Area sheriffs seek more involvement in wolf management

Sheriffs in eastern Washington want more influence over the way the state responds to wolves and cougars that prey on livestock or cause other problems and believe the state’s Fish and Wildlife Commission is making decisions based on politics and emotions instead of science.

Stevens County Sheriff Brad Manke issued a news release Friday saying they are frustrated the commission recently rejected downgrading the protected status of wolves from endangered to sensitive under state law while also reducing hunting opportunities on mountain lions and black bears.

“These decisions made by the Commission have been in direct disregard to science and their own expert biologists’ recommendations,” he said in the news release. “Since the members of the Commission are appointed by the Governor, many feel their decisions are based on politics rather than science and expert advice.”

Manke and Asotin County Sheriff John Hilderbrand organized a meeting in Ritzville on Tuesday that was attended by 16 of the 20 sheriff’s departments in eastern Washington. At it, they heard reports from cattle ranchers in the state’s northeastern corner who told them they are frustrated by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s slow response to wolf attacks on livestock. Under state law, sheriff’s can kill cougars that prey on livestock or threaten public safety but are restricted from killing wolves.

In a phone interview, Manke said ranchers, hunters and others who spend time in the mountains of eastern Washington believe wolves are thriving and have saturated the habitat. He said the animals frequently attack livestock and have degraded wild populations of elk deer and moose.

“Our producers are extremely frustrated. They are very upset. The responsiveness from the (Washington Fish and Wildlife) department hasn’t always been swift,” he said. “And it’s not just producers. It’s our outdoorsmen, our hunters. We are no longer seeing wildlife in traditional areas.”

Wolf management in the state is governed by a complicated mix of state and federal law as well as public sentiment that changes based on geography.

The animals are protected as a threatened species by the federal Endangered Species Act in the western two thirds of Washington. But federal protections were removed from wolves in the eastern third of the state many years ago.

That could make it easier for the state and others to respond when the animals attack livestock. But wolves are protected as endangered under state law across Washington and strict protocols govern when they can be killed. Public sentiment on the west side of the state generally opposes killing wolves to protect livestock and Gov. Jay Inslee has asked the Fish and Wildlife Commission to take steps to reduce lethal removals.

The Fish and Wildlife Department does kill some wolves following multiple attacks on livestocks. For example, the department killed a yearling female and adult male wolf from the Onion Creek Pack that lives in Stevens and Pend Oreille counties Thursday. The agency said in a Friday news release that it is considering a lethal response to repeated attacks on livestock by the Couse Pack in Asotin County near Anatone. (See related story.)

Manke noted that wolves are thriving in the eastern half of Washington but the state’s wolf management plan keeps them protected at high levels until the animals are well distributed across the state.

“We have met our threshold in northeastern and southeastern Washington,” he said. “I think we are recovered by something like 300% but wolves have not established themselves in the Southwest and Olympic Peninsula. Yet we are held to the same standard when we are saturated with wolves,” he said. “So it makes it harder for the department when wolves are depredating on cattle. It’s just regionally not working.”

Hilderbrand said the sheriffs would like the coalition, which includes county commissioners and livestock producers, to find a way to help ranchers.

“We are trying to find an avenue and a voice to be heard for the producers,” he said.

Manke said that means more collaboration and transparency from the department.

“Fish and Wildlife are the experts when it comes to wildlife management but law enforcement are the experts when it comes to public safety and protecting private property.”

Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2273.