Oregon Public Broadcasting

The tug-of-war over the gray wolf has gone back to the courtroom. This week, environmental groups and the state of Wyoming sued the federal government over its decision to delist the wolf in Idaho and Montana, but not in Wyoming.

Away from the legal spotlight, Washington’s wolf population is quietly rebuilding. The state is doing what Idaho and Oregon have already done. It’s writing a plan for how to manage wolves.

Correspondent Doug Nadvornick takes us to a valley where residents are adjusting to life with wolves nearby.

From the wraparound porch on David Tate’s mountain cabin, you can see a huge swath of mountainous national forest land. It’s green as far as the eye can see in the Methow Valley, about 30 miles south of the Canadian border.

Lindsey Swope and Will Buchanan say they often hear Washington’s only confirmed breeding pair of wolves from their home above the Methow Valley.

This isn’t quite the middle of nowhere. Tate does have a few neighbors. Two of his daughters and their families live across the dirt road. Then, he says, there are the others who call the forest home.

David Tate: “Well, there’s plenty of deer and bear and cougar. And, of course, we have rattlesnakes.”

Tate’s newest neighbors are the wolves who were first spotted a year ago.

Their howls were captured by the group Conservation Northwest.

David Tate: “I have only seen the wolves once and that was this year in early March. They were on a hillside about a quarter-of-a-mile away and I watched them through a spotting scope for about 20 minutes.”

Those wolves include the only known breeding pair in Washington. Last summer, state wildlife agents tracked them down and outfitted them with radio collars.

David Tate is thrilled by his new neighbors and not at all worried that they’ll cause trouble.

David Tate: “No, no, I don’t see the wolf dangerous to myself or my grandkids that walk over to here everyday. I guess I worry more about cougars than wolves.”

The local Washington state wildlife biologist, Scott Fitkin, suspects wolves have come south from Canada and lived at least part-time in the Methow Valley for at least 20 years. He says the remoteness of the area and its abundant supply of deer provide an ideal habitat.

Scott Fitkin: “The combination of the start we’ve got here in the Cascades and the possibility of immigration from Idaho suggests that wolves are going to be on the increase here in the state of Washington.”

Fitkin says wolves have also been seen in other parts of Washington, but not many live here yet. That puts Washington years behind, say, Idaho, which has about 850 wolves.

While some local residents are excited to see the wolves return here, ranchers like Jack Field are not so crazy about the idea. Field heads the Washington Cattlemen’s Association.

Jack Field: “If I want to see wolves, I’ll go to the zoo.”

That’s Field’s glib answer. Here’s the serious one.

Jack Field: “There have been sightings. There have been depredations. There are concerns now of impacts that wolves may have on public grazing allotments. It’s an issue that regardless of wherever you’re located, every rancher understands the potential impacts that wolves could have on his or her operation.”

That’s why ranchers are working with hunters, environmentalists and state agencies to write a wolf management plan for Washington. Oregon and Idaho already have their own plans on the books.

Washington’s version includes recovery goals. As the population increases, the wolf would receive lower levels of protection.

The plan includes compensation for ranchers who can prove wolves killed their cattle and sheep. It doesn’t allow ranchers to kill predatory wolves, something Fields says ranchers dearly want.

Jack Field: “We don’t have to have compensation is you’ll let us just manage the issue. Give us the tools, and to the livestock producer, the tool is the ability to utilize lethal take at any point to protect our livestock. Let’s manage them just the same as we do a coyote.”

Even as state wildlife officials draft a wolf management plan, Washington may have already seen its first case of wolf poaching.

In March, a Fed Ex worker in north central Washington discovered a wolf pelt in a package bound for Canada. Federal wildlife authorities determined it was from the Methow Valley pack.

Two local ranchers are suspected of killing that and another wolf, but no charges have yet been filed.

State wildlife officials say a survey they conducted last year shows three-fourths of Washingtonians favor wolf recovery. That includes Lindsey Swope and her husband Will Buchanan. They live on a hill up the road from the Methow Valley.

Lindsey Swope: “We’ve never seen them. We hear them. And we’ve heard them fairly close.”

Will Buchanan: “They call it a rendezvous site and usually when they leave in the evening to go out hunting and return in the morning, they’ll all get together and often just chorus of howls and it’s incredibly distinctive and it’s really just amazing.”

Wolf recovery is in its very early stages in Washington. Wildlife officials say the state will never see as many wolves as it once did. But it appears they’re here to stay.

Online:

Washington’s draft wolf management plan

State wolf population estimates:Idaho - 850 wolvesMontana - 500 wolvesWyoming - 300 wolvesWashington - no estimate - one pack plus a few scattered othersOregon - no estimate - about three packs plus a few scattered others