Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Director Kelly Susewind today (September 12, 2024) approved incremental lethal removal of up to two wolves from the Onion Creek wolf pack in northeast Washington, in response to repeated depredations of cattle in Stevens and Pend Oreille Counties.
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 2017 wolf-livestock interaction protocol (PDF). The rationale for authorizing lethal removal of Onion Creek pack wolves is as follows:
WDFW has documented three confirmed wolf depredation events in the pack territory resulting in three dead livestock since August 10, 2024, all attributed to the Onion Creek pack.
At least two (in this case, more than two) proactive deterrence measures and responsive deterrence measures (if applicable) were implemented by the affected livestock producers, prior to these depredation events. They included daily to near-daily range riding, human presence, removing sick and injured cattle from the range, and livestock carcass sanitation.
The Department documented these deterrents in the agency's "wolf-livestock mitigation measures" checklist, with date entries for deterrent tools and coordination with the two producers. The proactive and reactive non-lethal deterrence measures implemented by both the livestock producers were those best suited for their operations in the professional judgment of WDFW staff.
WDFW staff discussed the recent depredations by the Onion Creek wolf pack and associated effectiveness of the nonlethal deterrence tools implemented by the affected livestock producers. Staff determined that range riding occurred on a daily/near-daily basis, along with regular human presence. Despite this, staff believes depredations will likely continue given recent pack behavior. Director Susewind agreed and authorized the lethal removal operation through midnight of September 23, 2024, before entering into an evaluation period. The lethal removal operation may be extended if additional wolf depredations are documented.
Previous updates
2024 Onion Creek pack updates:
WDFW will provide a final report on this and any other lethal removal actions during 2024 in the Washington Gray Wolf Conservation and Management 2024 Annual Report, which will be published during spring 2025.
A summary of all documented depredation activity within the past 10 months is included in every monthly wolf update.