Asked to react to the decision to remove wolves from the federal government's endangered species list, Idaho Gov. Butch Otter offered up a howl.

Judging it on aesthetics, it was a short and not terribly rousing howl. But when was the last time a Western Republican governor howled in approval of any natural resource policy from a Democratic White House?

Times could be changing from the Sagebrush Rebellion, which took root after the Carter years, and the oft-repeated "War on the West" rhetoric from the Clinton years.

The "delisting" decision, affecting burgeoning wolf populations in Idaho and Montana, won't go over well with environmental groups, especially on the national level. A lawsuit is inevitable. But this decision is biologically sound — and, politically, it was a no-brainer.

With Rocky Mountain wolf populations estimated at 1,600, the need for federal protection has long passed. By turning over wolf management to the states, the Obama White House provides some political cover to some Western Democrats.

Some, but not all. The Montana delisting can only help Democratic governor Brian Schweitzer. But the delisting decision specifically excluded Wyoming, where Democratic Gov. Dave Freudenthal and the Legislature have failed to come up with a reasonable plan for maintaining wolf numbers.

Delisting also represents a shrewd overture to skeptical Western Republicans such as Otter. Once he stopped howling, Otter was effusive in his praise for Interior Secretary Ken Salazar's decision. "I'm grateful for the secretary's confidence," Otter said at an Idaho Press Club breakfast. "This is really a success story for Idaho."

Whither the war on the West? For one day, peace breaks out.

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