Olympic Peninsula wolves could be part of management plan
Future wolf populations on the Olympic Peninsula could be part of a plan to recover the species approved by a state commission.
(Olympia) -- Future wolf populations on the Olympic Peninsula could be part of a plan to recover the species approved by a state commission.
The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission on Saturday approved a proposed gray wolf management plan.
State officials have been working since 2007 to determine how best to recover wolves in their historic territory and ultimately delist them from endangered species protections.
Under the state's plan, 15 successful breeding pairs would be required for three consecutive years to remove endangered species protections. Four breeding pairs would be required in our region of the state. Similar pairs would also need to be found in eastern Washington, parts of the Cascades. Three other pairs would have to be found in any other part of the state.
Members of the commission called the plan a good compromise that will keep wolf management in the hands of state officials, instead of the federal government.
But ranchers and some native American tribes are against it. Ranchers fear for livestock losses. The tribes are concerned the wolves could thin deer and elk herds they hunt for subsistence living.
Gray wolves were eliminated as a breeding species in Washington by the 1930s.
