Every year, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) produces an annual report documenting the status of wolf management in the state over the previous year.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) wrote to the WDFW in late September, requesting changes be made to the gray wolf recovery plan to further increase the use of non-lethal methods.
“I understand that conflicts between wolves and livestock do occur, especially as the state’s wolf population continues to grow,” Inslee wrote.
He further continued later in his letter, “I share the public’s concern and am troubled that the Wolf Plan does not appear to be working as intended in the [Kettle River Range in Kerry County] in Northeastern Washington. I believe we cannot continue using the same management approach on this particular landscape.
“I believe we cannot continue using the same management approach on this particular landscape.”
WDFW Director Kelly Susewind returned the governor’s letter in late November, saying three key processes were underway related to his request:
• The department’s Wolf Advisory Group (WAG) is working on a plan for the use of non-lethal tools tailored to livestock operations, and hopes to complete the protocol by late January;
• WDFW and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) are working with livestock producers on public forest lands to utilize range riders and other non-lethal tools along the Kettle Range; and
• WDFW met with USFS staff and livestock producers in preparation for the 2020 grazing season.
Susewind said in a letter this spring an implementation plan will be formed for proactive, non-lethal deterrence of wolf-livestock conflict in the Kettle Range. A final report will be prepared by May 1, 2020.
“[W]e are already working on wolf post-recovery planning.”
WAG has met twice since Inslee’s letter was received, the most recent being the second week of January. At the meeting, attendees discussed collared wolves, the USFS’s role in wolf recovery, the fact that the majority of wolf packs are not having negative conflicts with livestock, whether translocating wolves to other areas of the state is on the table, and the importance of range riders on the landscape.
WDFW representative Staci Lehman told WLJ cattle will go back onto grazing allotments in May, but the department would like to see fewer wolf and cattle deaths.
Regarding the ultimate question of “Will wolves be delisted as endangered in Washington?” Lehman said, “We’re not sure at this time but suspect it could be within the next few years. As a result, we are already working on wolf post-recovery planning.” — Anna Miller, WLJ editor
