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Washington declines to kill wolves in Asotin County

A coalition of environmental groups has sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over its decision to not protect the animals under the Endangered Species Act in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. (Courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
By Michael Wright michaelw@spokesman.com(509) 459-5508

Washington wildlife officials won’t kill any wolves in Asotin County in response to the killing of one calf and the injuring of three other cattle earlier this summer.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Monday that agency director Kelly Susewind rejected the option of lethal removal for wolves from the Couse pack, a small group of wolves believed to be responsible for the incidents.

The decision follows the killing of an adult male wolf that was chasing livestock in the area on July 8. WDFW said in a news release that the wolf’s death could disrupt the dynamics of the pack, which was believed to be made up of two to three adult wolves and an unknown number of pups.

WDFW staff will be watching the pack to see if its behavior changes.

Wolves from the Couse pack have a history of run-ins with livestock. WDFW killed an adult male and a yearling female in August 2023 after a separate series of livestock conflicts.

No more run-ins happened until last month. On June 27, WDFW investigated an injured steer in the pack’s territory and found evidence that it had been attacked by a wolf.

On July 6, the agency looked into the death of a steer in the same area. They found wolf tracks in the area and other evidence that it had been killed by a wolf.

Two days later, two injured cows were found. An investigation confirmed that one had been injured by a wolf and found that the other was likely injured by a wolf.

The cows were found at separate locations and classified as separate incidents, according to WDFW.

That was the same day the adult male seen chasing livestock was killed. WDFW said in its Monday release that the kill was determined to be “a lawful act in the defense of property.”

Livestock producers in the area had been using more than non-lethal measures to prevent livestock-wolf conflicts, including range riders, carcass sanitation and removing injured cows from the range. They also waited until calves were 200 pounds or more before turning them out.