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Public comment continues for Washington's draft wolf conservation plan

Give Washington's Wolves a Chance to Recover

Pend Oreille pups on remote camera, photo by WA DNR

This comment period has now closed. The agency received thousands of comments for wolves, thanks to you! The next step will be production of a final plan, with another opportunity for public comment, and we'll let you know when next to act.

For the last two years, Conservation Northwest has been part of a working group tackling creation of a plan for returning wolves. A draft wolf conservation and management plan is now ready for public comment.

Now that wolves have started showing up—we have two confirmed packs in the state, one in the Methow and one in Pend Oreille County, north of Spokane—we want to make sure Washington's plan is visionary, pragmatic, and strong enough to conserve and manage wolves in a balanced way that will ease the transition for everyone (including the wolves!).

The current draft plan is on the right track but there are some key improvements that are needed to ensure that wolves are given the chance to recover to a point that their numbers are stable and the populations are healthy enough to effectively play their role as top predators in Washington's ecosystems. Specifically, some scientists have indicated that the number of breeding pairs in the plan to trigger a delisting might be too low to sustain a population of wolves in Washington. At the same time, the Department has included new liberal, lethal take provisions during the endangered and threatened phases of recovery, allowing livestock producers to kill endangered wolves.

By January 8, please send a letter for wolves below. Your letter will be sent to the Department of Fish and Wildlife, SEPAdesk2@dfw.wa.gov, and cc:ed to the Washington Fish and Wildlife commissioners. Thanks for commenting!

Talking points that make a difference

Read a Wenatchee World editorial on wolves

May 24, 2013

Subject:

Dear Department of Fish and Wildlife,

As a citizen of Washington, I value wolves and their positive effect on ecosystems. My family and I wish to see their recovery to our state's wildlife and habitat.

The draft wolf conservation and management plan now before you needs to be strengthened to ensure that wolves are given the chance to recover to a point that their numbers are stable and the populations are healthy enough to effectively play their role as top predators in Washington's ecosystems.

To ensure recovery of wolves, I urge you to further strengthen the working group's plan:

* Increase the number of established breeding pairs before a delisting is proposed, or provide a stronger evaluation of the state's habitat connectivity to other regions and details on how connectivity will be improved over time. A significant number of scientific reviewers believe that the department's numbers for delisting were low, especially since the plan relies on natural migration from areas outside the state for recovery.

* Provide separate population recovery objectives for the Pacific Coast where high quality wolf habitat and increased public support justify it having its own recovery objectives.

* Eliminate the "caught in the act" killing provision for livestock owners at the endangered and threatened phases of recovery. Given the history of poaching in this state and the high potential for misuse, this provision could seriously hamper recovery efforts. Investing in non-lethal deterrent methods and providing livestock owners with a fair compensation package are more effective approaches at the early stages of wolf recovery.

* Support the translocation of wolves as a strategy to speeding recovery by establishing implementation mechanisms and providing a funding schedule in the plan.

Thank you making sure Washington state's plan is visionary, pragmatic, and strong enough to conserve and manage wolves in a balanced way that will ease the transition for everyone, including the wolves.

Sincerely,

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Public comment continues for Washington's draft wolf conservation plan

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