LAURIER, Wash. —

When Washington ranchers find that gray wolves have attacked their cattle, they can call the state wildlife agency, which has killed 31 of the protected predators since 2012 under a program intended to save vulnerable livestock.

Many ranches have routinely used state-contracted range riders to ward off wolves, which are listed by Washington as endangered even as they have gradually returned during the last decade after being reintroduced in Idaho.

But not the Diamond M Ranch, which has grazed its cattle on federal land near the U.S.-Canada border in northeast Washington since World War II.

via One Washington ranch, 26 protected gray wolves killed – Los Angeles Times

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Friday at least four wolf pups were born this year into Oregon’s Indigo wolf pack.

The agency said it recently put a tracking collar on one of the pups, which is now about 6 months old.

The Indigo pack lives in Lane and Douglas counties.

In March, the Trump administration issued a proposal to strip wolves of federal protections in Oregon and other states in the nation.

Oregon adopted a new management plan in June for gray wolves. It applies to eastern Oregon, where the wolves are most abundant and not under federal protections.

Wolves in the western part of the state are still under federal protections.

Oregon’s wildlife agency estimated the wolf population at the end of 2018 to be 137 individuals in 16 packs.

via At Least 4 Wolf Pups Born Into Oregon’s Indigo Pack This Year . News | OPB

By Eli Francovich

Kill fewer wolves.

That was the message Gov. Jay Inslee sent to Washington’s wildlife management agency in a letter, Monday.

“We must find new methods to better support co-existence between Washington’s livestock industry and gray wolves in our state,” Inslee said in the letter. “The status quo of annual lethal removal is simply unacceptable.”

Inslee acknowledges that in most cases Washington’s wolves are existing peacefully with livestock and people. According to agency statistics 90% of Washington’s wolves aren’t causing problems. He also praised the state’s Wolf Advisory Group, which has members representing cattle, conservation and business interests.

However, in northeast Washington it’s been a summer of conflict with wolves killing and injuring cattle, prompting the state and, in some case, ranchers to kill wolves, in turn prompting environmental groups to sue the state.

In response to the state-ordered killings, Inslee urged a reexamination of policy and procedure in parts of northeast Washington where WDFW has repeatedly killed wolves charged with attacking cattle.

“For reasons that are not entirely clear, numerous conflicts with livestock producers have occurred in a handful of federal grazing allotments,” the letter states.

via Inslee asks Washington wildlife agency to kill fewer wolves, pursue new management methods | The Spokesman-Review

State officials have canceled a series of public meetings about possible changes to the state’s wolf-management policy, citing fear of violence.

The Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife had planned 14 public meetings from Spokane to Montesano to kick off a yearslong process of creating a new wolf-management policy, once wolves are no longer protected under the state and federal endangered species acts.

Instead, the department is hosting online webinars. The dates have not yet been announced.

via Fearing violence, officials cancel public meetings on managing Washington wolf packs | The Seattle Times

California’s only known wolf pack has at least three new pups, according to a report by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. Trail cameras in Lassen County recorded the pups, as well as two or three adult wolves, in June.

Grey wolves first came to California in this century. On December 28, 2011, a single grey wolf with a radio collar crossed the Oregon/California border into California history. Named OR-7, the wolf was the first confirmed grey wolf in the state since 1924, when the last known wolf in California was trapped and killed in Lassen County. OR-7 became famous — and for some, notorious — as people debated what the return of the predators would mean for agriculture.
via Three New Wolf Pups Sighted in Northeast California | KQED Science