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Authorized Wolf Killings Already Underway In Washington State

File photo. Washington state officials are removing a wolf pack that roams the northeastern corner of the state.
Eric Kilby
/
Flickr - tinyurl.com/gngh5n7
File photo. Washington state officials are removing a wolf pack that roams the northeastern corner of the state.

Since August 19, Washington state officials have been actively removing a wolf pack that roams the northeastern corner of the state. But it wasn’t clear the state had already started killing the animals.

Conflict between wolves and livestock in the West has been controversial for decades. This summer, the Profanity Peak Pack has been blamed for at least 12 dead or injured cattle.

The Department of Fish and Wildlife’s announcement that it would remove the pack, deliberately came without a timeline.

“It raises tensions in communities for a variety of reasons,” WDFW Wolf Policy Lead Donny Martarello said.

Last spring, the Department developed it’s low profile plan with help from a citizen’s advisory panel.

“We’re not surprising anyone with this,” Martarello said. “It was a methodical conversation documented and agreed to unanimously by our stakeholders.”

Martarello said it’s “not a long term solution.” A new wolf pack is likely to move into the area once the Profanity Peak wolves are gone.

Copyright 2016 Northwest News Network

Emily Schwing
Emily Schwing comes to the Inland Northwest by way of Alaska, where she covered social and environmental issues with an Arctic spin as well as natural resource development, wildlife management and Alaska Native issues for nearly a decade. Her work has been heard on National Public Radio’s programs like “Morning Edition” and “All things Considered.” She has also filed for Public Radio International’s “The World,” American Public Media’s “Marketplace,” and various programs produced by the BBC and the CBC. She has also filed stories for Scientific American, Al Jazeera America and Arctic Deeply.