Not that this is any big shocker really......
http://www.methowvalleynews.com/story.php?id=1286The gray wolf will not be removed from the list of endangered species in Washington, state Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Philip Anderson said this week in response to an Okanogan County commissioners’ petition to de-list the animal.
Nor will the gray wolf be classified as deleterious exotic wildlife because it is native to the state, with thousands of animals until 1800, when the wolf was exterminated, Anderson said in a decision released Monday (Oct. 17).
Moreover, the 25 to 30 animals in the five currently confirmed wolf packs are not sufficient to constitute a healthy, self-sustaining population, according to Anderson.Anderson’s decision was sent in response to the Okanogan County commissioners’ petition to de-list the animal and instead classify it as exotic and harmful. The commissioners asked the director in August to take wolves off the state’s endangered list, claiming they are not native and that they pose a threat to livestock and to public health, safety and welfare.
In his analysis, Anderson states that the commissioners presented “no specific evidence or scientific data … which shows that the gray wolf population in Washington may no longer be failing, declining, or vulnerable,” the first criterion for de-listing under state law. Because the state’s wolf recovery plan is currently under consideration, it is premature to claim that the present status of the wolf satisfies the requirement for meeting those goals, said Anderson.
State law defines deleterious exotic wildlife as animals not native to the state and dangerous to the environment or wildlife.
Anderson said the gray wolf was once common throughout Washington and is a natural part of the ecosystems and the predator complex, from which it has been missing for more than 80 years.Anderson also rejected the commissioners’ contention that wolves have been reintroduced to the state. “The Department has never reintroduced or transplanted wolves from other states or provinces into Washington, nor has any other state or federal authority. There are no plans to ever do this. There is no reason to bring wolves into Washington because they are returning naturally from dispersing populations in nearby states and provinces,” he wrote.
Anderson said his agency is unaware of Okanogan County’s requests for records supporting the initial listing of the wolf in 1980, contrary to the commissioners’ claims. The wolf was listed in 1980, when there were no breeding pairs or established packs, even though individuals may have occasionally dispersed into the state from Canada, he said.
The agency response also addresses commissioners’ concerns about the wolf’s potential to spread a tapeworm to humans and dogs. The tapeworm is found in most canids worldwide, and deer and other ungulates are carriers, but a person or dog must directly ingest tapeworm eggs in feces to become infected, according to Anderson.
County commissioners could not be reached for a comment on the director’s response.
State law provides a mechanism for any individual or group to petition WDFW to list or de-list a species as endangered. A separate petition was submitted to Anderson earlier this month by the Washington Cattlemen’s Association and Hunter Heritage Council, based on concerns about the state recovery plan currently under review, which they say is “unacceptable to affected steakholders [sic]” and will lead to endless litigation. The groups urge management of wolves as a big-game species and hunting to prevent populations from growing so large that they become a menace. That petition will be addressed separately, according to Harriet Allen, endangered and threatened species section manager for WDFW.
