Wolves may be returning to Washington state

TWISP, Okanogan County — One or more packs of gray wolves may be living in north-central Washington's Methow Valley, which would make them the first resident population of the endangered species in Washington state since before 1930, a state biologist says.

"There's certainly a distinct possibility that we actually have some wolves here, and they may be reproducing," said Scott Fitkin, wildlife biologist for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife in Winthrop.

Backpackers have made numerous reports of wolves in the high country in the past couple of years, and residents have made increasing numbers of reports in lower elevations, he said.

Fitkin said his agency is reviewing two photographs and hopes to gather hair samples or feces to confirm through genetic analysis that the animals seen in areas between the Twisp River and Libby Creek, about 50 miles north of Wenatchee, are gray wolves.

The wolves captured on film have brown in their coats, causing biologists to wonder if they might be hybrid wolves that have bred with dogs or coyotes. However, some gray wolves in British Columbia also have a similar tawny-brown color mixed in with their black, gray and white fur, he said.

Wolves are about four times as large as coyotes, with a male generally weighing 100 pounds or more.

Fitkin said photographs have confirmed the presence of gray wolves in northeastern Washington, but those wolves would not be endangered. In March, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed the gray wolf from the endangered list in Washington state east of Highway 97 because recovered populations in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming are expected to repopulate that area of the state.

They are still considered endangered in north-central Washington. By 1930, wolves were completely killed off in Washington state, through shooting, trapping, poisoning and government bounties, according to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Fitkin said there have been reliable wolf sightings in the Methow dating back to the early 1990s, but only sporadic, unconfirmed reports of wolf packs.

"My suspicion is, based on the sighting history, its development is very similar to how recolonization in the Rockies occurred," he said. "This is looking like we very well may have some wolves on the landscape."

Bill White, a Twisp cattleman and cougar tracker, is also convinced that wolves are living in the Methow. White said he saw tracks this winter as large as those left by a cougar, only more oval in shape, with distinct toenail marks left in the snow. He said his son also spotted wolves.

State and federal officials questioned the sightings, he said, so he set up a remote camera and caught them on film. He said he also gathered hair at one location.

White said he's not happy about the sightings, worrying that gray wolves will create more restrictions on public land.

"Are they going to rope it off, and say no more logging or hunting or snowmobiling?" he asked.

"Everybody's not supportive" of repopulating the area with wolves, he said, adding, "The cattleman's the only one that's going to make a sacrifice."

Fitkin said there's no question that wolves will kill pets and even livestock, particularly if they can't find enough of their usual prey, which would be deer in the Methow Valley.

However, Fitkin said having endangered gray wolves in the Methow Valley wouldn't create significant land-use restrictions, because wolves' habitat needs are not specific.

"As long as they have an adequate prey base, which are deer, and don't get killed," recovery should take care of itself, he said.