State confirms new wolf pack near Wenatchee

[Elkaholic daWg]

http://www.capitalpress.com/newsletter/mw-Wenatchee-wolf-pack-040312-Donny-Martorello-mug







State confirms new wolf pack near Wenatchee

By MATTHEW WEAVER

Capital Press

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has confirmed a new wolf pack near Wenatchee and expects more to turn up this year.

A pack must have two or more wolves traveling together, said Donny Martorello, carnivore section manager for the department.

The department expects more wolf packs by spring or summer in northeastern Washington, particularly Chelan and Okanogan counties, Martorello said.

"As the habitats start to fill up, those wolves that are leaving those packs, those sub-adult animals, are looking for new territories," he said. "There might already be packs out there we're not aware of."

According to the department, the Wenatchee Wolfpack has at least two members. Photos taken by a remote camera on March 24 show the wolves.

"It makes it official," Martorello said. "We'll continue to monitor that pack throughout the year and see if that pack produces a litter of pups this year and at least two of those pups survive to the end of December."

Martorello said the department will attempt to capture and collar members of the pack.

According to the department, one member of the pack is suspected to be a 1.5-year-old female that dispersed from the Teanaway Pack. The female wolf was observed Feb. 11 in the Entiat Mountains of Chelan County. Staff captured it in September 2011 as a juvenile and ear tags were placed in both ears.


Online

http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/gray_wolf/packs/wenatchee/

[wolfbait]

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Is there a new pack of wolves near Lake Chelan?
File photo

Biologists are trying to confirm whether a new pack of gray wolves — like the one in this U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service photo — is roaming near Lake Chelan.
CHELAN — They’ve had no confirmed sightings, but U.S. Forest Service biologists in Chelan think gray wolves might be living in remote areas above Lake Chelan’s north shore.

The Chelan Ranger District set out three cameras this winter to try to confirm it.

Just over the Chelan Ridge, which separates the Methow and Lake Chelan valleys, the state’s first confirmed wolf pack is being monitored.

“There could be a separate pack,” said Mallory Lenz, Chelan’s district biologist. Lenz said they’ve been getting reports since the early 1990s from hunters and outfitters who thought they saw or heard wolves.

“The outfitters that go up there have said for several 


years now they think there’s another pack,” she said. The areas include Miners Basin and the upper east fork of Prince Creek, she said. Both are more than halfway up the lake, across the lake and southeast of Lucerne.

The reports were basically discounted, she said. Everyone thought the animals were probably wolf-dog hybrids.

Then, after state officials confirmed in 2008 that the Lookout Pack members in the Methow Valley are pure wolf and genetically linked to wolves in British Columbia, biologists started to think those reported in the Chelan basin might also be purebred, Lenz said.

She said this winter was the first time her district has set up remote cameras for the purpose of finding wolves. A few years ago, she said, a remote camera did capture an image that could have been a wolf, but it was from the animal’s back side, and could also have been a very large dog.

Next week, Lenz will retrieve the three remote cameras and download the images to see if there’s any proof of another pack.

“I’m excited about the possibility, because it’s an indicator we have a healthy, working ecosystem out there,” she said. It’s also a unique opportunity to have wolves in an area where they’d have little impact, since there are no active livestock ranges in that area.

But this winter may not have been the best opportunity to capture proof, Lenz said. With so little snow, the deer have been ranging higher than usual, and the wolves —if there are any — would probably follow them to higher elevations where cameras are not set up.

John Rohrer, Forest Service biologist for the Methow Valley Ranger District, said the Lookout Pack has traveled over the Chelan Ridge crest, and up into the North Cascades National Park.

But it’s unlikely that the sightings in the Lake Chelan area are of the Lookout Pack. He’s been helping monitor the alpha male and female since 2008 and “They’ve never been down by Lake Chelan. They’re always up in the high country,” he said.

Residents in the Methow Valley have also been reporting what they believe is a second wolf pack, in the War Creek drainage of Twisp River. But Rohrer said feedback from radio collars shows the pack has been in that area a number of times, so it’s probable that those sightings are of the Lookout Pack.

Scott Fitkin, state Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist in Winthrop, agreed. “To what extent there are other individual wolves wandering on the landscape, or additional packs, that’s an unknown,” he said. “But War Creek is in the middle of the Lookout Pack’s range. A pack there more than likely will be the Lookout Pack,” he said.

