Conservation Northwest

Getting wilder Return of the wolf A time for Washington's wolves Jasmine Minbashian directs the wolf program for Conservation Northwest. She is currently working with the BBC on a documentary about wolves returning to the Cascades, which will air early next year. A portion of this article first appeared in the International Wolf Journal in Sept. 2011. It was just before dawn when our truck pulled into the wildlife refuge parking lot. The sun had not yet risen above the eastern horizon, but the sky was slowly starting to brighten the Methow Valley after a night's rest. It was a frosty February morning on the eastern flanks of north-central Washington's Cascade Mountains. I was tagging along with a group of biologists to check some deer traps that were part of an innovative study to understand the effect of wolves and predation on ungulate Springtime on the east slope of the Cascades in the territory of the Lookout Pack. Two new populations. reproducing wolf packs were recognized in Washington this summer, one in the Cascades, We were gathering our field gear to- the other between the Kettle River Range and the Selkirk Mountains in northeastern gether when we heard a large chorus of Washington. It's getting wilder out there. © David Moskowitz coyotes greeting the morning sun. The With binoculars we could see clearly that these figures were yips and squeals were unmistakable, and the coyotes undoubtedly sounded like they were having indeed wolves: A grand, older looking animal, which resema good time. Once the cacophony subsided, we went back to bled the breeding male of the Lookout pack that I had seen in scurrying around the truck, gathering our gear. But less than a remote camera photos, and a younger sleek animal accompaminute went by when a new sound instantly forced our whole nying him. They watched us for quite some time until letting group to freeze like statues of ice. It was the long, low howl out a big yawn; then they slowly walked away, as if to say, "You of a large canine, coming from the opposite direction of the humans are boring." coyotes and from the direction we would be heading. We all exchanged wide-eyed glances and at the same time mouthed Lookout Pack the word: Wolf ! For me, this sound was almost difficult to comprehend. I When first documented in 2008, the Lookout pack had six had heard wolves in Yellowstone National Park and northern wolf pups, a subadult male, and an older breeding pair. This Minnesota, but never in the Cascades—even after 15 years of discovery was heralded as a triumphant return of a native working toward their recovery in my home state of Washing- mammal that was poisoned and persecuted to virtual extincton. After all these years of silence in the mountains, could this tion in the Cascade Mountains. Even more remarkable is that really be what I was hearing? these animals returned completely on their own, with no help We quickly strapped on our packs and headed down the from us. DNA testing has linked the Lookout pack to wolves trail toward the sound. The low, mournful howl continued farther north in British Columbia. steadily, raising concerns that perhaps a wolf had been caught Sadly, three years later, the story is not as uplifting. As of this in one of our deer traps. After arriving at the study site, we writing, only two animals are believed to remain in this pack: were relieved to find no wolves in our traps. Scratching our the older breeding male and a younger animal of unknown heads, we were perplexed as to where the sound was coming gender—probably the two I saw on that February morning at from. Casually, one of our colleagues pointed to two figures the wildlife refuge. The breeding female has not been spotted on the hill above us that were watching from a safe distance. since May 2010, and her radio collar has been silent. No signs 8 Fall 2011 www.conservationnw.org

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