By EMILY SCHWING
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife said it has killed six wolves in the Profanity Peak Pack. Members of that pack are blamed for at least 12 cattle kills in the northeastern part of the state.
Wolves from Montana, Idaho and Canada showed up in Washington in 2008. Since then, the majority have ranged on the east side of the Cascades.
WDFW Wolf Policy Lead Donny Martarello said removing the entire pack is unlikely to have a long term impact on the wolf population.
“We’ve seen about a 30 percent growth rate on average per year,” Martarello said. “So, the wolf population is expanding as expected and it’s expanding both numerically and geographically around the state.”
Martarello said wolves are generally resilient to periodic removal. This is the third time in nearly a decade state wildlife officials have lethally removed wolves in Washington.