At last count, the Lookout Pack included seven wolves — an alpha male, an alpha female, an adult pup born in 2008, and four pups born last spring

Fitkin said the pack continues to behave itself. “At least nobody’s reporting any problems,” he said.

The pack also appears to be healthy, and living longer than wolves that compete with other packs.

“The expected lifespan tends to be less than what we’re seeing on the Lookout,” Fitkin said. The adult male wolf was about 5 years old when they started monitoring the pack two years ago. “We’ve got pretty old adults. The fact that they’ve persisted this long makes it a pretty successful pack,” he said.

That may be because the habitat could support many more wolves, so there’s not as much competition for food, he said. The pack also doesn’t have to contend with “intra-species strife,” he said, and the fighting between males that can significantly reduce an individual wolf’s lifespan.

K.C. Mehaffey: 997-2512

mehaffey@wenatcheeworld.com

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

I didnt know we needed wolfs to have a healthly ecosystem?  I would have to think that an ecosystem void of the wolf would be much healthier than one with the wolf?

[Rovingarcher]

I am not anti wolf.What bothers me with this(and it's already happening) Is Washingtons wildlife has to be managed by initiative.Critters are owned by all people of the State, not just hunters.Our wildlife officials are just getting paid to enforce laws.If I'm off base on this,refer to our bear baiting and dog hunting issues.Wa Dept of Wildlife couldn't open their mouths when this debate was happening.Pro or con.When the wolf population starts creating problems like it has already,you will see animal rights taking dept of Game to court, and all the while, our deer and elk herds will get wiped out.I say, as with wolverines,see a wolf, keep your trail cam videos to yourself,no bragging, and if you have any problems,deal with them.All the while remembering, your mouth will be your worst enemy.

[Special T]

Sounds to me like they are only "finding" Them when they have to.

[Curly]

What bothers me with this(and it's already happening) Is Washingtons wildlife has to be managed by initiative.Critters are owned by all people of the State, not just hunters.Our wildlife officials are just getting paid to enforce laws.If I'm off base on this,refer to our bear baiting and dog hunting issues.Wa Dept of Wildlife couldn't open their mouths when this debate was happening.

   It is a shame that WDFW is not allowed to give opinion on the initiatives.  Makes no sense. The initiative process should not be used to manage wildlife.

[KenPCPilot]

http://www.capitalpress.com/newsletter/mw-Wenatchee-wolf-pack-040312-Donny-Martorello-mug
off topic.  nice avatar






State confirms new wolf pack near Wenatchee

By MATTHEW WEAVER

Capital Press

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has confirmed a new wolf pack near Wenatchee and expects more to turn up this year.

A pack must have two or more wolves traveling together, said Donny Martorello, carnivore section manager for the department.

The department expects more wolf packs by spring or summer in northeastern Washington, particularly Chelan and Okanogan counties, Martorello said.

"As the habitats start to fill up, those wolves that are leaving those packs, those sub-adult animals, are looking for new territories," he said. "There might already be packs out there we're not aware of."

According to the department, the Wenatchee Wolfpack has at least two members. Photos taken by a remote camera on March 24 show the wolves.

"It makes it official," Martorello said. "We'll continue to monitor that pack throughout the year and see if that pack produces a litter of pups this year and at least two of those pups survive to the end of December."

Martorello said the department will attempt to capture and collar members of the pack.

According to the department, one member of the pack is suspected to be a 1.5-year-old female that dispersed from the Teanaway Pack. The female wolf was observed Feb. 11 in the Entiat Mountains of Chelan County. Staff captured it in September 2011 as a juvenile and ear tags were placed in both ears.


Online

http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/gray_wolf/packs/wenatchee/

[Dan-o]

Here's hoping they are just passing through on their way to San Juan Island.

[madmack76]

so once again they are confirming something we have already told them. 

[GEARHEAD]

triple "S"

[Elkaholic daWg]

 Tonight King 5 has Gary Chiittam Up  what looks Like near Wheeler Ridge or the Stemilt Basin camping, looking  to call the Bastiges in so he can be thrilled about thier presence! There is a story from tonight on their website and I'm sure they will have more tomorrow, especially if they get their wish and get an answer or see them. Never did care much for Chittam and this just made it worse. Stupid Pugetropolans!!

