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Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Yahoo
Wolf packs up slightly, but overall numbers drop in Washington
Washington's wolf packs increased slightly in 2024 despite an overall decline in the state's wolf population, according to a report released Saturday by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). The annual Washington Gray Wolf Conservation and Management Report indicated that as of Dec. 31, 2024, there were 230 wolves in the state, down 9% from 254 wolves in 2023. The number of wolf packs rose slightly from 42 to 43, with 18 packs classified as successful breeding pairs, a decrease from 24 breeding pairs the previous year. Despite the overall population decrease, WDFW wolf specialist Ben Maletzke said the population remains stable over the long term. 'The state's wolf population grew by an average of 20% per year since the first WDFW wolf survey in 2008, until 2024,' Maletzke said. 'Despite reduced population counts statewide, the number of packs increased in the North Cascades in 2024, and both the North Cascades and Eastern Washington Recovery regions continued to meet or exceed recovery objectives for the fifth year in a row.' WDFW and partnering tribes regularly monitor wolves through tracking, aerial surveys, and camera traps. The reported count is a minimum estimate, adjusted by 12.5% to account for lone wolves or dispersing wolves, which are challenging to track individually. Wolf mortality also contributed significantly to the decrease. The report detailed 37 wolf deaths, including 19 legally harvested by tribal hunters, four euthanized due to conflicts with livestock, and seven confirmed illegal killings. One of the illegal incidents has been referred to prosecutors. 'Poaching wolves is unacceptable,' WDFW Director Kelly Susewind said. 'In Washington, illegally killing a wolf or other endangered species is a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to a $5,000 fine and one year in jail.' The report highlighted concerns in the Southern Cascades and Northwest Coast region, which failed to meet its recovery objectives, largely due to illegal wolf killings. Three of the four wolves known to inhabit that region were killed unlawfully, while the fourth has not been spotted in over a year. To meet statewide recovery goals, the region needs at least four successful breeding pairs. Elsewhere, the Eastern recovery region documented 31 packs, with 13 considered successful breeding pairs, while the North Cascades had 12 packs and five successful breeding pairs. The report also noted the formation of three new packs: Teanaway and Naneum packs in Kittitas County, and Reed pack in Okanogan County. Additionally, 15 collared wolves dispersed within the state, while seven wolves moved out of Washington. Wolf-livestock conflicts were also documented, with 40 incidents recorded. Seventeen cattle and one domestic dog were confirmed killed by wolves, and another two calves were likely killed. Additionally, 26 cattle were confirmed injured, and another 10 were likely injured by wolves. However, 77% of packs were not involved in livestock incidents, despite many packs living near livestock areas. WDFW worked closely with livestock producers throughout 2024 to employ non-lethal methods to reduce wolf-livestock conflict. An error in the 2023 wolf count was also corrected in the new report. Five wolves from the Strawberry pack, primarily located on Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation lands, had been mistakenly counted. Adjusting for this error reduced the 2023 wolf count from 260 to 254.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Washington wolf population declines slightly for first time in 16 years
Apr. 6—Washington's wolf numbers shrank slightly last year for the first time in 16 years. The Department of Fish and Wildlife's 2024 Wolf Conservation and Management Report put the year-end minimum count for 2024 at 230 wolves, a roughly 9% drop from 2023. The number of successful breeding pairs also dropped. That breaks a longstanding trend of annual growth in the population. The number of breeding pairs across the state also dropped from 24 to to 18. Ben Maletzke, WDFW's statewide wolf specialist, presented the report to the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission on Saturday. He said the 37 wolf deaths the agency documented last year wasn't significantly higher than recent years, but that the seven illegally killed wolves are concerning. Some of those killings took place in the southern portion of the Cascade Range, a place where just a handful of wolves have been documented in recent years. In this year's report, biologists did not find any wolves in that part of the range. "The wolves we've known about have all been unlawfully harvested in the south Cascades," Maletzke said. Gray wolves were first rediscovered in Washington in 2008 after being virtually nonexistent for decades. Since resurfacing, the population has enjoyed high growth rates, averaging about 20% a year. The high mark last year was a minimum count of 254, which WDFW amended down from 260 this week due to a counting error. Washington's wolves are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act in the western two-thirds of the state. They are delisted in the eastern third, but still protected as endangered under state law. WDFW staff recommended the commission last year to reduce state-level protections for the wolves but commissioners declined to reduce protections. The decision irked livestock producers and local law enforcement officials in northeastern Washington who feel there are too many wolves. Some wolf advocates see the report released Saturday as a sign that the commission made the right call. Francisco Santiago-Avila, the science and advocacy director for Washington Wildlife First, said in a statement that the report "underscores the continued fragility of Washington's wolf population and the persistent challenges we face in reaching state recovery goals." Despite the overall decline this year, WDFW recorded an increase in the number of wolf packs, from 42 to 43. That's the product of the dissolution of two packs in the eastern part of the state and the addition of three in the North Cascades. Maletzke said that shows that the population in the eastern region — including both the Blue Mountains and the northeastern corner — is starting to stabilize a bit and that the North Cascades population is on the rise. "It's promising that we're seeing that growth in the North Cascades," he said. The bulk of the population is still in the northeast, however. It was an especially busy year for wolf-livestock conflict. A total of 55 cattle were either injured or killed by wolves, as was one domestic dog. Maletzke said those incidents involved at most 10 of the 43 wolfpacks, meaning 77% of the state's wolves had no run-ins with livestock. WDFW killed four wolves from two packs in response to repeated cattle attacks. Idaho estimated its wolf population at about 1,150 in 2023, according to the state Department of Fish and Game.
