Loss hits Washington's first wolf pack
Mar 27, 2009
Two residents of Twisp are suspected of illegally trapping and shooting one and possibly two endangered gray wolves and attempting to send a wolf pelt to Canada. DNA testing confirmed that the wolf was a member of Washington's newly discovered Lookout Pack, likely one of the pups.
A Lookout pack wolf looks up, warily, at a remote camera. Photo by Conservation Northwest
We are deeply distressed to learn that gray wolves, which last year returned on their own to our state, have been neither safe nor entirely welcomed here. Two residents of Twisp are suspected of illegally trapping and shooting two endangered gray wolves and attempting to send a wolf pelt to Canada. DNA testing confirmed that the wolf was a member of Washington’s newly discovered Lookout Pack, likely one of the pups. It is a federal crime to kill an endangered animal, carrying a criminal penalty of up to a $100,000 fine and up to a year in prison.
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“The killing of this pup is a tragic and unnecessary loss of a magnificent creature,” said Camden Shaw, a local livestock producer who raises sheep near the wolves’ home range. “These wolves have been good neighbors, minding their own business in their rightful home.”
A 2008 poll conducted by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife shows that 75 percent of Washington residents support wolf recovery. A second poll shows that most hunters in the state support managing a self-sustaining population of wolves, citing among other reasons that all wildlife deserve to flourish.
We are hopeful that the pack can continue on. Certainly, people can learn to live with wolves. Wolves can, like other large carnivores such as coyotes, bobcats, and mountain lions, add extra challenges for livestock owners, but there are many effective non-lethal ways to greatly reduce the conflicts.
