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December 18, 2015 CapitalPress.com 11 Wolves Advisory group ponders mission, decision-making By MATTHEW WEAVER Capital Press SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife wolf advisory group devoted most of the first day of its two-day meeting de- ciding how it would make decisions. The group spent most of the day Dec. 13 discussing its mission to represent the interests of livestock pro- ducers, wolf supporters and hunters. The group decided it would base decisions on a “sufficient consensus,” and discussed how to proceed when one to three people disagree with the majority in making recommendations to the state Fish and Wildlife Commission. The group is made up of 18 members representing livestock producers, hunters and wolf supporters. The meeting Dec. 13-14 in Spo- kane Valley, Wash., is the group’s fourth since May. The group worked to de- velop deeper relationships, said Donny Martorello, wolf policy lead for the depart- ment. It’s “kind of a safe place where there’s some trust, respect and humility in the room, so they (are) able to be honest and respectful to each other so they can have those good discussions,” Martorel- lo said. “A year ago, tensions were very high, to the point where it was destructive to the process. Now these folks have engaged at a lev- el where they understand the different values, the threats they felt before — they’ve communicated those open- ly. Now I think they’re a lit- tle better suited to having a deeper conversation.” During the Dec. 13 dis- cussion, Washington Cattle- men’s Association executive vice president Jack Field told the group they needed to take action soon. “Either we’re going to lead by example and do something or we’re going to sit here, roast marshmallows and waste time and the rest of the impacted world is go- ing to pass by us,” he said. “We can act now or we can sit back and waste a hell of an opportunity.” Consultant Francine Madden told the group the decision-making discussion was “drudgery” but would pay off. Otherwise, the group risks returning to the strained relationships, she said. Field told the Capital Press he felt the group had gelled to the point where it could get something done. “I hope this is the jump- off point where we start actually making some de- cisions and really starting to move forward,” he said. “I’m looking forward to getting to those discussions immediately. It’s time.” “You’ve got to crawl before you can walk,” said Nick Martinez, a group member representing the Washington State Sheep Producers. He asked ranchers to be patient. “Hopefully we’re going down the right road,” he said. “I know it’s a tough one for everybody to sit back and watch. Let’s see where we can get and go from there. It’s kind of hard to judge it midway through. Or, I hope it’s midway.” “We’ve had four su- per-efficient meetings where we made leaps and bounds (of) progress and we were making real-world decisions,” said group member Molly Linville, a rancher in Palisades, Wash. “I just don’t want to slow that process down because time is of the essence here. We have a grazing season coming up. We want to have those plans in place.” Linville said she com- pletely trusts Madden’s process. She felt ranchers are “100 percent” represent- ed, and said environmental community members on the group are considering live- stock producers’ needs. She said the group needs to provide public support to a “handful of producers” who have wolf problems, providing range riders and compensating them for loss- es. “There’s a very small handful of producers that are taking the brunt of this ... we need to rally around them,” she said. Linville told ranchers to have faith. “I really believe if this WAG cannot make re- al-world decisions, then it’s not possible, I have that much belief in this group,” she said. “Try to bring the hysteria down, it’s not real- ly benefiting anybody. By hysteria I mean listening to everything on social media, just believing everything they hear. Wolves are cer- tainly a challenging pred- ator to deal with, but it is something that can be dealt with.” The group also heard the first of several presentations from hunters. Rancher leaves state wolf advisory group tic” and said “I don’t hear these apocalyptic stories about (how) the wolf is the end of everything A Washington state rancher we know, the deer will all be eat- who lost 300 sheep to wolves en, the grandchildren will all be last year has quit the group that eaten.” The column by Scott Sands- advises state wildlife managers on livestock-wolf berry was head- lined “Washing- conflicts. ton residents’ fear In October, the of wolves is often Cattle Producers of overblown.” Washington with- drew from the Wash- “I thought, ington Department ‘They’re just of Fish and Wildlife playing us for a wolf advisory group. bunch of fools,’” Now Hunters, Dashiell said. Wash., rancher “With com- Dave Dashiell, who Don Jenkins/Capital Press ments like that, represented CPOW, Northeast Washington I could tell we said he decided not rancher Dave Dashiell were going to to continue on the talks during a meeting of get absolutely no group as an inde- the Washington Depart- help. Their idea pendent sheep pro- ment of Fish and Wild- of wolf manage- ducer. life’s wolf advisory group ment was to let Dashiell cited Sept. 3 in Tumwater. them run and if comments by the they put you out Washington Fish and Wildlife of business, that’s the plan any Commission