The Alaska Department of Fish and Game will permit 11 wolves to be hunted this fall and winter on Prince of Wales Island and surrounding islands.

The quota was announced Thursday.

The hunting of POW wolves has been a contentious topic in recent years, as population declines have led some conservationists to call for an end to all wolf hunting in the region.

In 1996, the legal quota was 132 animals, a figure based each year on population estimates.

Last year, the wolf hunt was shut down in December after nine were killed.

By email, the U.S. Forest Service — which regulates the hunt in conjunction with ADF&G — said biologists now estimate there are 108 wolves in Game Management Unit 2, which encompasses POW and surrounding islands. That’s up from 89 wolves in the previous estimate and “(indicates) that the number of wolves in GMU 2 is no longer declining and may have increased,” a Forest Service representative wrote in an email.