gray wolf hunting and trapping rules in neighboring Montana appears aimed at substantially reducing the park's population of the predators.

Wolves regularly cross from the safe haven of Yellowstone into Montana, where wildlife officials want to drive down pack numbers. Montana wildlife commissioners on Wednesday take final action on proposals to lengthen the wolf season, increase the bag limit and set quotas around the park.

Park administrators say some of the changes would make it too easy to target wolves that live primarily in Yellowstone. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesman Ron Aasheim says the agency will recommend revisions to the proposal to address Yellowstone's concerns. But the wolf quota north of Yellowstone still would exceed what the park wants.