It should be a time of celebration for the regional and national groups that support a comeback for wolves in the West.

A time of high-fives and maybe a victory dance.

Instead, there will be more litigation, more arguments, and more lawyers.

Since wolves were reintroduced in Idaho and Yellowstone National Park in the 1990s, and since they have moved south across the border from Canada, wolves in the region have thrived.

In Washington state, at least 216 wolves have taken up residence. Even considering the tribal hunting and removal of problem wolves, state wildlife managers project that the wolf population will continue to grow. They say the wolves are no longer in need of a spot on the state’s lists of endangered or threatened species.

In Idaho, the handful of wolves brought in from Canada during the 1990s has multiplied exponentially. More than 1,000 have now taken up residence in the state, so many that wildlife managers are clamping down to keep the population from spiraling out of control.

Other states have had similar experiences with wolves. Oregon reports more than 178 have spread from the northeastern corner as far southwest as Jackson and Klamath counties and into California.

Montana wildlife managers estimate that more than 1,000 wolves live in their state. They too have been working to keep the wolf population from getting out of control.

The reintroduction has been carried out at great expense, particularly for ranchers and farmers who raise livestock in the region. Thousands of cattle and sheep have been harassed, killed or injured — so many that some ranchers have gone out of business.

However you look at it, the wolf recovery efforts have borne fruit. Wolves are here to stay.

But wait. Wolf advocates are not ready to declare victory and go home. Though they could hang up a large “Mission Accomplished” banner and move on to some other cause, they are intent on continuing a battle they have already won.

The reason, of course, is money. They know that they can’t raise money from success. They know that to keep the cash coming in they have to continue to “fight.” In 2021, for example, the Center for Biological Diversity brought in $25.7 million in addition to receiving “legal returns and settlements” of $9.8 million, according to its tax return.

As a comparison, that’s more than the Idaho Department of Fish and Game’s entire annual wildlife budget.

That’s why they are ready to continue their fight despite the demonstrable successes of the wolves.

Last week, the Center for Biological Diversity announced that it and three other groups — the Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society Legislative Fund and the Sierra Club — plan to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over protecting wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains. Combined, they had revenue of $330.3 million in 2022, according to their tax returns.

That’s a lot of bake sales.

Remember that wolves have been so successful that Idaho and Montana wildlife managers have had to curb the wolf populations to keep them from getting out of control. And yet these four groups are leading to charge to “protect” wolves.

It is a fight that apparently has no end.