Delisting of wolves will not affect Methow pack

The Methow Valley’s Lookout Mountain gray wolf pack – or whatever is left of it – will not be affected by legislation passed by Congress last week removing wolves in several western states from the list of federal endangered species. 

The legislation, attached as an unrelated rider to the federal budget bill, requires federal wildlife managers to remove wolves from the list of species protected under the Endangered Species Act in all of Montana and Idaho, and in portions of Washington, Oregon and Utah.

In Washington, wolves in the eastern third of the state, specifically east of the Okanogan River, will no longer have federal endangered species protection, said Mitch Friedman, executive director of Conservation Northwest, which monitors wolves in the state. 

The rider, attached by legislators from Montana and Idaho, applies to a “distinct population segment” of northern Rocky Mountain wolves identified under the Endangered Species Act, Friedman said. The boundary for that wolf population is the Okanogan River, which means the Lookout Mountain pack – the only identified pack west of the river – is still on the list of federally protected species.

Two wolf packs in Pend Oreille County – known as the Diamond Pack and the Salmo Pack – are no longer protected by federal law. However, they are still listed and protected as an endangered species under state law, Friedman said.

“If somebody shot a wolf in Pend Oreille County they would be prosecuted by the state” but would not face federal charges, he said.

The population of the Lookout Mountain Pack, estimated to be as high as 10 wolves in 2008, has dwindled to about two or three animals, according to wildlife biologists who have monitored the pack since it was discovered three years ago. State and federal investigations of three apparent poachings are underway, and biologists say additional wolves from the pack may have been killed by poachers. 

The Congressional action stripping wolves of federal protection is seen as a dangerous precedent by conservation groups. 

“Congress has never taken a specific action on any listed species… not even the spotted owl,” said Friedman. “That’s where this is unprecedented and dangerous.”

Friedman said states have been required to have a management plan in place before a species is removed from the federal endangered species list, but the legislation attached to the budget bill sidesteps that requirement. 

Washington has been working on developing a wolf management plan since 2006. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is currently reviewing public and peer review comments to the draft management plan obtained over the past two years, and has scheduled meetings on June 8 and 9 with the 17-member Wolf Working Group in Ellensburg to review that information. According to a department timeline, a final management plan is expected to be developed by August for submission to the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission, with a decision scheduled by the end of the year. 

“It’s important to move forward and have a management plan that protects the wolves, property and all community interests,” Friedman said.

The federal delisting rider was attached by Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho. Friedman said the removal of protection for wolves is based on politics, not science.

“There is a contested Senate race in Montana. Wolves have become controversial,” Friedman said. 

Oregon, Idaho and Montana have developed wolf management plans. Friedman said the wolf population in Montana is strong enough to warrant removal from federal protection. “Wolves should be delisted in Montana. They’ve met the recovery goals.”