For Immediate Release

"It is time the Forest Service realizes that this landscape needs a different approach. Wolves are subjected to a vicious cycle in which they are attracted to the region’s rich wildlife habitat, encounter cattle on problematic grazing allotments and are killed for the resulting conflicts. It is evident this large, heavily forested landscape is improperly managed. We call upon the Forest Service and all interested parties to re-evaluate these grazing allotments, so this endless killing can cease."

Quinn Read, Northwest director of Defenders of Wildlife
Seattle, WA

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced more lethal removals from the OPT wolf pack in the Kettle Range in northern Ferry County. The nine-member wolf pack (five adults and four pups) faces incremental killing – removing up to two wolves from the pack, followed by a two-week reassessment period before potentially killing more pack members. This is the fourth year in a row that the state has lethally removed wolves in this region, with two packs being eliminated entirely in the process.

Quinn Read, Northwest director for Defenders of Wildlife, issued this statement:

“It is time the Forest Service realizes that this landscape needs a different approach. Wolves are subjected to a vicious cycle in which they are attracted to the region’s rich wildlife habitat, encounter cattle on problematic grazing allotments and are killed for the resulting conflicts. It is evident this large, heavily forested landscape is improperly managed. We call upon the Forest Service and all interested parties to re-evaluate these grazing allotments, so this endless killing can cease.” 

Additional Context:
 

•    WDFW previously attempted to eliminate the entire OPT pack in November 2018 to no avail.
•    This region of the Kettle range – north of Sherman pass and south of the Boulder Highway – has been the site of repeated wolf-livestock conflicts. 
•    Unfortunately, to date there has not been the necessary response by the Forest Service to the “lessons learned” from those prior conflicts. Neither the non-lethal measures as implemented nor previous lethal removal of wolves has stopped this particular cycle of wolf-livestock conflict.
•    Since new wolf packs continually return to this landscape and reproduce, even after multiple lethal removal operations, this area is clearly highly suitable wolf habitat. Given the number of reproductive packs in northeastern Washington, and nearby populations in British Columbia and Idaho, this landscape is likely to be recolonized by new or replacement wolves on a regular basis, and is already a population source for wolves dispersing throughout the state.  
 

Defenders of Wildlife is celebrating 75 years of protecting all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With a nationwide network of nearly 2.2 million members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for generations to come. For more information, visit defenders.org/newsroom and follow us on Twitter @Defenders.

Related

Image
Gray Wolf in Yellowstone

News

Image
2023.01.05- Right Whale Swimming with Calf-FWC-CC BY NC ND 2.0
Washington, DC

Conservation Groups Continue Bid to Lift Stay in Right Whale Vessel Speed Rule Case

Conservation groups returned to federal district court Friday to further efforts to obtain a deadline for Biden administration action on a 2022 proposed expanded vessel
Image
Greater sage grouse, Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge, Wyoming
Washington, DC

Administration’s Proposed Greater Sage-Grouse Proposal Falls Short, Must be Stronger to Reverse Declines

The Biden Administration today released a draft amendment to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land use plans covering much of the land intended to protect the greater sage-grouse, an imperiled species that has experienced an 80% population decline since 1965 and faces serious challenges from prolonged habitat loss and climate change. The proposed amendment, which updates BLM’s 2015 greater sage-grouse conservation strategy, affects 69 million acres across 10 states, almost half of the greater sage-grouse’s remaining habitat.