Wolf Update From Northeastern Washington
Earlier this month there were several cattle killed by wolves from the Dirty Shirt pack. Northeastern Washington Stevens County Cattlemen’s Association President Justin Hedrick sharesHedrick: “They found two dead cows and they confirmed them wolf kills. Then later they found another dead cow and a dead calf and they confirmed those as wolf kills.”
Hedrick adds when it comes to the reporting of possible wolf kills,
Hedrick: “On our ranch, we refuse to call the Game Department on it. We call our local county sheriff and then the local county sheriff calls the Game Department. Every time we have had dealings without our local sheriff there, it is always been something other than wolf that kills it. With this deal, the producer did have the sheriff had there on both accounts and they did confirm them as well.”
According to the Steven County Cattlemen’s Association website, the organization had also received recent reports of wolf activity in the Profanity Peak area in Ferry County. WDFW confirmed that the Profanity Peak pack killed one cow and injured another last season, with the affected ranch reporting a loss of 26 calves in 2014.Wolf packs in Eastern Washington total a minimum of 11, according to the last count by WDFW.