chairman in the way. They denied that, because Yakima Herald-Republic in Oc- I asked them.” tober. According to the Yakima Dashiell estimates he lost paper, chairman Brad Smith roughly 300 sheep to wolves described seeing a wolf in the in 2014 and eight in 2015. The yard of his summer home in state paid for 24 sheep con- Michigan as “cool” and “majes- firmed killed by wolves, he said. By MATTHEW WEAVER Capital Press Wolf advisory group members say they seek common ground Environmentalists appreciate open dialogue with ranchers “We are working hard, and we really do hear loud and clear the struggles they’re facing,” he said. “It’s just about finding solutions that work for all Washingto- nians.” Diane Gallegos, execu- tive director at Wolf Hav- en International in Tenino, Wash., said the members had to spend time building relationships and a process to address the issues. Do- By MATTHEW WEAVER Capital Press SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — Members of Wash- ington’s wolf advisory group say they are forging rela- tionships that will ultimately benefit ranchers and other citizens. Paula Swedeen of Con- servation Northwest said the level of trust has increased. “And I think that trust is genuine,” she said. “We’ve taken the time to talk to each other during the meetings, but also between meetings. I feel like I could pick up the phone and call my col- leagues within the livestock and hunting community and it’s not awkward. We have a rapport we didn’t have before. That really helps.” Swedeen said she recog- nizes the need for flexibility in how ranchers protect their livestock. She cited adviso- ry group member and sheep rancher Nick Martinez and his family sharing their ex- periences and what they are doing. “It’s not that I was unfa- ing it now will help things move more quickly later, she said. “We want to make sure we’re fully informed and understanding those issues,” she said. “We’re closer on what all of us want to see in the state of Washington than we are further apart. We want a vibrant agricultur- al community and we want the wildlife in our state to thrive. The advisory group wants to find a balanced way to meet those goals, Gallegos said. “They’re complex and they’re difficult, but when you’ve got deep respect for one another and you care about one another, you work really hard to make thought- ful decisions to bring every- body with you,” she said. “We don’t want to leave any- body behind.” Matthew Weaver/Capital Press Wolf advisory group member Diane Gallegos, executive director of Wolf Haven International, speaks with Sandy Podsaid, a Kings- ton, Idaho, resident who addressed the group during the public comment period, following the meeting Dec. 14 in Spokane Valley, Wash. miliar with these issues, but when you get into it and a livestock producer is open to talking through the issues — I so appreciate that he was willing to be open to that dialogue,” she said. “I’ve learned a great deal about their resilience. We have a lot of common values. It’s not that I didn’t think that they were there, but now I have the direct experience to really appreciate that.” Dan Paul, state director of the Humane Society of the United States, said the group continues to generate trust. “It’s been illuminating to see the individual relation- ships and how we all are very similar as people, but also how a lot of our actual views cross over as well,” he said. He said he is aware of the pressure on ranchers. Group updating rancher agreements By MATTHEW WEAVER Capital Press The Washington Depart- ment of Fish and Wildlife’s wolf advisory group will refine the department’s live- stock damage prevention co- operative agreements with ranchers. The department is revising the contracts to better align with changes recently adopted by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission, WDFW wolf policy lead Donny Mar- torello said. The wolf advisory group is considering prioritizing areas based on the risk of wolf at- tacks and department funding limitations. For the biennium, the department has allocated $650,000 for the agreements and $300,000 for contracts with independent range riders. “We’re not at all in anyway saying there are producers out there that are low priority,” Martorello said. “It’s just, can we be strategic and make sure we get our resources spread across the landscape in a way that addresses the high-proba- bility stuff?” Matthew Weaver/Capital Press Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife wolf policy lead Donny Martorello, center, participates in a group discussion about damage prevention cooperative agreements with ranchers during the wolf advisory group meeting Dec. 14 in Spokane Valley, Wash. The department will also seek feedback to determine whether the agreements are meeting ranchers’ expecta- tions. The department hopes to have revised cost-share agree- ments in effect for the upcom- ing grazing season, Martorello said. In the event of a wolf at- tack, the language will reduce the number of questions of whether a rancher has taken the necessary steps to protect livestock, Martorello said. “For the first time, we have a diversity of stakeholders from livestock producers and environmental organizations to hunters who have come to an agreement and said, ‘This is the practical and feasible level of preventative measures that feel right for this area, this spe- cific circumstance in this allot- ment with this producer and this species,’” Martorello said. 51-7/#6