POSTED BY: KEVIN ROUNCE
How do wolves impact the eco-system around them in Washington? That’s the focus of a new research study by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the University of Washington.
WDFW Chief Wildlife Scientist John Pierce says they want as complete a look as possible.
“Part of the design of this study is taking advantage of having a range of densities and wolf occupancies in the landscape. We can compare highly dense areas versus lowly dense areas.”
Right now, most wolf packs are located in the Northeastern part of the state, but there are some that have begun to appear in Okanogan County as well as the eastern slopes of the Cascades.
Pierce says the five-year study will help guide their wolf recovery efforts going forward.
“There’s questions and concerns about whether or not their presence on the landscapes, how the prey population is handling that and/or how other carnivores, other predators are handling that.”
Pierce says there will updates for the public throughout the process.