Ranch employee kills wolf near Sprague Lake

A gray wolf was shot and killed in a "caught-in-the-act" incident on a northeastern Adams County ranch near Sprague Lake on Feb. 4, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

According to a WDFW report, a ranch employee was going to check on cattle when he noticed cattle running, and then saw three wolves chasing the cattle. Two of the wolves retreated when the employee yelled at the wolves, but the other wolf paused before continuing to chase after a cow. The employee then shot and killed the wolf from over 100 yards away.

Sprague Lake is located about 20 miles northeast of Ritzville, near the town of Sprague.

Preliminary findings from a WDFW on-site investigation indicated that the shooting was lawful and consistent with state regulations. In areas of the state where wolves are not listed under the federal Endangered Species Act, Washington Administrative Code 220-440-080 states that owners of domestic animals (such as livestock and pets) may kill one gray wolf without a permit needing to be issued by the WDFW director if the wolf is attacking the domestic animals.

The department stated that the incident occurred outside any known pack territories, which are mostly concentrated in the northeastern section of the state in Okanogan, Ferry, Stevens and Pend Oreille counties. As of December 2017, there were three wolf packs in southeastern Washington near Walla Walla, and one pack in central Washington between Ellensburg and Seattle.

The wolf that was killed by the rancher was an unmarked, adult female that had an unknown breeding status. In its report WDFW said, "conflict staff are working with the livestock producer to mitigate future conflict. Staff are also investigating wolf activity in the vicinity to determine if there is a new wolf pack in the area."

There has been some controversy over whether the killing of the wolf should be deemed as legal and justified. In the Wolf Conservation and Management Plan released by the state in 2011, lethal action is allowed to be taken by livestock owners against wolves who are "in the act" of attacking livestock, which is defined as biting, wounding or killing; not just chasing or pursuing.

But in an interview with the Spokesman-Review, Donny Martorello, the wolf policy lead for WDFW, said that the WAC takes precedence over the state's 2011 plan. Martorello also told the Spokesman-Review that this is the third time the "caught-in-the-act" rule has been used, with the other two occurring in 2017. Martorello had not responded to email requests from The Journal prior to this week's print deadline.

"Washington state law allows people to shoot wolves that are caught in the act of attacking livestock or pets," said Chase Gunnell, communications director of Conservation Northwest. "As difficult as situations like this are, we support this policy as a reasonable component of responsible wolf conservation and management."

Gunnell also added that despite a few high-profile events, the rate of wolf mortality is much lower in Washington than in Rocky Mountain states.

"By all indications, there are well over 150 wolves roaming Washington today, and wolf recovery is progressing well in our state."

On its website, WDFW provides examples of proactive measures that they recommend livestock operators to use to help avoid and reduce conflicts between livestocks and wolves. Essential measures, such as removing or managing livestock carcasses from cooperator's lands when discovered, or removing and/or treating sick or injured livestock from unsafe pastures in areas where wolves are present, are "minimum baseline measures that should be implemented if feasible prior to consideration for ... lethal management options."

Under the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973, gray wolves are listed as endangered in the western two-thirds of the state, but are federally delisted in the eastern-third of the state. But under Washington state rule, gray wolves are listed as endangered statewide.

According to the most recent WDFW estimate published on March 30 of last year, there was a minimum estimate of 122 known wolves in 22 known packs in the state. That was an increase of about 6 percent over the 2016 minimum count. Fourteen mortalities were documented by WDFW in that most recent count, eight of which involved interactions with humans.