Wolf Collared in Skagit County Pt 1

Wolf Collared in Skagit County Pt 1

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
I'm Bob Larson. It's taken longer than many thought it would, but the discovery of a wolf in Skagit County may indicate the first wolf pack West of the Cascades since wolves began recolonizing in our state over 10 years ago.

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife wolf policy coordinator, Donny Martorello says it's a big "first" ...

DONNY MARTORELLO ... "We received a report of wolf activity in Eastern Skagit County here a few weeks back, it got into some chickens. Connected immediately with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In the western two-thirds of the state, wolves are federally listed under the Endangered Species Act as endangered. And so, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the lead agency, so we worked in coordination with them and documented the signs, actually saw what we thought was a wolf while we were there. Initiated trappings with the service and was able to catch, and collar, and release on sight an adult male wolf."

Martorello says everyone is pretty heady stuff ...

DONNY MARTORELLO ... "So, it is exciting in terms of a presence of a known wolf collared on the western part of the state. It's not a surprise for us. You know, we've seen a very steady increase in the wolf population in Washington, both numerically and in their range."

Over the past decade, the state's wolf population has grown from nothing to about 20 packs, all east of the Cascades, with 15 of them residing in four Northeast Washington counties ... Stevens, Okanogan, Ferry, and Pend Oreille.

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