HELENA, Mont. — A federal judge reinstated protections for wolves in Montana and Idaho, saying the government made a political decision in removing the protections from just two of the states where Northern Rocky Mountain wolves roam.

The decision halts wolf hunts in Montana and Idaho this fall. Montana wildlife regulators last month set the wolf-hunt quota at 186, more than doubling last year's number, with the aim of reducing the state's wolf population.

U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy in Missoula said in his ruling that the entire region's wolf population either must be listed as an endangered species or removed from the list, but the protections for the same wolves can't be different for each state.

Last year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service turned over wolf management to Montana and Idaho wildlife officials but left federal endangered species protections in place for wolves in Wyoming. There, legislators have approved a plan classifying wolves in most areas of the state outside the vicinity of Yellowstone National Park as predators that could be shot on site.

Molloy sided with the wildlife advocates who sued the federal government, ruling that Endangered Species Act does not allow the Fish and Wildlife Service to list only part of a species as endangered, and the federal agency must protect the entire Northern Rocky Mountain wolf population.

"The rule delisting the grey wolf must be set aside because, though it may be a pragmatic solution to a difficult biological issue, it is not a legal one," Molloy wrote.

Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Tom Strickland said the ruling means that the federal protections will be in place for all three states until Wyoming brings its wolf management program into alignment with Idaho's and Montana's

"Since wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains are now again subject to ESA protection, in the days ahead we will work closely with Idaho and Montana to explore all appropriate options for managing wolves in those states," Strickland said in a statement.

Gray wolves were listed as endangered in 1974, but following a reintroduction program in the mid-1990s, there are now more than 1,700 in the Northern Rockies, which includes all of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, along with portions of Washington, Oregon and Utah.

Defenders of Wildlife, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition and other wildlife advocates sued the federal government after the Fish and Wildlife Service decision in April 2009. They argued that the government's decision would have set a precedent allowing the government to arbitrarily choose which animals should be protected and where.

Doug Honnold, an attorney for EarthJustice representing the plaintiffs, said he was gratified by the ruling.

"For today, we are celebrating that the approach we thought was flatly illegal has been rejected. The troubling consequences for the Endangered Species Act have been averted and the wolf hunts are blocked," Honnold said.

Environmentalists don't want wolves on the endangered species list forever, but they do want a solid plan in place, said Suzanne Stone, Northern Rockies representative for Defenders of Wildlife. The government's plan was poorly devised and would have allowed too many wolves to be killed, she said.

"We need a good wolf management and delisting that allows for a healthy interconnected wolf population," Stone said.

Meanwhile, state wildlife officials in Montana and Idaho were reviewing the ruling. State officials said they were considering their options, including an appeal.

The increase in the wolf population brought livestock losses for ranchers and competition for hunters for big game, such as elk. Molloy's decision means ranchers in northwestern Montana will no longer be able to haze, harass or kill wolves that prey on their livestock.

At the end of 2009, there were at least 843 wolves in Idaho, 524 in Montana and 320 in Wyoming, with more in parts of Oregon and Washington state.