WDFW: One more kill will put Dirty Shirt wolves at risk
If a northeast Washington wolf pack kills anymore livestock, state wildlife managers will offer ranchers a permit to shoot two wolves, according to the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s wolf policy coordinator, Donny Martorello.
The permit to kill would be limited to the producer’s family and employees, who would not be allowed to hunt or bait wolves. The wolves would have to be seen near the cows. WDFW staff working with the producer also could shoot if they encounter wolves.
Martorello outlined the permit’s conditions in an email Tuesday to WDFW’s wolf advisory group.
The Dirty Shirt pack, which has at least six members, killed three adult cows and a calf grazing on U.S. Forest Service land between July 5 and 10 in Stevens County, according to WDFW. There are two ranchers with cattle grazing in the area.
The Stevens County Cattlemen’s Association has called for WDFW to lethally remove wolves in response to the depredations.
Washington Cattlemen’s Association Executive Vice President Jack Field, a member of the wolf advisory group, said Wednesday that some ranchers may accept a permit to kill, but others may be wary of drawing unwanted attention from wolf advocates.
“It’s certainly a tool, but it puts the requirement right on the back of the producer,” he said. “It shouldn’t be the responsibility of the livestock producer to manage problem wolves.
“It’s just a tough, tough situation and at the end of the day, the Department of Fish and Wildlife is the responsible party,” Field said. “Let’s have the professionals come in and do this.”
It’s unclear what WDFW will do if depredations continue and producers decline a permit to take matters into their own hands. Efforts to reach Martorello for further comment were unsuccessful.
Defenders of Wildlife’s Northwest director, Shawn Cantrell, who’s also on the wolf advisory group, said WDFW should continue to seek out non-lethal means to prevent depredations. “We’re really pleased with the approach the department has taken,” he said.
Cantrell said that if another depredation occurs, he hopes the WDFW will pause to consider whether other non-lethal measures can be tried before following through on offering a permit to shoot wolves.
The Dirty Shirt pack has one of the state’s few known breeding pairs, Cantrell noted. “For us, that’s a compelling reason to say, ‘OK, let’s make sure we have exhausted all the options,’” he said.
In his email, Martorello said WDFW was continuing to help producers protect livestock with range riders.
WDFW describes the ground as rugged, with steep canyons, brushy draws and forested areas.
The next step described by Martorello falls short of measures WDFW eventually took in 2012 and 2014 to stop other packs in Stevens County from attacking cattle and sheep.
Most recently, WDFW contracted last September with the USDA Wildlife Services to shoot a wolf in the Huckleberry pack.
The Dirty Shirt pack roams in the eastern one-third of Washington, where wolves are not a federally endangered species. The wolves are a state-protected species, but the state’s wolf plan allows for shooting wolves when non-lethal measures fail to stop depredations.
Elsewhere in the state, a yearling Angus killed by wolves was found dead July 16 in Central Washington, where wolves are protected by the federal Endangered Species Act.
Wolves there are not candidates for lethal removal, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The Angus was in a herd grazing on Washington Department of Natural Resources land in Kittitas County. Conservation Northwest was helping fund a range rider hired by the rancher. The organization issued a statement saying its range-rider program has been successful over the past three years.
“Yet, we always knew a time would come when no matter how much non-lethal work was done by ranchers, a depredation would occur,” Conservation Northwest’s range rider manager Jay Kehne said in a written statement. “Now is the time to stay the course, and continue on with good non-lethal work already going on in the Teanaway pack territory by some excellent herd supervisors and the rancher involved.”
WDFW: One more kill will put Dirty Shirt wolves at risk – Washington – Capital Press.