Washington department issues kill order for Togo wolf pack

(The Center Square) – The Togo wolf pack in Northeastern Washington has injured or killed four calves within the last 30 days, triggering lethal removal of wolves under the state’s management plan.

On Monday, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Kelly Susewind released a statement that a hunt for one or two wolves would take place. He authorized the action in response to repeated depredations of cattle on private grazing lands in Ferry County.

“The proactive and responsive non-lethal deterrents used by the two affected livestock producers (described below) in the area this grazing season have not curtailed further depredations,” reads the posting on the agency’s website, wdfw.wa.gov.

Lethal removal authorization expires when the wolf or wolves have been removed, or after June 27, whichever comes first. The authorization could be extended or amended to include other wolves in the pack if additional depredations are documented in the next couple of week or other extenuating circumstances are identified, according to WDF

The agency states that Susewind’s decision is consistent with the state’s Wolf Conservation and Management Plan, and the lethal removal provisions of WDFW’s 2017 wolf-livestock interaction protocol.

Scott Nielsen, president of the Stevens County Cattlemen’s Association, said June 13 that whether the hunt results in the removal of wolves remains to be seen. He said previous kill orders involving the Togo pack have not come to fruition, which he and other ranchers believe has made the wolves more aggressive.

“They don’t think they have anything to fear from man,” said Neilsen. “It’s past time that something gets done to protect livestock but, unfortunately, I do not think that killing one or two of the pack is going to slow the attacks at this point. Fish and Wildlife waited too long, and they’ve now got a chronically depredating pack of wolves on their hands.”

WDFW reports that, since its last update on June 10, a range rider discovered another injured calf in private industrial timberland. The mother of the calf was removed from the site and returned to the homestead.

According to WDFW, that brings the number of documented depredations to six on private lands that have been attributed to the Togo pack since August 2021.

All injuries or deaths were confirmed except one that was determined to be a probable wolf attack.

Nielsen said ranchers contend there are many other kills and injuries tied to the Togo pack, but it has proven difficult to get WDFW to confirm them. He believes that is tied to a lack of political will because Gov. Jay Inslee has asked WDFW to find ways to reduce the number of wolves being euthanized due to depredations.

The ranchers in each of the confirmed cases involving Togo wolves had taken proactive steps to ward off depredations, stated WDFW in Monday’s posting.

These measures included moving livestock out of private pastures in Togo territory after discovery of a wolf-killed deer in April.

The ranchers had also provided a human presence and focused monitoring around private pastures to ensure cattle were checked several times a day. VHF ear tags were used on cattle to assist in locating them.

Carcasses of deceased animals had been cleared away and sick and injured livestock removed from the scene.

Special lighting had been set up in the pasture where an injured calf was found in May.

Range riders had provided daily to near daily visits to grazing sites on private lands. Producers kept in regular communication with WDFW staff and reported any suspected depredations.

“The proactive and reactive non-lethal deterrence measures implemented by these livestock producers were those best suited for their operations in the professional judgment of WDFW staff,” states Monday’s posting.

The agency believes depredations are likely to continue in the region through the open grazing season. Officials base that assessment on livestock being evenly dispersed throughout much of the Togo territory and there already being a high amount of non-lethal deterrence deployed.

“The lethal removal of one to two wolves from the Togo pack territory is not expected to harm the wolf population’s ability to reach the statewide or local recovery objective,” states WDFW.

The Togo wolf pack has a minimum of seven members, per the state’s 2021 wolf survey. Last year, the pack was targeted by state shooters following repeated livestock attacks, but no wolves from the pack were killed.

There were a minimum of 206 wolves and 33 packs in Washington state in 2021, according to an annual survey conducted by state and tribal biologists.

WDFW will keep the public informed about the status of the Togo hunt in its next update on June 20.

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