OLYMPIA — A new law will require a statewide analysis by the Department of Fish and Wildlife of wolf recovery efforts to see if a change in conservation status is warranted.State Rep. Joel Kretz, R-Wauconda, sponsored House Bill 2097, which Gov. Jay Inslee recently signed and is effective July 28. The bill passed the House of Representatives unanimously and the Senate by a 43-5 vote.Julia Smith, a wolf specialist with Fish and Wildlife, said the department conducts status reviews of endangered species every five years. The gray wolf review is delayed, she said, but would have been done regardless of the new law.The most recent estimate from Fish and Wildlife showed 27 wolf packs in Washington, the majority in the northeastern part of the state.Eastern Washington has reached wolf recovery goals, and the Northern Cascades zone is close. However, the Southern Cascades and Northwest Coast zone has not reached those goals.When it comes to conservation status, the state doesn’t make distinctions between different regions, Smith said.

Source: Lawmaker Wants Review of Wolf Recovery Efforts | Northwest Regional News | chronline.com

After years or revisions, scores of contentious meetings, an outside mediator and the abandonment of talks by half of the stakeholders, Oregon wildlife commissioners approved the state’s long-overdue Wolf Management Plan on Friday.In a 6 to 1 vote, the 155-page plan, which governs how wolves are handled in the areas of the state where they don’t enjoy federal protection under the Endangered Species Act, was approved by the seven-member commission of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Source: Oregon wildlife commissioners adopt hotly contested wolf management plan – oregonlive.com

Slapping down a stance taken by the director of Oregon’s wildlife department, Gov. Kate Brown declared May 15 that the state and its agencies oppose the federal government’s proposal to take the gray wolf off the endangered species list.Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Curtis Melcher had written May 9 to a federal agency in support of the proposal, saying that in the Lower 48 states and Mexico, the gray wolf no longer meets the definition of an endangered or threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Source: Brown defies feds on gray wolf;

SALEM — Slapping down a stance taken by the director of Oregon’s wildlife department, Gov. Kate Brown declared Wednesday that the state and its agencies oppose the federal government’s proposal to take the gray wolf off the endangered species list.Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Curtis Melcher had written May 9 to a federal agency in support of the proposal, saying that in the Lower 48 states and Mexico, the gray wolf no longer meets the definition of an endangered or threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act.Conservation groups and an Oregon congressman blasted Melcher’s position after the letter, which had not been publicly announced, came to light this week. Then Brown herself weighed in Wednesday in a letter to U.S. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, saying she wanted to “clarify and ­correct” Melcher.

Source: Rift in Oregon’s stance on gray wolves;

During an hourlong talk, Steve Pozzanghera, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Region 1 director, briefed commissioners on the latest status of the gray wolf population and what’s on the horizon for the growing population in the state and locally, where a new pack has been identified.At the start of his presentation, Pozzanghera said he has been spending a lot of time in Northeast Washington talking with county commissioners about gray wolves “and as we see additional packs now starting to reside in the Blue Mountains … I think these dialogues are going to become more common.”

Source: Wolf update includes new pack in Walla Walla area | Walla Walla County | union-bulletin.com