More than 1,700 wolves now wander in America's Northwest, a sign that the endangered species is recovering its numbers.

However, Oregon's cattle industry considers the revival of the species means a bad thing for ranchers.

Wildlife managers fall in the middle of the debate -- they've sent government hunters to kill two wolves because of attacks on livestock and issued permits to several ranchers, allowing them to kill wolves if they catch the animals preying on their cattle.

This is likely the beginning of a culling cycle that should keep the wolf population down in Oregon, preventing dramatic declines in livestock and Rocky Mountain elk, said Ed Bangs  of Helena, Mont., the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's gray wolf recovery coordinator.

Read more at OregonLive.com.