A nonprofit organization funded by a state grant has range-riders watching cattle where a calf was killed by wolves.
Don Jenkins
Capital Press
The season’s first confirmed wolf depredation in northeast Washington has thrust a new organization into the role of preventing the attacks from escalating.
The Northeast Washington Wolf-Cattle Collaborative has had two range-riders rotating where the Black Angus calf was killed Sunday in northern Ferry County. The riders will patrol there indefinitely, according to the collaborative.
Collaborative co-organizer Jay Shepherd said Friday that it’s unclear how many wolves are in the area. “There’s not a ton of wolf signs,” he said. “Will this be a fire or just an ember? Who knows.”
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife linked the killing of the calf to the Togo pack. The department has confirmed three depredations by the pack. The first two occurred in November.
Department policy calls for considering killing a wolf or two in a pack after four depredations, providing at least two department-approved measures were taken to head-off attacks.
The most-recent depredation won’t count as a strike against the pack because the only preventive measure was daily checks on the cattle by the rancher, according to the department. The range-riders are the second deterrence step.
The cattle are in unfenced and rugged terrain. Range-riders are likely to be more effective than flashing lights or ribbons, according to the department.
Cattle Producers of Washington President Scott Nielsen said the attack so early in the grazing season foreshadows trouble for ranchers in wolf country,
“We’ve already started. We’re setting the stage for the worst season we’ve ever had,” Nielsen said. “They (Fish and Wildlife) need to be quick and decisive if they want to stop the depredations.”
The wolf-cattle collaborative was formed by Shepherd, a former Fish and Wildlife wildlife biologist, and Arron Scotten, a Stevens County rancher and contract range-rider for Fish and Wildlife.
The collaborative received a two-year, $185,493 grant through the Washington State Department of Agriculture. The Legislature appropriated the money to prevent wolf attacks on livestock. Four individual ranches also received grants. The collaborative received a majority of the $276,000 that was rewarded.
Scotten said the collaborative is still working out its summer plans. “The plan is to be out there before there is an event,” he said.
Conservation Northwest has funded range-riders for several years. The nonprofit environmental organization raises money from foundation and members and typically spends about $80,000 on the program, spokesman Chase Gunnell said.
“We’re certainly glad to see the Northeast Washington Wolf-Cattle Collaborative grow and utilize their knowledge and local connections,” Gunnell said.