Associated Press - August 12, 2009 1:04 PM ET

KETCHUM, Idaho (AP) - Wolves that are part of the Phantom Hill pack near the central Idaho resort town of Ketchum have been linked to the deaths of 12 domestic sheep and could be shot legally.

Idaho Department of Fish and Game late Tuesday afternoon authorized the killing of Phantom Hill wolves involved in the sheep deaths on Sunday.

The Defenders of Wildlife has a project in the area to limit wolf predation on local ranchers' sheep.

But Suzanne Stone, a spokeswoman for the group, says the sheep killed weren't part of herds being protected by the Wood River Wolf Project.

The Phantom Hill pack has 10 or 11 members, not counting any new pups that may have been born earlier this spring. In June, the pack's alpha male was struck and killed northwest of Ketchum on state Highway 75.

Information from: Idaho Mountain Express, http://www.mtexpress.com

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