There are at least 216 gray wolves in 37 packs in our state. Thirty-one (31) of those gray wolf packs are in North Central and Northeastern Washington.

Senate Bill 5939 – relating to protecting livestock from wolf predation – seeks to give affected livestock raisers a chance to mitigate the confirmed and probable predation deaths of their animals. In 2022, there were 18 confirmed wolf predations in the state. The bill would allow owners of livestock to monitor a kill site and take the first gray wolf that returned. The bill lays out the livestock protection plan as a 3-year pilot with a report due to the legislature by Dec. 1, 2027. The compromise offered by the bill allows ranchers to protect their herds while exploring the potential deterrent of culling wolves habituated to hunt livestock. 

The bill also allows for a quicker response to livestock predation. The latitude given to livestock raisers under the proposal is similar to a “caught in the act” wolf taking.

The current steps required for the Washington State Department of Fish & Wildlife to authorize a lethal removal of a gray wolf are lengthy and include three confirmed predations in 30 days or four in a 10-month period. Once the threshold has been met, the department can issue an authorization to remove 1-2 wolves and, generally, allow a two-week period for doing so.

By empowering livestock owners to monitor kill sites for wolf activity after a predation, the bill removes the bureaucracy of the current system and places trust in the people directly affected by predations. Ranchers have 24 hours to contact the department after a wolf has been shot at a kill site. 

The most recent report on the state’s gray wolf population notes nine wolves were killed in 2022. Six wolves were lethally removed by fish & wildlife after confirmed predations and three were killed after being “caught in the act” of predation. The report also notes nine incidences of suspected poaching that are under investigation.

The reporting window and the trust placed in Washington state’s ranching community should curb any potential desire to poach wolves in areas where they are still protected by the state or federal government. As should the notion that an increase in poaching numbers during the 3-year pilot will likely end the program.

The culling of gray wolves habituated to hunting livestock rather than game also works well with an incremental rolling out of local management practices. The wolf population has thrived and continued to grow since their arrival in 2007.

Given the number of gray wolves reported throughout the state, it is past time to consider how to create local management structures that create lasting, positive working relationships between state agency staff, local authorities, and the ranching community. By encouraging ranchers to participate as part of the solution to wolf predations, the proposal may foster open communication between ranchers and agency staff. Furthermore, giving ranchers authority to make decisions about how to care for their livestock also helps develop trust of agency staff.

As the gray wolf population grows and predations of livestock continue, it is paramount for the state to begin choosing more flexible approaches to predator management. By integrating options that allow ranchers to respond to predations quickly, gray wolves may be taught to avoid livestock more quickly than our current system allows. Instilling behavioral changes affords Washingtonians dual benefits: ranchers can continue to provide local, nutritious protein to us all and gray wolves can continue to thrive.