Wolf plan on agenda of Fish and Game Commission next week
Washington Ag Today August 22, 2011 Next Monday, August 29th the Washington Fish and Game Commission will be meeting in Ellensburg to be briefed by the Fish and Game Department on the recommended Wolf Conservation and Management Plan. At the end of the meeting there will be time for public input and Jack Field, Executive Vice President of the Washington Cattlemen’s Association, says cattlemen will be there. Field: “We will certainly be there. We have a lot of frustrations with the plan as it is right now. The Washington Cattlemen‘s Association is hoping the commission will recommend that the department revise numerous portions of the document.” Field believes the game department has not fully addressed the long term impact of an apex predator like the wolf on the sustainability of the prey base, basically deer and elk. Field: “And the concerns we have there is obviously we want to be sure the sportsmen of hunting opportunities into the future, but selfishly and more importantly, we want to be sure there is a sustainable prey base so that the wolves aren‘t depredating on cattle and livestock.” Field points out there is a law on the books to compensate cattle producers for losses from cougars, bears and wolves but Fish and Game has yet to seek funding for the program. The Commission meeting on the 29th runs from nine a.m. to four p.m. at the Quality Inn and Conference Center in Ellensburg. Tomorrow Field talks about problems with lethal take. I’m Bob Hoff and that’s Washington Ag Today on Northwest Aginfo Net. ?