[boneaddict]

There is ONLY ONE pack in Okanogan county.   WTH are they thinking?  Possibly more...... NOOOOOOOO  Reallly? 

[Special T]

I just re-read the first 2 posts... Anyone notice something funny?  Took me a little while to notice it also! AThe 2 dates on those articles contradict each other AND the dates do as well! By a few weeks!  Some people wonder why there is little trust on the  issue! 

[vandeman17]

What amazes me is how all the wetsiders are so interested in the wolves, want to come over and try to "call one in" so they can see it up close and watch how "beautiful" they are. It is easy for them because when it is all said and done, they can drive back over the mountains in their yuppie cars and be back where there are no wolves. It would be an amazing social experiment if we could "reintroduce" some wolves in western washington and see how the media and residents handle the sightings. I crack up every time I see on the news about how big a deal it is that a homeowner saw a bear or something in their yard. I can only imagine if there were wolf sightings! 

[steeleywhopper]

I say shoot every one of the bastages! Yes I'm one of those ignorant a--holes!

[boneaddict]

Apparantly I'm Stooopid

[mulehunter]

I Hate Wolves!      

[SpringerFan]

http://www.king5.com/news/environment/States-wolf-packs-moving-west-to-central-Washington-207313021.html

[mountainman]

Funny how this report states the wolves are travelling from the west, when in fact, they have travelled down from the Methows Lookout pack..hmmm?

[Special T]

The whole wolf issue does not follow logic

[Humptulips]

Funny how this report states the wolves are travelling from the west, when in fact, they have travelled down from the Methows Lookout pack..hmmm?

That's not how I read the article. It said they were traveling west not from the west.

[steen]

What amazes me is how all the wetsiders are so interested in the wolves, want to come over and try to "call one in" so they can see it up close and watch how "beautiful" they are. It is easy for them because when it is all said and done, they can drive back over the mountains in their yuppie cars and be back where there are no wolves. It would be an amazing social experiment if we could "reintroduce" some wolves in western washington and see how the media and residents handle the sightings. I crack up every time I see on the news about how big a deal it is that a homeowner saw a bear or something in their yard. I can only imagine if there were wolf sightings! 

Really?  Quit putting all wetsiders under your so called category.  Grow up!  Not all of us want wolves and don't hunt.  I don't have a yuppie car, Suburban, truck and a Mustang cause I'm old enough.

[whitey]

What amazes me is how all the wetsiders are so interested in the wolves, want to come over and try to "call one in" so they can see it up close and watch how "beautiful" they are. It is easy for them because when it is all said and done, they can drive back over the mountains in their yuppie cars and be back where there are no wolves. It would be an amazing social experiment if we could "reintroduce" some wolves in western washington and see how the media and residents handle the sightings. I crack up every time I see on the news about how big a deal it is that a homeowner saw a bear or something in their yard. I can only imagine if there were wolf sightings! 

Easy there Hotdog!! Dont start chitting in everyones mess kit on your RANT!!
Peace..OUT..

[elk247]

We all hunt here on hunt-wa. I doubt vandeman was referring to the westsiders on this forum. I live on the westside, but hunt and recreate all over the state. If it would help the folks on the eastside prove their point then bring on the wolves! Its ironic that we might need wolves over on the wet side so we can have less wolves finally. Its a pretty crappy deal for those folks. They are ignored, lied to and not even compensated for their losses. I understand the frustration.

[whitey]

We all hunt here on hunt-wa. I doubt vandeman was referring to the westsiders on this forum. I live on the westside, but hunt and recreate all over the state. If it would help the folks on the eastside prove their point then bring on the wolves! Its ironic that we might need wolves over on the wet side so we can have less wolves finally. Its a pretty crappy deal for those folks. They are ignored, lied to and not even compensated for their losses. I understand the frustration.

You are more than likely correct. I just took it as he was saying we are all flatlanders and it came off a little sideways for me.
I have already seen a wolf on the westside about 15 years ago near stevens pass while mountain biking the alpine lake area, (When you could ride in those areas)
Shortly there after on a return trip to the same area the state had posted signs ask for Us to report these sightings. I never did. Since then (Recently) have heard of another large dog sighted in the same general area. So I believe they are already here. I also say bring them on to the wetside. See what the bleeding hearts think about it then.
Keep the powder dry, and shoot straight.
Whitey..OUT!!!

