PREDATORS -- A proposal to extend this year’s wolf hunt in a portion of the Bitterroot Valley was rejected today by Montana’s wildlife commission. 

The proposal, voted down 5-0, would have allowed the hunt to continue in the area near the Idaho border until April 1, according to the Associated Press.

Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commissioners said they were reluctant to approve a piecemeal extension of the hunt instead of taking a statewide approach. They also said they did not want to disturb a wildlife study under way. 

Hunters had pushed for the extension, citing a decline in elk numbers. Just six wolves have been killed out of the area’s quota of 18. 

Montana’s wolf hunt ended on Wednesday. The 165 wolves reported killed as of today equal 75 percent of the state’s 220-animal quota.