I am writing to provide a status report about the continuing operation to remove wolves from the Profanity Peak pack in northeast Washington. WDFW Director Jim Unsworth authorized this effort on August 3, and we have had staff in the field every day since August 4.
On Friday, August 5, WDFW staff removed two adult female wolves from the pack by shooting them from a helicopter. One of the wolves was this year’s breeding female. We were not targeting the breeding pair in this pack, but as we have discussed, there is no way to identify the breeding animals during a removal operation, so there is always a chance a breeding animal may be killed. Given the age of the pups, we know that they are weaned, so the removal of the breeding female is not likely to impact their survival. Typically, at this time of year, all of the remaining adults will provide food for the pups.
In addition to our efforts, the livestock producers are continuing efforts to prevent wolf attacks on their cattle by using range riders to monitor activity around the herds. We have received no reports of wolf depredations since this operation began.
Because this effort is continuing, we are not releasing details that could jeopardize the safety of the public, producers, or our staff. I will provide another update no later than Thursday, August 18. In addition, we will post this information and earlier updates about the Profanity Peak pack on the wolf conservation page of the WDFW website as soon as possible at http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/gray_wolf/.
I am kindly requesting that folks not use the WAG update distribution lists for reply-to-all email discussions. These emails are to update you periodically, with a full report available to you after the operation has concluded. To preserve this method of communication, I ask that you please contact me directly with your questions or concerns.
– Donny Martorello, WDFW Wolf Policy Lead