The notebook full of successful hunt photos is three fingers thick in the lobby of Sportsman's Warehouse. But among the pictures of deer, elk, bear and cougar, there are no hunters holding wolves.

"There's a lot of local people who said if they open it up (wolf hunting) and they get one, they'll bring it in," Taxidermy Unlimited owner Steve Denwell said of his customers' interest in wolf trophies. But he's not bracing for a rush of new business.

"We're in the woods every weekend, but I only saw four wolves," Denwell said, "although I saw tracks almost every time we went out. I think most people are going to have a (wolf) tag and if they see one while deer or elk hunting, they'll shoot it."

That's if there is a season. Montana's Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks has set a quota, developed rules and picked dates for its first-ever big-game wolf hunt. But just like last year, last-minute legal maneuvers could derail the effort before wolf licenses go on sale Aug. 31.

On Monday, Idaho Fish and Game authorities are expected to release their version of a wolf hunting season. Wolf protection advocates are waiting for that plan before deciding how to continue their own efforts to put the wolf back on the federal endangered species list.

"We are interested to see what Idaho does, and we're prepared to move for an injunction if necessary," said EarthJustice attorney Jenny Harbine, who represents a group of 13 environmental organizations opposed to wolf delisting. The group successfully blocked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to turn wolf management over to the fish and game agencies of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming in 2008, and also opposed a similar plan in early 2009. Their main concern: that the region's population of 1,600 wolves is too small to support public hunting.

Federal authorities released a new policy for state control of wolves in April. Wyoming's wolves were left on the endangered species list, but Idaho and Montana got clearance to set their own rules for managing the animals as public wildlife.

"From Montana's perspective, it's forward progress until the court tells us otherwise," said Carolyn Sime, Montana FWP's wolf specialist in Helena. The agency's board of commissioners agreed this spring that wolves could be managed as big-game predators, similar to bears and mountain lions.

Under federal protection, wolves were legally shot only by government-authorized hunters or livestock or pet owners whose animals had been threatened. The federal hunters could use aircraft, radio-collar data and other advantages to find their targets. They've been regularly killing individuals, small groups and occasionally whole wolf packs connected with livestock attacks.

Federal Wildlife Service hunters killed two wolves south of Dillon July 27 after the wolves killed 25 sheep, and may kill another member of a pack southwest of Dillon that's been attacking cattle.

Wolf populations also fluctuated because of natural occurrences, such as births, deaths, and migration in and out of an area.

Public hunting seasons would stick a third slice in the population pie chart. The challenge for wildlife managers like Sime is how to set a hunting quota that lets private citizens knock back the wolf population without going too far. Pick correctly, and public hunting could reduce the number of taxpayer-funded government hunters needed, boost deer and elk numbers, and maintain the wolf population at a sustainable level.

Pick wrong, and wolf populations collapse, mandating the resumption of federal endangered species management.

Montana authorities decided 75 wolves was an appropriate quota for this first hunting season. Sime said the number could have been as high as 207, but the preference was to take a conservative start. A big unknown is how successful private hunters will be, without the tactical advantages government hunters enjoy.

In Alaska, where wolves have been a big-game target and a controlled predator for decades, state wildlife officials figure they need to reduce the wolf population by 30 percent to 35 percent every year.

"Wolves are fairly prolific," said Gino Del Frate, regional management coordinator for south-central Alaska's Department of Fish and Game. "They can replace themselves pretty fast. If you have good food sources and productivity, you can sustain a population."

Some parts of Alaska classify wolves as a predator to be shot on sight without a license. Del Frate said those areas tend to be where wolves are the primary predator limiting species like moose or caribou. Wolves killed in big-game areas must be submitted to Fish and Game wardens and have a state seal marked on the pelt. Alaskans have better success with trapping than hunting, he added. Montana's wolf hunting season does not allow trapping.

"As Montana gets more experience managing these animals," Del Frate said, "they'll either figure out the best way to do it or liberalize the ways for how many animals they need to take."