http://www.bluemountaineagle.com/news/state_national/wolf-kill-fails-to-placate-washington-rancher/article_f9b7ebce-e264-11e1-811c-0019bb2963f4.html?mode=printWolf kill fails to placate Washington rancherBy Matthew Weaver East Oregonian Publishing Group
The decision by state wildlife officials to kill a wolf that had been attacking livestock in northeastern Washington is too little, too late, says the rancher who has suffered losses there since 2007.
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife this week killed a nonbreeding female wolf from the so-called Wedge Wolf Pack, officials said. They were unsuccessful in an attempt to kill a second wolf.
Nate Pamplin, assistant director with the department, said at least four adults and several pups make up the pack.
The department took action after a series of wolf attacks on the Diamond M herd dating back to two calves that were killed in 2007. Department officials also cited higher-than-normal calf losses and documented wolf activity around the calving operation. An adjacent ranch had wolf problems at its calving operation this spring, Pamplin said.
Diamond M ranch owner Len McIrvin, of Laurier, Wash., said he remains skeptical of the department's actions and would only believe it when he saw a dead wolf.
"They distort facts so much, they've lied to us continually on this thing," he said. "First they said there was no wolves in the area. We showed them that there was. Then they said there might be wolves, but they'll never eat a cow. We showed them that they did."
McIrvin said wolf activity has been escalating. Last year 11 calves and five bulls were killed, he said. He will tally how many have been killed this year in the fall.
"We know we've had two kills. We know we've had four other calves attacked and severely wounded," he said.
McIrvin said there's no way to protect against wolves on the rough, big timber country range, where he runs roughly 300 pairs of cattle.
McIrvin owns a lot of the area and has state Department of Natural Resources leases and U.S. Forest Service grazing permits in the area.
McIrvin said he's seen wolves in the area. Cowboys coming in after dark with horses have wolves following within several hundred yards, howling.
"You can't see them, but you can hear them all the time," McIrvin said. He has a kill permit for depredation if wolves are caught in the act, but said there's little chance of meeting that requirement.
The environmental organization Conservation Northwest released a statement questioning whether McIrvin made a "good faith effort" to reduce the risk of conflict between wolves and his livestock.
"It's unclear in this case whether the right livestock stewardship steps have first been tried to reduce conflict potential," Mitch Friedman, Conservation Northwest executive director, said in the statement. "If we expect wolves to behave, ranchers need to meet them halfway."
According to the department, state efforts include specialized electric fencing, attaching a radio collar to the pack's alpha male and maintaining a regular human presence in the area.
The ranch employs five cowboys to frequently check on the herd.
Pamplin said the state is implementing its wolf conservation and management plan and committed to working with livestock operators to protect their livestock and minimize impacts.
The department will evaluate its options and continue to monitor the wolf pack's movement and any further depredations.
Under the state's wolf plan, ranchers receive compensation for two animals for a confirmed wolf kill and compensation for one cow for a probable wolf kill, Pamplin said.
McIrvin said his losses are so heavy, including lower weight gain and a lower conception rate, that the only compensation he's interested in is a dead wolf for every dead calf.
"This isn't a wolf problem, we always could take care of our own problems," he said. "It's an agency regulatory problem (with) threats of imprisonment and fines."
McIrvin expects the wolves to spread.
"This is our problem today, but in three years it's going to be every cattleman's problem," he said.
Matthew Weaver is a writer for the Salem-based Capital Press.
