Don Jenkins
Capital Press
Washington wildlife managers are hunting for the remaining members of the Profanity Peak wolf pack in rugged timberlands and will have a difficult time removing them, according to state Department of Fish and Wildlife wolf policy coordinator Donny Martorello.
WDFW has killed six wolves in the pack since Aug. 5, but none since Aug. 22, Martorello said in a Sept. 16 email.
It was the department’s first update on the lethal removal of the pack in the Colville National Forest since Sept. 2.
The pack has at least two adults remaining and may have up to four pups. Pups have a high natural mortality rate during their first year, according to Martorello.
WDFW investigators have confirmed the pack has killed or injured eight cattle since July 8. In another five cases, the pack probably attacked cattle, but investigators were unable to positively identify wolves as the predators. WDFW most recently confirmed a depredation on Aug. 31.
The U.S. Forest Service and a rancher report that they are seeing livestock behavior that suggests cattle are being harassed by wolves, Martorello said.
WDFW policy calls for the department to shoot wolves after four depredations and if non-lethal preventive measures employed by ranchers have failed.
Initially, the pack was believed to have six adults and five pups. The pack actually had seven adults, according to Martorello. One pup has been killed.
“The department is continuing to monitor the situation. The wolf removal action is ongoing, but we recognize full pack removal will be extremely challenging, given the rugged and heavily timbered landscape in the area and the wolves’ extensive range,” Martorello wrote.
This is the third time Washington has shot wolves since the animals crossed over from Idaho. Wildlife managers shot seven wolves in 2012 and one in 2014. All the shootings have occurred in northeastern Washington, where most of the state’s wolves are concentrated.
Some environmental groups have expressed outrage over plans to remove the entire pack and are calling for changes in WDFW’s policy.
WDFW adopted the policy this year after meeting for more than a year with an advisory group that includes ranchers, hunters, animal-rights advocates and environmentalists.