From her dining room window at her home north of Bonners Ferry, Pat Nelson sees elk, moose, deer and coyotes.

Twice last month - for the first time since moving to her 115-acre farm in the North Bench area 46 years ago - Nelson spotted wolves. Four passed through her property on March 4 and a lone wolf was spotted on March 20.

“I looked out and seen them,” Nelson said. “I knew what they were. There's bound to be more than what we seen.”

Her husband, Bob, favors hunting gray wolves, as Idaho finalizes plans to do so this fall, now that federal protections have been lifted.

“If they were hunted, they would stay away from civilization,” he said.

Federal Endangered Species Act protection of the animals was lifted Friday in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, giving those states management of the estimated 1,500 gray wolves in the region. Hunts are being scheduled by state wildlife agencies to reduce the wolf population to between 900 and 1,250.

On Friday, Gov. Butch Otter signed a bill to allow ranchers, outfitters and pet owners to kill wolves harassing livestock, according to the Associated Press. The law gives owners up to 72 hours to report wolves they've killed after catching them annoying, disturbing or stalking animals or livestock.

Fish and Game estimates Idaho now has 800 gray wolves. There are three confirmed packs in Boundary County. One pack is in the Queen Mountain area; another is the Solomon Lake Pack, and the third is the Calder Mountain Pack.

Idaho hunters will be allowed to kill between 100-300 of the animals this fall under a plan approved by the Idaho Fish and Game Commission. The hunts are partly in response to increasing numbers of livestock being killed as the predators' population has grown.

The commission will consider proposed hunting rules in May.

Under the proposed plan, wolves would be hunted October through December, with hunting dates based on the area and the type of weapon used. Wolf hunting tags will cost $11.50, with one tag per hunter. More tags will be sold than the number of wolves allowed to be killed, a system the department uses for other big game species.

The hunting season will be stopped after a certain number of wolves are killed, and hunters must report kills within 24 hours to make sure quotas aren't exceeded.

Wildlife biologists estimate there are now 41 breeding pairs in Idaho, in 72 packs. If that number falls below 10 breeding pairs, or 15 during a three-year period, the wolves could be brought back under federal protection.

Gray wolves were listed as endangered in 1973 after being hunted into near extinction, but the population has rebounded dramatically after restoration efforts began in 1995.

Environmentalists plan to sue the federal government next month to restore wolf protections.