Howls in Okanogan area signal of wolves' return?

The howls in the forests of north-central Washington have added more evidence that gray wolves have returned to the state.

More than 70 years after the last wolf pack was wiped out here, state biologists checking reports of wolf sightings in the Okanogan region recently heard howls that sound like both adult and young wolves, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Friday.

The howls from different generations suggest a wolf pack could be here to stay, rather than simply a lone wolf straying from Canada or Idaho.

The arrival here of federally protected wolves has been long expected because their populations have expanded since reintroduction in the northern Rocky Mountains. But it's fraught with political implications and has ignited fierce debates.

Champions of wolves see them as key to a healthy ecosystem and a romantic symbol of wild nature.

"It's pretty exciting," said John Blankenship, executive director of Wolf Haven International, a wolf conservation group based in Tenino, Thurston County.

Opponents fear they will prey on livestock and bring heavy-handed government involvement through the Endangered Species Act.

"I guarantee that there isn't a livestock operator in Okanogan County that this is comforting news to," said Jack Field of the Washington Cattlemen's Association.

The suspected wolf pack was found west of state Highway 97, meaning it's still federally protected under the Endangered Species Act and it would be illegal to kill them in most circumstances.

Wolves in Washington east of the highway, as well as in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, were taken off the federal Endangered Species list earlier this year.

State biologists in the next few weeks hope to get final proof by trapping at least one of the wolves, fitting it with a radio collar and taking a DNA sample.

Until then, the state won't say for sure it's wolves. But an experienced wolf biologist who heard the howls seemed confident, said state Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Madonna Luers.

"He was pretty pumped," she said.

Warren Cornwall: 206-464-2311 or wcornwall@seattletimes.com