Public comment needed for Washington's wolves
Sep 30, 2009
A draft wolf conservation and management plan is open for public comment, in writing and at public hearings around the state. With strengthening changes, the plan could work to recovery Washington's wolves.
Will Washington's wolves fare better or worse than those in Montana? A management plan helps set the temper of the times.
For the last two years, Conservation Northwest has been part of a working group tackling creation of a plan for returning wolves. A draft wolf conservation plan is now available and ready for public comment in writing and at public hearings around the state. Deadline for comments is January 8, 2010.
Talking points
Now that wolves have started showing up—we have two confirmed packs in the state, one in the Methow and one in Pend Oreille County, north of Spokane—time is ripe for a Washington wolf plan that is visionary, pragmatic, and strong enough to conserve and manage wolves in a balanced way that will ease the transition for everyone (including the wolves!).
The current draft plan is on the right track, but key improvements will ensure that wolves are given the chance to recover to a point that their numbers are stable and the populations are healthy enough to effectively play their role as top predators in Washington's ecosystems. Specifically, scientists have indicated that the number of breeding pairs in the plan to trigger a delisting might be too low to sustain a population of wolves in Washington. The agency has also included new lethal take provisions during the endangered and threatened phases of recovery, allowing livestock producers to kill endangered wolves, which could make it hard for wolves to recover.
