That was the essence of a plan adopted Thursday by the Utah Wildlife Board at a Salt Lake City meeting that capped a $100,000, 18-month effort designed to bring agriculture, hunting and conservation interests together on wolf management.

The plan would allow ranchers to kill wolves that attack livestock; it might even allow hunters, guides and taxidermists also to be compensated for losses.

But until they are removed from the endangered species list, the federal U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be in charge of wolves should the predators move into Utah from northern states such as Wyoming and Idaho. That means the state plan adopted after months of emotional meetings and hearings may never actually be implemented.

"Having a plan in place makes delisting more likely," said Kevin Bunnell, mammals coordinator for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. "It would allow transfer of management authority to the state."

For Utah to have a chance to take over wolf management from the federal government, there would have to be two breeding pairs of wolves successfully reproducing for two years. That would bring between 15 and 30 wolves into Utah.

The wildlife board amended a plan prepared by the Utah Wolf Working Group that was made up of groups who would be affected when the animal moves into Utah.

The board tried to make the plan palatable to agriculture and hunting groups strongly opposed to the return of the wolf while protecting the animals enough to give the state a chance to take over management from the federal government.

The board voted to allow ranchers to kill wolves that are attacking sheep or cattle on private or public lands without a permit. It also supported 100 percent monetary compensation to ranchers who lose livestock to wolves.

In response to hunters' worries that wolves could negatively impact big game such as elk and deer, the board opened up the possibility that hunters, guides and taxidermists also be compensated for losses to wolves.

That drew concern from Marty Bushman, an assistant Utah attorney general who represents the state Department of Natural Resources. He warned that opening the state's liability to compensate hunters also could force the state to pay when a wild animal such as moose collides with a vehicle.

Board Chair Max Morgan went out of his way to accommodate hunting groups such as Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the Mule Deer Foundation and the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep who all are opposed to having wolves move into Utah.

"Any new money [coming from a wolf compensation fund] should be under the control of the DWR," said Morgan. "Sportsmen do not want to pay for wolves. If the public at large wants wolves, they should pay for it."

Bunnell estimated that managing wolves would cost Utah taxpayers between $125,000 and $250,000 a year should the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service allow state management.

"This plan will allow wolves to be here as long as they stay out of trouble," said Bunnell. "It has yet to be seen whether they can do that or not."

He said the major difference between Utah and northern states such as Montana, Idaho and Wyoming where the wolf has been successfully reintroduced was that the Beehive State lacks large tracts of wilderness where few livestock graze.

The wildlife biologist said that Utah's largest wilderness area - the High Uintas - is "a postage stamp by comparison." And sheep grazing is common in the Uintas.

Debate during the public hearing largely mirrored the arguments between wolf lovers, hunters and livestock interests that have raged ever since it appeared the big predator might come into the state.

One hunter quoted President Bush as calling wolves "domestic terrorists."

Bill Fenimore of the Utah Audubon Council, a wolf supporter, used current U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service statistics to say that wolves would kill about 160 of Utah's 58,000 elk a year, far less than the 17 percent of elk hunters harvest each year.

And Kirk Robinson of the Western Wildlife Conservancy, a member of the Wolf Working Group, wrote in prepared remarks that his organization would not support the plan adopted by the wildlife board, saying the agriculture amendments "would poison an otherwise good plan."

For now, there are no known wolves in Utah. And, at least in the near future, any that do come into the state will be managed by the federal government.

wharton@sltrib.com

Plan highlights:

* Ranchers could kill wolves on private or public land without obtaining a permit if the predators are in the act of killing or harassing livestock.

* Livestock producers would be compensated 100 percent for cases in which wolves are the possible or probable predator.

* Would meet wildlife management objectives for big game herds set by the Utah Wildlife Board.

What happens now?

* Should wolves move into Utah, they would be protected by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

* If two pairs of wolves reproduce in Utah for two years, the federal government could remove the animal from the endangered species list and allow the state to implement the plan adopted Thursday by the Wildlife Board.