On Oct. 19, 2024, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Director Kelly Susewind decided against lethal removal of a wolf or wolves from southeast Washington, in response to the latest investigation on an injured calf and as a part of repeated depredations of cattle.
Director Susewind's decision is consistent with the guidance of the state's Wolf Conservation and Management Plan and the lethal removal provisions of the Department's 2020 wolf livestock interaction protocol (PDF). The rationale for not authorizing lethal removal of Couse pack wolves is as follows:
On Oct. 13, WDFW staff investigated an injured calf. The investigation determined the injuries were caused by a probable wolf depredation. The injuries were estimated to be two weeks or older at the time of investigation. Lethal removal is intended to change wolf pack’s depredating behavior, where available literature indicated that lethal removal could be most effective within two weeks of a depredation event. Due to the age of the injuries, the effective period for lethal removal has already passed.
The area where the injured calf was found is used by both the Couse and Tucannon packs, so it is not clear which pack was responsible for the Oct. 13 injuries. As a result of this information and circumstances, Susewind authorized an evaluation period to monitor these packs’ behavior.
Over a 10-month rolling window of time, the Couse pack has been involved in depredations resulting in one dead calf, confirmed injuries on a cow and two calves, and probable injuries on another cow.
WDFW Director had previously authorized a lethal removal operation from the Couse pack on Sept. 24, 2024. That authorization expired on Oct. 8, 2024, without a wolf being lethally removed despite concerted efforts.
Proactive and responsive deterrence measures were implemented by the affected livestock producer, prior to and in-between these depredations events. These measures included daily to near daily range riding, removing sick and injured cattle from the range, livestock carcass sanitation, human presence, and delayed turnout of calves until they were at least 200 pounds.
WDFW documented these deterrents in the agency's "wolf-livestock mitigation measures" checklist, with date entries for deterrent tools and coordination with the producer. The proactive and reactive non-lethal deterrence measures implemented by the livestock producer were those best suited for their operations in the professional judgment of WDFW staff.
Previous updates
2024 Couse pack updates: