Conservation Northwest’s Wolf Policy and Field Work Since 2008: Our Observed Truths 

Conservation Northwest has been fully engaged in Washington’s wolf recovery since 2008, developing state wolf policy, and funding and assisting in on-the-ground coexistence through wolf/livestock conflict deterrence.  

Based on our cumulative experience, study and observation, these are statements that we call our Observed Truths and are statements that we presently believe and that guide our positions and work on Washington’s wolves. 

• Wolves are ecologically important through their direct and indirect effects on prey populations and the vegetation that ungulate species eat, and their interactions with other predators like cougars and coyotes. They represent wildness. Their presence in the landscape is morally and ecologically vital and must continue.
• Wolves are a social animal, so management must take into account the dynamics of packs (family groups) as opposed to just treating them like a random collection of individuals in a population
• Wolves are social animals, so management must take into account the dynamics of packs (family groups) as opposed to just treating them like a random collection of individuals in a population.
• Mortality is a constant presence in wolf packs from natural causes. Competition with other packs, interactions with other carnivores, and hunting their prey can lead to wolf fatalities. Human causes include accidental vehicle collisions, deliberate poaching, being removed while in the act of livestock predation, and lethal removal by state actors.
• Mortality impacts pack behavior, and minimization of human-caused mortality is a top indicator of a successful wolf recovery program. We also think scientific research shows that wolf populations self-regulate and adjust to the amount of available prey on the landscape so that hunting as a management tool is not necessary to keep wolves from “over-populating”.
• Range riding and other conflict deterrence practices, when diligently undertaken, tend to reduce conflict with livestock, though are not a universal remedy. They also can decrease stress on the cattle owners, knowing the herd is being monitored while the ranchers finish haying or other duties.
• Conservation Northwest and the Northeast Washington Wolf-Cattle Collaborative have had relatively good success in minimizing cattle depredations through range riding. A key indicator is that the northern Kettle Range experienced extensive problems prior to the surge in deterrence efforts that resulted from increased legislative funding in 2020 and 2021. Since then, conflict has been greatly reduced in that geography.
• In our experience, getting range riders on the ground early in the season, prior to any depredations occurring is more successful than attempting to use the tool after problems have already started.
• Livestock depredations can still occur even where diligent deterrence is practiced and experience indicate that when a pattern of depredation starts, the most successful approach to preventing escalation of the conflict is limited and rapid lethal removal.
• Our goal is minimizing the need for lethal removal through diligent and widespread application of high quality non-lethal deterrents. In order to get ranchers to buy in and participate in non-lethal efforts, we also need to publicly support lethal removal when preventative methods fail. We would not get the level of participation in our range riding programs if we categorically rejected the use of lethal control.
• In reality, different groups and agencies throughout the West are still learning how to apply non-lethal tools and the lethal tool of wolf removal. We are directly helping with the efforts to learn about and improve non-lethal deterrence.
• Buy-in and effort of livestock operators is a key determinant of to the success of deterrence. Participation is directly related to the quality of the program, including operators having a seat at the policy advisory table and agencies being responsive to operator needs.
• The level of poaching can be related to the level of social discontent. Understanding the challenges that ranchers face can minimize polarization and help with successful conflict deterrence and coexistence efforts. Poaching is a complicated social phenomenon. However, research does indicate that when community-wide frustrations are high, poaching can become socially sanctioned and difficult to stop.
• The inverse of the above may be true, in that existing polarization reduces the coexistence effort within the agricultural producer’s community and collaboration to gain legislative support.  Therefore, polarization can lead to both increased wolf-cattle conflict and wolf mortality.