Okanogan County will ask to take wolf off endangered list
By Marcy Stamper
State wildlife managers will have to substantiate their listing of the gray wolf as endangered in response to a petition approved by the Okanogan County commissioners.
The commissioners have approved a resolution that asserts that the wolves currently protected in Washington are not native and threaten livestock and the public health, safety and welfare.
The resolution, which questions the state's initial rationale for placing the wolf on the endangered list, authorizes the commissioners to petition the director of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to remove the wolf from the list and instead classify it as "deleterious exotic wildlife." It was adopted after a public hearing on Wednesday (Aug. 3).
The county commissioners heard testimony from 18 people, only two opposed to the change in status. In addition, they received 15 to 20 letters before the hearing, about evenly divided for and against the petition, according to county commissioner Bud Hover. About 45 people attended the hearing.
State law provides for de-listing, saying that a petition "should set forth specific evidence and scientific data which shows that the species may no longer be failing, declining, or vulnerable."
Many speakers commended the commissioners for taking the initiative to petition the agency. Although State Sen. Bob Morton and State Rep. Shelly Short, who represent the eastern part of Okanogan County, along with three commissioners from other Eastern Washington counties, attended and offered their support, Okanogan County is not looking to be in the vanguard on the issue, said Hover in an interview after the hearing.
Morton thanked the commissioners for holding the hearing and urged further research to verify their position. "The wolf is not at home here and never has been – there is no research showing it is native," he said, noting that he considers it his right to shoot any wolf that threatens his livestock.
A Ferry County commissioner asked how they can help with the petition, such as sponsoring a joint resolution or writing a letter of support.
The commissioners are concerned that the endangered listing for wolves is being used instead as a strategy for other goals, such as ending or restricting cattle grazing on public land. He echoed the assertions of several speakers who compared protections for the wolf to those for the spotted owl under the Endangered Species Act, which they blame for destroying the timber industry in the county in the 1990s.
Some testimony reflected the passion that has developed around the animals. "We have a wolf in the Methow Valley, and if it was gone, it would be just about right," said one man.
Another speaker who has owned property east of Carlton for 30 years said a wolf had threatened her dog last year for the first time, prompting them to install 2,150 feet of wire fencing to protect their property. "If I can't shoot something to keep it from eating my dog, what's the point?" she asked.
The two individuals who spoke against the petition said they were concerned the commissioners were spending time and taxpayers' money on this issue. One urged the commissioners to focus on socio-economic ills affecting the county, such as substance abuse and a high drop-out rate, and the other asked them to focus on a scientifically based management plan that will enable people and wolves to coexist.
"People think the resolution is designed to eradicate wolves in Washington," said Hover, who said that is not accurate. "We are challenging the ESA listing. We're saying, 'if the wolves deserve to be listed, prove it,'" he said during the commissioners' brief discussion before the vote.
Hover acknowledged after the hearing that there is considerable emotion distorting the issue, with people romanticizing the experience of hearing wolves or saying wolves are going to eat their children. "We're saying the listing is not appropriate for these animals," he said. If the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has not designated any critical habitat because the wolves are habitat generalists and have arrived on their own from Canada, there is no need to protect them in the state, said Hover.
At the close of testimony, commissioner Jim DeTro said they had a thick packet of input to review and would continue the discussion. He introduced two affidavits into the record that he said supported the contention that the wolves had been introduced to the county and had not arrived independently. The affidavits, signed this February, were sworn by two individuals who were traveling together at Rat Lake near Brewster in 2005.
Both said they had seen a pick-up truck with "a large screen-covered cage" at the boat launch with the cage door open. According to the affidavits, the truck hurriedly left the scene just before the men spotted three wolves standing 150 yards from boat launch.
Shortly thereafter DeTro said he had studied the issue thoroughly and moved to adopt the resolution. Hover seconded it and it passed with both men voting, to applause from the public. Commissioner and chair Andrew Lampe did not vote.
After receiving the petition, the WDFW director has 60 days either to deny the request or to initiate the de-listing process. The law directs the agency to publish a notice calling for scientific information relevant to the species status as part of the review.
State law also requires a review of a listing at least once every five years.
Wolves are still on the federal endangered species list in the western section of the state, including the Methow Valley, but that status has been lifted east of state Route 97.
