Homecoming for wildlife
Erin Moore Publications manager,
erin@conservationnw.org
Sharp Shooter
Craig Monette
A life-long hunter from Chelan, Craig Monette's equally
important weapon is his camera. Last spring, he came eye-toeye with a young Wenatchee Pack wolf.
Monette was scouting the area for mule deer on foot, as
is his wont, before hunting season—getting out because he
loves the outdoors, and enjoys watching wildlife and knowing
where animals go and what they do.
Dressed in winter camouflage, he came up a short steep rise
to raise his head above an abandoned and snowy road. The
young wolf was directly in sight. Wolf and man met within
dozens of yards and took quiet stock of one another.
"I knew right away it was a wolf, although it was the first
I'd heard of one near here," said Monette. "I also knew I had to
reach for the camera, but didn't want to spook him."
"When that dog went into a crouch, staring straight at me,
I actually started to reach for my gun," he said. Then a cracking twig and a bird in flight caught the wolf 's ear and eye. As
it looked away, Monette reached to the camera instead and
started shooting photos.
"I'm not really pro-wolf or anti-wolf. Okay, maybe before
this I was more anti-wolf than not," Monette admitted. "But
that wolf and I—we shared a moment in time, and I just want
everyone to enjoy that."
Monette took the sighting and photo to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. He shared it with The
Wenatchee World. He's been told by professional Alaskan
wildlife photographers that it's the best image of a wolf they've
ever seen. His images are certainly the best photos we have of
Washington's returning wolves.
Today, Craig has poster-sized versions of the Wenatchee
pack wolf in his living room. "Even people I know today, who
I know don't 'like' wolves, see this photo and just stop, thinking. It does that to you. It's powerful."
Conservation NW's Jay Kehne (left) with Craig Monette. Erin Moore
A beautiful poster of the Wenatchee wolf is avail-
able for $90 with a portion of proceeds going to Conservation Northwest. Contact us at 800.878.9950 x110
to reserve yours.
Good news
There are ample ways to live with wildlife and help avoid in-
cidents. The "Living with Wildlife" website, wdfw.wa.gov/living, is
a jackpot of information, highlighting how to avoid attracting unwanted wildlife to your property, how to avert and reduce conflict
with dangerous wildlife, and what to do for injured and orphaned
wildlife. Resources include wildlife interaction rules, viewing information, species fact sheets, and more.
Keeping the Northwest wild
Fall 2013 19
Fall 2013 19
