This update provides an overview of gray wolf conservation and management activities in Washington during February 2022.
Program updates and coordination
- On Feb. 22, WDFW invited the public to submit written comment from Feb. 22 to April 11, 2022 on a proposed rule change and a new rule to address wolf-livestock conflict deterrence. All details are available at https://wdfw.wa.gov/news/wdfw-seeks-public-comment-proposed-rule-changes-address-wolf-livestock-conflict-deterrence.
- On February 19, the Fish and Wildlife Commission was briefed by University of Washington scientists on the population model and potential conservation and management scenarios that will inform the Periodic Status Review for gray wolves. The meeting recording is available here (presentation starts at approximately 1:03:00) and the associated presentation is available here (PDF).
- As reported in last month’s monthly update, on Feb. 10, 2022, a U.S. District Judge’s order to restore federal protection for gray wolves in certain areas of the U.S. means that wolves in Washington are now federally endangered in the western two-thirds of the state. Wolves in that area were previously listed under the Endangered Species Act until January 4, 2021.
- As of the date of the judge’s ruling, the federal status of wolves in Washington reverts to its previous listing prior to January 4, 2021: Wolves are federally delisted in Washington east of Highway 97 from the British Columbia border south to Monse, Highway 17 from Monse south to Mesa, and Highway 395 from Mesa south to the Oregon border, and are federally listed west of these highways.
- Of the 29 known wolf packs in Washington, 23 reside in the eastern third of the state where wolves have not been federally listed under the US Endangered Species Act since 2011.
- Please note that the “caught in the act” provision (section 1) of WAC 220-440-080 only applies to the area of the state where the gray wolf is not listed as endangered or threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act (the eastern one-third of Washington), and is now no longer available in the western two-thirds of Washington.
- WDFW is committed to the recovery of wolves in Washington, and they remain listed as endangered by WDFW throughout the state. We will continue to work closely with partners, stakeholders, and communities, just as we have over the past decade, on the recovery, conservation, and management of wolves in Washington, with a focus on achieving the state’s recovery objectives and mitigating conflict between wolves and livestock. The state of Washington has facilitated wolf recovery for more than a decade and remains prepared to be the management authority for wolves statewide.
Outreach and education
A new blog post showing how WDFW captures and collars wolves from the air is available here.
Current population status and proactive conflict mitigation
The year-end minimum population count for 2020 was at least 132 known wolves in 24 known packs including at least 13 breeding pairs. The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation reported 46 wolves in five packs. Annual wolf population surveys are conducted in the winter because wolf populations experience the least amount of natural fluctuation during this time. Counting the population at the end of each year allows for comparable year-to-year trends at a time of year when the wolf population is most stable. The year-end minimum population count for 2021 will be released in April 2022.
Reports of remote camera images or videos, wolf tracks, or sightings from the public are extremely helpful in locating previously undocumented wolf activity and potential new packs on the landscape. Please take photos of wolves or wolf sign (use some way to measure the size of a track) and upload them to the wolf reporting page via the following link: https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/at-risk/species-recovery/gray-wolf/observations
Definitions: A “pack” is defined as two or more wolves traveling together in winter, and a “breeding pair” is defined as at least one adult male and one adult female wolf that raised at least two pups that survived until December 31. In any given year, the number of packs will always be greater than or equal to the number of breeding pairs. The known territories and more information for each pack can be viewed by clicking the pack name.
Beaver Creek pack
No activity to report.
Butte Creek pack
No activity to report.
Carpenter Ridge pack
No activity to report.
Diobsud Creek pack
No activity to report.
Dirty Shirt pack
No activity to report.
Goodman Meadows pack
No activity to report.
Grouse Flats pack
WDFW biologists checked trail cameras and conducted track surveys in this pack territory to inform the annual wolf population count.
Huckleberry pack
No activity to report.
Kettle pack
No activity to report.
Leadpoint pack
No activity to report.
Lookout pack
No activity to report.
Loup Loup pack
No activity to report.
Naneum pack
No activity to report.
Navarre pack
WDFW biologists checked trail cameras and conducted track surveys in this pack territory to inform the annual wolf population count.
Onion Creek pack
No activity to report.
Salmo pack
No activity to report.
Sherman pack
No activity to report.