State wildlife managers will have to substantiate their listing of the gray wolf as endangered in response to a petition approved by the Okanogan County commissioners.
The commissioners have approved a resolution that asserts that the wolves currently protected in Washington are not native and threaten livestock and the public health, safety and welfare.
The resolution, which questions the state's initial rationale for placing the wolf on the endangered list, authorizes the commissioners to petition the director of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to remove the wolf from the list and instead classify it as "deleterious exotic wildlife." It was adopted after a public hearing on Wednesday (Aug. 3).
The county commissioners heard testimony from 18 people, only two opposed to the change in status. In addition, they received 15 to 20 letters before the hearing, about evenly divided for and against the petition, according to county commissioner Bud Hover. About 45 people attended the hearing.
State law provides for de-listing, saying that a petition "should set forth specific evidence and scientific data which shows that the species may no longer be failing, declining, or vulnerable."
Many speakers commended the commissioners for taking the initiative to petition the agency. Although State Sen. Bob Morton and State Rep. Shelly Short, who represent the eastern part of Okanogan County, along with three commissioners from other Eastern Washington counties, attended and offered their support, Okanogan County is not looking to be in the vanguard on the issue, said Hover in an interview after the hearing.
Morton thanked the commissioners for holding the hearing and urged further research to verify their position. "The wolf is not at home here and never has been – there is no research showing it is native," he said, noting that he considers it his right to shoot any wolf that threatens his livestock.
A Ferry County commissioner asked how they can help with the petition, such as sponsoring a joint resolution or writing a letter of support.
The commissioners are concerned that the endangered listing for wolves is being used instead as a strategy for other goals, such as ending or restricting cattle grazing on public land. He echoed the assertions of several speakers who compared protections for the wolf to those for the spotted owl under the Endangered Species Act, which they blame for destroying the timber industry in the county in the 1990s.
Some testimony reflected the passion that has developed around the animals. "We have a wolf in the Methow Valley, and if it was gone, it would be just about right," said one man.
Another speaker who has owned property east of Carlton for 30 years said a wolf had threatened her dog last year for the first time, prompting them to install 2,150 feet of wire fencing to protect their property. "If I can't shoot something to keep it from eating my dog, what's the point?" she asked.
The two individuals who spoke against the petition said they were concerned the commissioners were spending time and taxpayers' money on this issue. One urged the commissioners to focus on socio-economic ills affecting the county, such as substance abuse and a high drop-out rate, and the other asked them to focus on a scientifically based management plan that will enable people and wolves to coexist.
"People think the resolution is designed to eradicate wolves in Washington," said Hover, who said that is not accurate. "We are challenging the ESA listing. We're saying, 'if the wolves deserve to be listed, prove it,'" he said during the commissioners' brief discussion before the vote.
Hover acknowledged after the hearing that there is considerable emotion distorting the issue, with people romanticizing the experience of hearing wolves or saying wolves are going to eat their children. "We're saying the listing is not appropriate for these animals," he said. If the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has not designated any critical habitat because the wolves are habitat generalists and have arrived on their own from Canada, there is no need to protect them in the state, said Hover.
At the close of testimony, commissioner Jim DeTro said they had a thick packet of input to review and would continue the discussion. He introduced two affidavits into the record that he said supported the contention that the wolves had been introduced to the county and had not arrived independently. The affidavits, signed this February, were sworn by two individuals who were traveling together at Rat Lake near Brewster in 2005.
Both said they had seen a pick-up truck with "a large screen-covered cage" at the boat launch with the cage door open. According to the affidavits, the truck hurriedly left the scene just before the men spotted three wolves standing 150 yards from boat launch.
Shortly thereafter DeTro said he had studied the issue thoroughly and moved to adopt the resolution. Hover seconded it and it passed with both men voting, to applause from the public. Commissioner and chair Andrew Lampe did not vote.
After receiving the petition, the WDFW director has 60 days either to deny the request or to initiate the de-listing process. The law directs the agency to publish a notice calling for scientific information relevant to the species status as part of the review.
State law also requires a review of a listing at least once every five years.
Wolves are still on the federal endangered species list in the western section of the state, including the Methow Valley, but that status has been lifted east of state Route 97.
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