State’s wolf success means everybody has to work harder

Wolf recovery in Washington state — a blessing to many, a curse to others — continues on an upward trajectory, despite the controversial killing of seven wolves caught preying on livestock in the northeast corner of the state last fall.

State wildlife biologists said Friday that the latest wolf survey confirms at least 51 wolves in nine packs with five successful breeding pairs, compared with last year’s 27 wolves, five packs and three breeding pairs.

Flash back to five years ago: The state was believed to have no wolves, which were extirpated some 75 years ago by hunters and ranchers.

Given the elusiveness of wolves and the imprecision of the survey, there could be as many as 100 wolves in the state, reproducing and slipping in from Canada and neighboring states.

Two of the wolves found in the annual survey live in the area that was home to the so-called Wedge Pack, named after the wedge-shaped part of northwestern Stevens County on the Canada border between the Kettle and Columbia rivers. It’s not known if the wolves are pack survivors of the 2012 killings or newcomers from another region.

Regardless, the growing population and execution of the Wedge Pack have spawned at least 10 wolf-related bills in the 2013 Legislature.

Some help to address the conflict between wolves and ranchers. Others are not much more than litter along the road to responsible wolf management and conservation in this state.

One measure which should be dead on arrival is Senate Bill 5188, sponsored by Sen. John Smith, R-Colville. It would give county governments — think county commissioners — authority to have the sheriff or some other county agent kill wolves without approval from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife if there have been two or more livestock attacks or a pattern of predation, or county officials decide DFW officers aren’t doing enough to diffuse a wolf-livestock conflict.

The bill flies in the face of the state’s Wolf Conservation and Management Plan adopted by the state Fish and Wildlife Commission in late 2011. Life and death wolf management decisions belong in the hands of wildlife biologists and managers grounded in science, not elected county officials.

Another bad idea is House Bill 1258, written by Rep. Joel Kretz, R-Wauconda, who had his tongue firmly lodged against his cheek when he wrote it. He wants to ship some of the wolves in his neck of the woods to Western Washington. Relocation sites mentioned in his bill include Puget Sound islands larger than 50 square miles — the bare bones amount of habitat required for a single gray wolf — and the Olympic Peninsula.

Granted, the state’s long-range wolf strategy is to establish 15 breeding pairs in suitable habitat throughout the state, including the Olympic Peninsula. But in due time and only after thoughtful consideration.

Some of the wolf legislation is well-intentioned. Senate Bill 5300 requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife to enter into cooperative agreements with livestock owners to help reduce wolf predation.

The state already has 16 such agreements with ranchers in place and has hired a wildlife-conflict manager to keep working with ranchers. State wildlife managers will be in Northeast Washington this month for three public meetings to work with livestock owners who desire direct technical assistance.

Some common-sense preventative measures to keep wolves and vulnerable young livestock separated include fencing, range riders to haze wolves away from livestock, and protected areas for calving and lambing.

Orcas Island Democratic Sen. Kevin Ranker’s SB 5300 also says livestock owners must have a cooperative agreement in place with Fish and Wildlife to qualify for compensation, if they lose livestock grazing on state-managed public lands. Some argue all compensation — and retribution against wolves — should be off the table when livestock is attacked on public land.

Another well-intentioned bill is Ranker’s Senate Bill 5299, which creates a “wolf license plate” to help fund wolf recovery and conflict prevention.

Folks who want to learn a little more about wolves can view a modest wolf exhibit on display weekdays through April 12 at the State Library, 6880 Capitol Blvd. SE, Tumwater.

The exhibit has been on the road since October 2011, on loan from the Burke Museum of National History and Culture at the University of Washington. It’s headed to Twisp after it leaves Tumwater.

The exhibit includes a wolf paw print that dwarfs that of a coyote and a fox. Also featured is the skull of a wolf, replete with incisors and canine teeth built for grasping and stabbing, and jaws twice as powerful as a German shepherd’s.

For a more in-depth wolf experience and education, visit Wolf Haven International, the wolf sanctuary near Tenino.

The sanctuary is closed to the public in February to allow undisturbed breeding activity for pairs of endangered red wolves and Mexican gray wolves, but it will reopen to the public on weekends in March, then Wednesday through Monday from April 1 to Sept. 30. For more information on Wolf Haven, go to wolfhaven.org.

As the state wolf population expands, so will the challenge of wolves and humans co-existing. We can do better. We must do better to avoid another Wedge Pack calamity.