State's first purebred wolf pack since 1930s found in Methow Valley

TWISP - It's official. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife tested DNA from a male and a lactating female wolf captured near Twisp last week, and both are confirmed purebred wolves.

The two are part of the first wolf pack known to make their home in Washington state since the large canines were eradicated throughout the state in the 1930s.

State officials were not available after releasing the news in a press release just before 5 p.m. Wednesday. The release indicates that the pack includes both adults and puppies, which were photographed by remote camera by Conservation Northwest, a group helping to document the canine's return.

Wolves are considered endangered throughout the state, regaining that status in the eastern third of the state after a U.S. District Court Judge overturned a federal action removing them from the endangered species list.

In the Methow Valley, residents have reported seeing and hearing the wild critters for the past few years. But this is the first evidence that an actual pack of wolves lives in the Methow Valley. Local residents say they believe there's another pack living several miles up the Twisp River Road.

Wildlife officials this month went to the woods and got multiple responses to howling, indicating a pack is living in the area. Last week, they collared a male and female, and took hair samples to test DNA to make sure the wolves are purebreds.

"They've come back," said Jasmine Minbashian, special projects director for Conservation Northwest, a statewide organization dedicated to protecting old-growth forests and other wild areas in Washington. "I'm just so thrilled that I was alive to see this day. I didn't know when or if the wolves would ever come back to the Cascades," she added.

The group sent volunteers to help determine whether wolves are living in the area, and set up remote cameras which took pictures of six pups last week.

Minbashian said wolves are a missing link to a healthy environment, and have brought back riparian areas to stream sides in areas where they've repopulated. "That's the exciting part, to watch and see how the ecosystem is going to benefit with having wolves back, as we've seen in Yellowstone and Alberta."

Some aren't so ecstatic.

"I'm not all that excited about it. I'd rather they were in somebody else's back yard," said Bill White, a Twisp cattleman whose ranch is near the Lookout Pack. "The government paid people to kill them off years ago, but they've lost sight of that," he said.

White, who is also a wildlife biologist, said the biggest impact will be to cattlemen with stock out on the range.

"Looks like I'm going to be the first guy to make sacrifices," he said.

White acknowledged that other areas have compensation programs that pay ranchers for stock lost to wolves, but he said he's checked into those, and found ranchers rarely qualify because they need proof that their animal was killed by a wolf. That's hard to do when the cattle are out on the range all summer, and aren't counted until the herd comes back to the ranch in the fall.

"It's a slim chance of ever getting compensated," he said.

Crystal Perrow, member of the Methow Valley Backcountry Horsemen, said her group isn't too concerned about the wolves, although they do spend time in the backcountry, and a horse would be hard-pressed to defend itself against a wolf pack.

But generally, wolves are pretty wary of people, so backcountry riders don't have the same worries as ranchers, she said.

"I would think the people who should be more concerned are those who raise livestock - calves, sheep, goats. They're pretty hard on those guys," Perrow said.

She said she's heard more negative than positive comments about the return of wolves to the Methow Valley, but isn't opposed to it as long as they come back naturally, and aren't reintroduced.

"If it becomes a problem in the future, we'll deal with it then," she said.

But both Perrow and White acknowledged they aren't worried about their own safety, as wolves are quite wary of people.

"I don't think a wolf has got as much nerve as a cougar. They're a little more skittish. The biggest thing will be cattle out on the range. They're right in the wolf's territory," he said.

White said one pack has been living near his ranch, and ranges down to Libby Creek south of Carlton. His son also saw wolves from another pack several miles up the Twisp River.

According to Wednesday's news release, preliminary results from the genetic testing indicate the two wolves likely originated from populations in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada. Radio tracking collars will help biologists monitor the location of the wolves and their activity, the news release said.

"The reappearance of a resident wolf pack in Washington is evidence of a functioning ecosystem and good news for those working to preserve the state's biodiversity," said Fish and Wildlife Director Jeff Koenings in a prepared statement.

"At the same time, we recognize some residents have concerns about the reentry of wolves in Washington. This discovery demonstrates the need to continue our efforts to finalize a state wolf conservation and management plan," his statement in the news release said.

The state is currently working with a citizen group to develop a wolf conservation and management plan, and a draft plan is expected later this year. Citizens will be able to comment during a 90-day public-review next year before the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission considers the final plan.