[liljozie495]

What amazes me is how all the wetsiders are so interested in the wolves, want to come over and try to "call one in" so they can see it up close and watch how "beautiful" they are. It is easy for them because when it is all said and done, they can drive back over the mountains in their yuppie cars and be back where there are no wolves. It would be an amazing social experiment if we could "reintroduce" some wolves in western washington and see how the media and residents handle the sightings. I crack up every time I see on the news about how big a deal it is that a homeowner saw a bear or something in their yard. I can only imagine if there were wolf sightings! 

Easy there Hotdog!! Dont start chitting in everyones mess kit on your RANT!!
Peace..OUT..

  not all wetsiders basically hug trees, let some of these wolves into Seattle where the tree huggers are  being as I love to hunt and love to hunt anywhere I'm fine with a few wolf sightings in a area... Ill just be sure to gut shot so they run off    it's just all too interesting this whole wolf topics, it's like if naturally there here... Then there here.... If there being "re-introduced" and not being treated like a big game animal and have a season for them then there is a problem, as is this state has too many problems with game management, hell why not bring the wolves in to help out with our game management and "ecosystem"... (Sarcasm)

[20 Minutes]

Funny how this report states the wolves are travelling from the west, when in fact, they have travelled down from the Methows Lookout pack..hmmm?

I could be wrong, but another member posted that the game department suspected a female wolf was kicked out of the Teanaway Pack. She had an ear tag and was tracked into the Entiat, where she was caught pregnant on trail cam with an estimated 6 pups. So apparently she found a mate. Then they tracked her into the Wenatchee area. I could be totally wrong, but that was what I remembered reading a month or two ago on Hunt-Wa.

Can somebody set the record straight?

[jackelope]

What amazes me is how all the wetsiders are so interested in the wolves, want to come over and try to "call one in" so they can see it up close and watch how "beautiful" they are. It is easy for them because when it is all said and done, they can drive back over the mountains in their yuppie cars and be back where there are no wolves. It would be an amazing social experiment if we could "reintroduce" some wolves in western washington and see how the media and residents handle the sightings. I crack up every time I see on the news about how big a deal it is that a homeowner saw a bear or something in their yard. I can only imagine if there were wolf sightings! 

Really?  Quit putting all wetsiders under your so called category.  Grow up!  Not all of us want wolves and don't hunt.  I don't have a yuppie car, Suburban, truck and a Mustang cause I'm old enough.

Vandeman- weren't you a wet sider yourself like a year or 2 ago? Are you the same guy looking to buy property but are concerned about living in wolf country?

[20 Minutes]

I love it when I read those ignorant statements from eastsider's about westsider's. Not everyone on the westside puts on a suit and tie, jumps in their Range Rover, stops at Starbucks, sits in their office cashing in their stock options at Microsoft, and rants about saving the wolves in chat rooms. You eastside fold gotta get over the whole east vs west thing.

And for the record....How many of you eastsider's get on Hunt-Wa and bitch about the ton of westsider's that come over hunting the eastside every year? Or the 500 westsider's per year, that ask to hunt your property? Have I made my point? A very large portion of hunters in Wa are from the westside.

Wolves will be all over the state before you know it, so you can count on seeing the news stories air of us westsider's telling our story how little pookie the poodle got drug off into the woods by the big bad wolf!

But for now....you eastsider's can deal with them. We are next in line!

[bearpaw]

I love it when I read those ignorant statements from eastsider's about westsider's. Not everyone on the westside puts on a suit and tie, jumps in their Range Rover, stops at Starbucks, sits in their office cashing in their stock options at Microsoft, and rants about saving the wolves in chat rooms. You eastside fold gotta get over the whole east vs west thing.

And for the record....How many of you eastsider's get on Hunt-Wa and bitch about the ton of westsider's that come over hunting the eastside every year? Or the 500 westsider's per year, that ask to hunt your property? Have I made my point? A very large portion of hunters in Wa are from the westside.

Wolves will be all over the state before you know it, so you can count on seeing the news stories air of us westsider's telling our story how little pookie the poodle got drug off into the woods by the big bad wolf!

But for now....you eastsider's can deal with them. We are next in line!

I don't think anyone is blaming the hunters on the wetside, it's all the other riftraft who are huggers. 

[Austrian Hunter]

Thank you Dale!