How would you like a ballot initiative on wolf management?

Washington Ag Today December 7, 2009 Washington’s livestock industry had a warning shot fired at it over wolf management at a state Senate Agriculture and Rural Development Committee hearing Friday. It came from Democratic State Senator Ken Jacobsen of Seattle who directed this comment at cattle producer L. B. Green.

Jacobsen: “I mean I’ve gone through this discussion many times. I wasn‘t for the trapping initiative in fact I fought it but it was a hopeless pursuit. I am just saying if you don‘t vest in the department then you might get a citizen initiative to manage the issue and I don’t think you will be as happy with that as what the department is trying to do.”

That being the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, which is developing a wolf management plan for the state.

Jack Field, executive vice president of the Washington Cattlemen’s Association, told the committee the WCA, the Cattle Producers of Washington and a number of sportsmen groups signed on to a minority opinion, which is supportive of the entire proposed wolf management plan except for the number of wolf breeding pairs needed to delist the animal as an endangered species. The minority report suggested fewer breeding pairs. And Field said there is concerned about depredation compensation.

Field: “The compensation plan is quite extensive. Very supportive of that. But in all honestly I don‘t think we will ever see it funded given the budget deficits and issues that we face.”

Fish and Wildlife has confirmed two wolf packs in Washington and suspects there is a third.

I’m Bob Hoff and that’s Washington Ag Today on the Northwest Ag Information Network.