18 Fall 2014 conservationnw.org
Fall Wolf
Panel tackles
lethal
Management
PreDaTorS: No eaSY aNSWerS
alison Huyett Conservation associate,
ahuyett@conservationnw.org
A wolf from the Diamond Pack trapped humanely for radio collaring. Photo: WDFW
Wolves in Washington have made
a remarkable comeback in the past de-
cade. Perhaps it's their intensely social
nature so similar to our own, but few
other species elicit the diverse reactions
and emotions that wolves do. is oen
makes managing wolf recovery difficult
for agencies as they balance the needs
of many different stakeholders. As we
have recently seen with the Huckleberry
Pack in northeast Washington, dealing
with wolves on landscapes that overlap
with livestock can get messy fast. At the
core of this debate is whether and when
to lethally remove a pack that has been
repeatedly preying on livestock.
Over the past decade, important re-
search on understanding the dynamics
of wolf ecology has provided insight
into the management of recovering wolf
populations in the U.S., particularly in re-
gards to lethal management. Increasingly,
studies have shown that non-targeted le-
thal removal of wolves can lead to unde-
sirable outcomes including increases in
wolf-livestock conflict, less breeding and
therefore smaller pack size, higher mor-
tality rates, and less social acceptance of
wolves. ese findings are hugely im-
portant when it comes to managing a
species as complex as wolves, especially
considering the tenuous social and po-
litical situations these predators oen
find themselves in.
As wolves continue to recover in the
Pacific Northwest, and as state agencies
move into the management phases of re-
covery plans, Conservation Northwest,
along with the University of Washington
and the Pacific Wolf Coalition have the
opportunity to invite the country's lead-
ing experts to discuss wolves social struc-
ture and the best ways to manage wolves
based on current available science.
Along with other partners, we're
teaming up this fall to host a science-
based panel and facilitated discussion
looking at the impacts of lethal removal
as a management tool. As we have seen
in the tacks taken by neighboring states,
managing wolves can be extremely diffi-
cult if actions are not based on sound re-
search. Washington has the opportunity
to learn from some of those mistakes
made by other states and set the stage for
using the best science to inform manage-
ment decisions on the ground.
We look forward to sharing the pan-
elist's discussion through video and
write-ups on our website later this fall.
In the meantime, let's learn a little more
about our wolf experts on the next page.
Conservation Northwest updates
