Conservation Northwest protects and connects old-growth forests and other wild areas from the Washington Coast to the British Columbia Rockies, vital to a healthy future for us, our children, and wildlife. Since 1989, Conservation Northwest has worke
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From discovery to recovery Back to the pack for Washington Wolf packs have been steadily increasing since confirmation of Washington���s first (Lookout) pack in 2008. As of fall of 2012, there are nine confirmed packs in Washington. One of the main goals in the Washington Wolf Management and Conservation Plan (adopted last December with the help of supporters like you!), is to, ���restore the wolf population in Washington to a self-sustaining size and geographic distribution.��� According to the plan, for gray wolves to be ���recovered��� and no longer endangered in Washington, what matters is not only the number of packs, but where they live within the state. To achieve this goal, that geography is broken into three wolf recovery regions: Eastern Washington, Northern Cascades, and Southern Cascades & Northwest Coast. The ���self-sustaining size��� is 15 breeding pairs across the state, with at least four breeding pairs in each of the three recovery regions, and three more divided between them. Right now, all of the state���s nine known packs are found in just two regions. Seven packs are in Eastern Washington and two are in the Northern Cascades. Of the two Cascades packs, only the Teanaway Pack has a breeding pair. The Lookout Pack last successfully reared pups to adulthood in 2009, prior to the suspicious disappearance of the alpha female in early 2010. Each of the recovery regions has suitable habitat for wolves to return to, and each region includes unique characteristics that can both support or delay recovery. The quicker recovery in Northern Cascades and Eastern Washington has been driven by nearby wolf populations in British Columbia and Idaho. The Southern Cascades and Northwest Coast region has no packs���yet, In fact, these are the exact characteristics that Congress intended to preserve when it passed the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Taking the long view then, in 1973, unthinkable by today���s standards, Congress recognized that maintaining genetic, behavioral, and ecological diversity was essential to the conservation of America���s most imperiled wildlife and the ecosystems upon which they depend. It directed the US Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) to protect endangered species, including ���distinct population segment of any species of vertebrate fish or wildlife.��� See sidebar, previous page. The recovery of Pacific Northwest wolves remains fragile. While Washington State has nine packs, only two live in the Cascades (the Service considers the other seven packs to be Rocky Mountain wolves). The Lookout Pack in the Methow, where our first wolf was photographed, Wedge Hozomeen Salmo Boulder Creek North Cascades National Park Lookout Makah Indian Reservation Nc'icn Smackout Diamond Ozette Indian Reservation Northern Cascades Colville Indian Reservation Ruby Creek Olympic National Park Eastern Washington Quinault Indian Reservation Teanaway Mount Rainier National Park Southern Cascades and Northwest Coast Yakama Indian Reservation Keeping the Northwest wild though some of the highest numbers of deer and elk, main food for wolves, are found here. Because the region is farther away from source populations, return of wolves is expected to be slower; but as more wolves populate the Northern Cascades, these animals will more easily progress to the Southern Cascades & Northwest Coast, restoring historic wolf distribution in Washington. ���Danna Bowers, wolf program intern was decimated by poachers and has yet to rebound. The Teanaway Pack near Cle Elum continues to hold on. One collared wolf moved from the Rockies into the Oregon Cascades and traveled south into California before heading north again, but no packs have been confirmed south or west of Teanaway. Federal ESA protection as a Distinct Population Segment (DPS) would focus and coordinate conservation efforts across the region, bringing resources and research where state capabilities are thin, and increasing the pace of recovery and delisting. Equally important, it would allow for significant fines and punishment for convicted poachers���the primary threat to wolf recovery���that are far more severe than the state can seek. The Service is currently deciding whether to list wolves in the Pacific Northwest as a DPS under the Endangered Species Act. A recommendation on whether to keep or lift federal protections for wolves in this area is expected by the end of the year. Cascade wolves are different from Rockies wolves. We need a strategy that protects both. Huckleberry Spokane Indian Reservation Quileute Indian Reservation Teanaway wolf track, summer 2012. The pack includes the only known breeding pair in the Cascades. Jasmine Minbashian Touchet Map of Washington���s wolf packs, dated August 8, 2012. Of the nine confirmed packs, the Wedge Pack, between the Kettle and Columbia rivers near the US-BC border, has drawn most recent attention. In early September, experts confirmed that some members of the Wedge Pack had learned to prey on cattle. What to do was the first test of Washington���s wolf management plan. Note: On the map, confirmed packs are shown in blue. The most recently confirmed pack, the Strawberry Pack on the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, had yet to be added. WDFW Fall 2012 11