All I'm Saying there's a joke in here somewhere

Tomorrow is the beginning of Idaho's first wolf hunting season in many years, or in the words of some Idabillies, "Since our forefathers first exterminated them for a good reason." Local, national and international media are scheduled to be on-hand with the conservation officers on opening day.

Personally, while I am quite a big fan of having wolves in Idaho, I am somewhat glad there is a season on them. I've seen five different wolves in my travels in the forest, and three of the five have stuck around long enough to get a good, long look at me. Folks around here who hate the wolves need a lot less time than that to get a shot off, and I strongly believe it is in their best interests to learn that mankind is not just an interesting anomaly in the forest.

Personally, I could care less if folks have to work harder to get their deer and elk each season. Pragmatically, I recognize that part of my family's income comes from the sale of big game tags and hunting licenses. While I in no way believe the wolves are exterminating the big game herds (as some would have us believe), I'd like to see a system in place that balances the needs of the predators--humans and wolves. ("Needs" being an extremely subjective term in half of this statement.) I wouldn't stand in the way of someone legally harvesting a wolf in Idaho, but I'd sure be disappointed if a close friend of mine pulled the trigger. I feel like wolves deserve a chance to reestablish themselves, and frankly I feel like there's a bond between wolves and humans that we should hold at least semi-sacred. They bonded with our ancestors and bore some of the credit for our species' success. Man's best friend is a descendant. I cannot reconcile hunting them and killing them for nothing but sport.

Ultimately, it could be a very short season: a federal judge in Montana is reviewing an injunction filed against the state of Idaho by an environmental group. He has said he'd rule on it as soon as he possibly could, and that could, potentially, be as soon as tomorrow. If so, it could end up being a one-day season.