BILLINGS, Mont. - A federal judge in Montana has rejected a request by the government to delay a lawsuit seeking to place the gray wolf back on the endangered species list, saying he's "unwilling to risk more deaths."

At least 39 of the Northern Rockies' 1,500 gray wolves have been killed since they lost federal protection in March. That action placed wolves under the authority of state wildlife agencies in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana.

The three states have relaxed rules for killings wolves that harass or harm livestock. In Wyoming, 15 wolves have been killed in parts of the state where they receive no protection. The three states are also planning public hunts later this year - the first in decades.

Environmental and animal rights groups sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last week, claiming the loss of federal protection threatens the wolf's successful recovery. They also asked for a court injunction to restore federal control over wolves while the case is pending.

In rejecting the agency's request for a two-week extension in the case, U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy set a hearing for May 29 in Missoula.

"The court is unwilling to risk more deaths by delaying its decision on plaintiffs' motion for preliminary injunction," Molloy wrote in Wednesday's court order.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had argued that even if the wolves were still on the endangered list, many would have still been killed by government wildlife agents responding to livestock attacks. Molloy wrote that assertion was "neither compelling nor comforting."

Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Sharon Rose said the agency would have preferred more time, but will be prepared to argue the case on May 29. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service oversaw wolf recovery efforts over the last two decades.

The environmentalists' attorney, Doug Honnold with Earthjustice, declined to comment on Molloy's order, saying it spoke for itself.

Wyoming, Idaho and Montana this week filed papers seeking to participate in the case. The judge hasn't ruled on those requests.

Asked about the judge's apparent concern over wolf killings, Wyoming Game and Fish Department spokesman Eric Keszler said: �From our perspective, obviously we don�t think the wolf populations either in Wyoming or the Rocky Mountains are in any�danger. We've got five times as many wolves as were called for in the original recovery plan, and the population has an annual growth rate of about 24 percent per year.

In Wyoming's case, 90 percent of our wolves are in the trophy game area where we have controls in place to limit mortality," he said.

* Last we knew: Environmental and animal rights groups are suing to reinstate federal protection for wolves.

* The latest: The judge in the case rejected a request by the federal government to delay the lawsuit, citing recent wolf killings.

* What's next: The judge is expected to hear arguments on May 29 in Missoula, Mont.]]->