Revised draft wolf plan not workable for cattlemen
Washington Ag Today June 8, 2011 A citizen Wolf Working Group is meeting today and tomorrow in Ellensburg to review proposed revisions in Washington’s draft Wolf Recovery and Management Program. Jack Field, Executive Vice President of the Washington Cattlemen’s Association and member of the citizen working group, says in his opinion the revised draft is very unworkable for livestock producers as well as sportsmen. Field can provide a long list of problems with the proposed wolf management plan but one of the most glaring issues to him are the repeated comments in the document by the Department of Fish and Wildlife that they support using lethal take by livestock producers but then establishes criteria that could be impossible to meet. Field: “Lethal take is suggested to be limited to solitary or individuals or territorial pairs when possible and that removal should only occur when pups are more than six months of age and that neighboring packs have 75 wolves or more.” Field sees that as being easily open to challenge by conservation groups. Another part of the document addresses lethal control for repeated depredation. Field: “Lethal removal may be used to stop repeated depredations if it is documented that livestock have clearly been killed by wolves and that non-lethal methods have been tried but failed to resolve the conflict, depredations are likely to continue and there is no evidence of intentional feeding or unnatural attraction of wolves by the livestock owner.” And then the Fish and Wildlife Commission has to adopt a rule to authorize the taking. I’m Bob Hoff and that’s Washington Ag Today on Northwest Aginfo Net. ? ?