Skookum pack
No activity to report.
Smackout pack
In response to wolf activity in and around an active calving pasture, WDFW staff deployed fladry and Fox lights around the perimeter of the pasture. Although wolves have tested the fladry and crossed it multiple times, no depredations have occurred. WDFW staff regularly monitor and maintain the fladry to ensure its effectiveness as a non-lethal deterrent.
Stranger pack
WDFW staff discovered that wolves in the Stranger pack territory were frequenting a dairy operation. WDFW staff made contact with the dairy owner and determined that wolves were scavenging on several cattle carcasses left in the nearby woods. WDFW staff advised the livestock producer to remove or bury the carcasses and deployed several Fox lights around the carcass pile.
Strawberry pack
No activity to report.
Sullivan Creek pack
No activity to report.
Teanaway pack
No activity to report.
Togo pack
In response to several reports of wolves howling and wolf collar data, WDFW staff deployed several Fox lights around a calving pasture. WDFW staff will continue to make contact with livestock producers throughout the grazing season.
Touchet pack
WDFW biologists checked trail cameras and conducted track surveys in this pack territory to inform the annual wolf population count.
Tucannon pack
WDFW biologists checked trail cameras and conducted track surveys in this pack territory to inform the annual wolf population count.
Vulcan pack
No activity to report.
Wedge pack
WDFW biologists checked trail cameras and conducted track surveys in this pack territory to inform the annual wolf population count.
Miscellaneous/lone wolves
WDFW wolf biologists followed up on sightings and reports of wolf activity throughout the state.
Note: The Frosty, Nason, Nc’icn, and Whitestone pack territories are within Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation (CTCR) lands and are managed under tribal authority. Information regarding these packs is proprietary and reported at the discretion of the CTCR.
Mortalities
There were no wolf mortalities documented in February. As of this update, WDFW has documented no wolf mortalities in 2022.
Depredation activity
Please report any suspected livestock depredations or the death or harassment of wolves to the WDFW Enforcement Hotline at 1-877-933-9847.
In 2020, 76% of known wolf packs were not involved in any documented livestock depredation.
There were no documented wolf depredations in February.
Below is a summary of packs with documented depredation activity within the past ten months (some packs have depredation history prior to the current ten-month window; this timeframe is considered based on guidance from the wolf-livestock interaction protocol (PDF)).
|
Pack |
Depredation date |
Depredation type |
Proactive non-lethals |
Ten-month window |
Agency lethal removal actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Beaver Creek |
9/5/21 |
Probable mortality of calf |
No |
7/5/22 |
|
|
Leadpoint |
7/22/21 |
Confirmed mortality of one calf (died from injuries), confirmed injury of second calf |
Yes |
5/22/22 |
|
|
Naneum |
5/7/21 |
Confirmed injury of calf |
Yes |
3/7/22 |
|
|
Smackout |
8/30/21 |
Probable injury of two calves |
Yes |
6/30/22 |
|
|
Teanaway |
11/8/21 |
Confirmed injury of calf |
Yes |
9/8/22 |
|
|
Togo
|
6/24/21 |
Confirmed injury of calf |
Yes |
4/24/22 |
|
|
8/6/21 |
Confirmed mortality of calf (died from injuries) |
Yes |
6/6/22 |
|
|
|
8/17/21 |
Probable injury of calf |
Yes |
6/17/22 |
|
|
|
8/17/21 |
Confirmed injury of calf |
Yes |
6/17/22 |
|
|
|
Touchet |
8/10/21 |
Confirmed mortality of calf |
Yes |
6/10/22 |
|
|
Area of new wolf activity north of Touchet pack and west of Tucannon pack (Columbia county)
|
8/25/21 |
Confirmed injury of calf |
Yes |
6/25/22 |
|
|
9/13/21 |
Confirmed mortality of calf |
Yes |
7/13/22 |
|
|
|
10/16/21 |
Confirmed injury of calf |
Yes |
8/16/22 |
|
|
|
11/1/21 |
Confirmed injury of one calf, probable injury of two calves |
Yes |
9/1/22 |
|
|
|
11/15/21 |
Confirmed mortality of calf |
Yes |
9/15/22 |
Adult male lethally removed 11/18/21; juvenile male lethally removed under authorized permit on 12/8/21 |