Stevens County commissioner Tony Delgado looks on during Saturday’s public meeting near the head of a wolf he hunted and killed in 1965.
 

Cattle rancher forum draws big crowd with
concerns about wolves in Stevens County

BY SOPHIA ALDOUS
S-E Staff Reporter

    A sizable crowd took up resi¬dence for over three hours at the Ag. Trade Center in Colville last Saturday afternoon for a meeting that ad¬dressed the issue of Washington’s wolf management plan, a plan that has not yet been released, much less put into effect.
    A questions and comment session from the audience followed the meeting, with some attendees voicing opinions on wolves that ran from hostile and fearful to understanding.
    The forum was sponsored by Stevens County Cattle¬men’s Association and featured a panel of ranchers, outfitters, wolf specialists, and wildlife biologists from other states, as well as Stevens County Commissioner Tony Delgado.
    “Wolf control is absolutely necessary for ranching to succeed,” said Delgado, who brought along the stuffed head of a wolf he had bagged near Quebec in 1965. “The Endangered Species Act is the worst and most powerful law in the world. It started as a good thing, then it was abused, and this issue is a good example of that.”
    The issue at hand is the fed¬eral government’s impending delisting of the gray wolf as an endangered species.
    According to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the gray wolf is an endangered species in Wash¬ington under both state and federal law.
    Historically, wolves were found throughout most or all of the state. They were exterminated from Wash¬ington by the 1930s, with the exception of a few individuals that have dispersed periodically into the state for brief periods since then.
    The WDFW has said increased dispersal of wolves into Washington is ex¬pected as a result of the re-establishment of wolf popula¬tions in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming through ongoing wolf recovery programs.
    As wolves in these states con¬tinue to increase in numbers and expand their range, wolf biologists predict they will disperse into Washington from neighboring states and establish breeding populations.

No dog has the strength a wolf possesses…

    In response to the antici¬pated dispersal of wolves into Washington and eventual return to state management, the WDFW be¬gan development of a conser¬vation and management plan for the species in 2006.
    Stevens County Commis¬sioners have already sug¬gested the state should pay $2 million to cover possible losses of the county’s hunting industry and livestock due to the possible wolf impact.
    “No dog has the strength a wolf possesses,” Delgado said. “A lone wolf is no match for a cougar or bear, but as a pack, they are efficient killing ma¬chines. We must take action in how this will affect the lives of ranchers and cattlemen, as well as the tourist economy in our area.”
    The committee in charge of constructing Washington’s plan has discussed compen¬sation for loss of livestock, but so far nothing has come up for compensating counties for loss of hunting revenue.
    Washington’s wolf plan will be released to the public this summer, after scientific re¬view.
    Though the WDFW stated that there are no plans to reintro¬duce wolves into Washington, the wolves are finding their own way there from other states and Canada, which does little in the way of mitigating wolf and human interactions.
    “Wolves are destroying our hunting and our western way of life,” said Pete Ellsworth, President of Concerned Sportsman of Idaho and Back Country Houndsmen. “If you don’t believe me, go hunting with me in the Clearwater re¬gion.”
    Jack Field, Executive Vice President for the Washington Cattlemen’s Association, dis¬cussed the subject of compen¬sation for cattle and livestock killed by wolves, and encour¬aged concerned citizens to contact state legislators.
    “Right now, it won’t be an is¬sue for lawmakers unless enough of us get involved and bring it to their attention,” stated Fields. “It may seem like a struggle right now, and I don’t think it will be easy, but I think if we try, we can get the people in Olympia to hear us.”
    Also present at the meeting was Rick Wil¬liamson, an Idaho Wolf Man¬agement Specialist, who gave a presentation to the audience on what to do if they did come across livestock that was killed by wolves, and clues to identify whether or not it was a wolf depredation, or some other predator.

Not here to paint the wolf as the big, bad dog on the street”

    “A verified wolf kill means that the death of an animal was investigated by an agency independent of livestock pro¬ducers and confirmed as killed by a wolf,” explained Williamson.
    Williamson also said that those suspecting that a wolf has killed their livestock or pets should contact the USDA Wildlife Services, United States Fish and Wildlife Serv¬ices, or the Washington De¬partment of Fish and Wildlife.
    While waiting for the appro¬priate agencies to arrive, the individual(s) should cover the animal carcass with a tarp and discourage other people and animals from the area to protect evidence. If possible, use cans or other objects to cover animal footprints and scat, so the scene will remain intact.
    “I’m not here to paint the wolf as the big, bad dog on the street, just to show you what we go through when we are out to determine whether or not a wolf has caused the damage,” said Williamson.