This update provides an overview of gray wolf conservation and management activities in Washington during March 2022.
Program updates and coordination
The new Contracted Range Rider Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the 2022 season is now available. See details and the link to the RFQ here.
Outreach and education
The North Cascades Institute is hosting an online program, “Wolves in Washington: Updates from WDFW and the Wolf Advisory Group,” on April 27, 2022 at 5:30 PM.
In this follow-up to last year's popular online program, biologists with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife will give an overview of the status of wolves in the state, provide updates on current wolf packs, and take questions from the public.
Participants will also learn how they can stay updated, get involved, and how the Washington Wolf Advisory Group is working to promote equitable, inclusive, and respectful dialogue and decision-making among diverse people to foster durable peace by transforming the root causes of social conflict and providing high quality recommendations on wolf recovery, conservation, and management.
This year's program will feature the most recent information on wolves in Washington. If you attended last year, you can expect to learn new information this time around.
You can register for the program 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
No activity to report.
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
No activity to report.
Onion Creek pack
No activity to report.
Salmo pack
No activity to report.
Sherman pack
No activity to report.
Skookum pack
In March, WDFW staff investigated a mortality signal from the collar of an elderly female wolf in the Skookum pack. Staff found the wolf had died of natural causes.
Smackout pack
WDFW staff removed fladry and Fox lights previously deployed around a calving pasture. Scare devices work most effectively as a nonlethal deterrence measure when they are deployed as needed—if they are left out for long periods of time, wolves may become habituated to the deterrence and the scare device loses its effectiveness.
Stranger pack
WDFW checked trail cameras and Fox lights previously deployed in the pack territory. WDFW spoke to a producer about removing cattle carcasses next to a dairy operation. WDFW advises livestock producers to refrain from dumping carcasses on the landscape for sanitation purposes and to reduce unnatural attractants for wolves. Wolves may frequent properties with exposed carcasses.
Strawberry pack
No activity to report.
Sullivan Creek pack
No activity to report.
Teanaway pack
WDFW checked trail cameras to finalize 2021 survey counts in this pack.
Togo pack
WDFW staff ordered equipment for a pilot project being implemented in the Togo pack territory.
Touchet pack
No activity to report.
Tucannon pack
No activity to report.
Vulcan pack
No activity to report.
Wedge pack
No activity to report.
Miscellaneous/lone wolves
WDFW staff worked with North Cascades National Park Service staff to check trail cameras in Stehekin this past month.
WDFW wolf biologists wrapped up camera and track surveys as well as aerial counts throughout the state in preparation for release of the 2021 annual wolf report on April 9, 2022.
WDFW staff continued to monitor a collared dispersing wolf (originally from the Naneum pack) traveling in Yakima and Klickitat counties. WDFW wildlife conflict specialists and wolf biologists have met with livestock producers in the area to discuss carcass sanitation and other proactive conflict deterrence. This dispersing wolf is still on the move and has not yet settled in a specific area. Dispersing wolves (those leaving packs in search of their own mates) have been known to travel hundreds of miles away from their home territory, and can cover 30 miles or more in a single day.
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
In March, WDFW staff investigated a mortality signal from the collar of an elderly female wolf in the Skookum pack. Staff found the wolf had died of natural causes. As of this update, WDFW has documented one wolf mortality 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 March.
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).
|
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 |