Idaho Gov. Butch Otter is so thrilled that gray wolves are about to be delisted in his state that he wants to give the predators a 300-gun salute.

Swashbuckling Otter, of course, wants those 300 guns trained on the wolves. In the violent parlance of the 19th century, Otter seems to believe that the only good wolf is a dead wolf. Otter told hundreds of cheering anti-wolf activists on the Capitol steps in Boise on Jan. 11 that he wants to kill 85 percent of the state’s approximate 650 wolves after they’re removed from the Endangered Species Act in a year. He even said he can’t wait to bag a wolf himself.

Otter’s rhetoric and wolf management “plan” are good for sound bites and rabble-rousing, much like former Gov. Dirk Kempthorne’s chest-thumping in 2001 when he won a standing ovation in Kellogg for bashing the Environmental Protection Agency by stating: “I’ve become so frustrated that I’m on the verge of asking EPA to leave the state of Idaho.” The EPA didn’t go away. The wolves won’t either.

Idaho should celebrate the news that the Interior Department, now led by Kempthorne, is delisting Great Lakes wolves and that a 60-day comment period has started on a proposal to delist the Rocky Mountain gray wolf, too. As governor, Kempthorne didn’t like wolves either. But he understood that an obstinate state rarely wins a game of brinksmanship with the U.S. government. Wisely, he sought ways in which Idaho farmers and ranchers could co-exist with wolves.

Idaho will lose control of wolf management again if Otter allows hunters to decimate the wolf population.

By all measures, but those of Otter and anti-wolf activists, wolf reintroduction has been successful. In 1995, 35 wolves were transplanted in Idaho. Now, the state’s wolf number is estimated at 650 in 71 packs, with more than 41 breeding pairs. Idaho is required to keep 100 wolves including 10 breeding pairs.

While Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin plan to ban trophy wolf hunts for five years after de-listing, Otter and the Idaho Fish and Game Commission can’t wait to begin blasting them. The commission already has set a price to hunt wolves for Idahoans with a hunting license: $26.50.

The outspoken governor and his trigger-happy fans should study the predicament of Wyoming.

Wyoming officials have fought reintroduction efforts at every juncture, contending dubiously that wolves devastate big-game herds and shouldn’t be protected. As a result, Wyoming is facing long-term federal control, while Idaho, in conjunction with the Nez Perce Tribe, and Montana are preparing to manage their wolves. If Otter doesn’t blow it. Already, hunting outfitter Ron Gillett of Stanley is planning an initiative drive aimed at eliminating as many wolves in the state “to the extent allowed by law.” Gillett’s approach is similar to the one embraced by Otter, the state Fish and Game Commission, and myopic Wyoming.

In other words, Idaho’s wolf management program isn’t out of the woods with the federal government yet.