BOISE, Idaho Backcountry wolf hunters would be barred from using bait, snares, traps or electronic calls but would not be required to discern between male and female targets, under an Idaho state agency's proposal.

The recommendations issued Thursday by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game would also end the wolf hunting season immediately once a mortality quota is reached through a combination of hunting, state-sanctioned control measures, accidents or natural causes.

The total mortality quota suggested for a 2008 season is 328, which game officials say would yield a total wolf population of 550 to 600. That range is within the estimate given in the state's broader wolf management plan, which was approved in March.

"Our wolf plan is in place and our hunting rules follow the plan as closely as possible," Steve Nadeau, the agency's large carnivore manager, told The Associated Press. "We believe the plan for hunting assures the longterm viability of wolf populations across the state."

Release of the recommendations begins a public comment period that expires May 16. After reviewing comments and making any changes, final rules and season dates will be submitted to the Fish and Game Commission to review May 21.

The proposal was issued in the same week that environmental groups sued the federal government in an effort to overturn a decision in March to remove an estimated 1,500 wolves in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana from endangered species status.

For now, those three states are responsible for managing wolves under plans approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Like Idaho, Montana and Wyoming are drafting regulations for hunting the predators.

Despite the litigation, Idaho is moving forward with plans to manage its wolf population, estimated in March at about 800. Part of its population control strategy is an open, public hunting season that could begin as early as September.

Other rules proposed by the agency include:

- Bag limit: No hunter could take more wolves than allowed with a single hunting tag.

- Each kill would have to be reported within 72 hours.

- Use of dogs to attract or pursue wolves would be prohibited.

- Hunters would be encouraged to avoid targeting wolves with radio collars.

The agency offered a choice of four seasons, the longest running from Aug. 30 through March and the shortest from Oct. 10 to Dec. 31. One will be chosen and the agency has no preference, Nadeau said.

The recommendations also would set kill quotas within 12 management zones which were established in the overall management plan. The highest quotas are in the northcentral portion of the state, including a quota of 50 for the Lolo zone near the Montana border.

Hunting would be closed in a zone once that area's quota is reached and statewide once the total kills in Idaho reach 328 in 2008.

The statewide quota was set using a formula that factored in all reported wolf deaths, as well as a 15 percent average increase in the wolf population and the state's goal of keeping the population at 500 and 700 wolves.

Gary Macfarlane, spokesman for Friends of the Clearwater, one of the 12 groups involved in the lawsuit, said there are many questions the state should resolve before allowing wolf hunts.

For example, he said the proposed quotas are too high in the northern part of the state, where wolf predation on weak and diseased deer, elk and other wildlife is critical to improving the health of the region's big game herds.

"We really don't think the quotas need to be so high in some of those zones," he said. "We're only going to delay the correction that needs to take place in the restoration of the elk population health."