CapitalPress.com
October 28, 2016
NE Washington county maintains
‘defensive’ posture toward wolfpack
Sheriff waits for
wolves to regroup
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
The Ferry County Sher-
iff’s Office will monitor the
remnants of the Profanity
Peak pack in northeastern
Washington, watching to see
whether the wolves come into
conflict with livestock, people
or pets, according to Sheriff
Ray Maycumber.
Maycumber in an email
Oct. 20 confirmed that his of-
fice was taking a “defensive
position” now that the state
Department of Fish and Wild-
life has stopped hunting for
the pack’s surviving adult and
three pups.
The pack’s movements
have been disrupted and it
probably won’t establish new
behavior patterns until hunt-
ing season ends and fewer
people are in its territory,
Maycumber said.
The sheriff said he will
Courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has killed several
members of the Profanity Peak wolfpack. The hunt has now been
suspended.
deputize a trapper and will
consult with state wildlife
managers about the threat the
pack poses “as the situation
unfolds.”
“We are also gathering in-
formation on other wolf sight-
ings not attributed to the Pro-
fanity Peak pack, which have
been close to residences and
school bus routes,” Maycum-
ber said.
WDFW announced Oct.
19 that it was ending the
hunt for the pack after shoot-
ing six adults and one pup
between Aug. 5 and Sept.
29. An eighth wolf, anoth-
er pup, presumably died of
natural causes, according to
WDFW.
WDFW had planned to
eliminate the entire pack, but
the adult and pups were elu-
sive in the rugged and heavily
forested region, WDFW wolf
policy lead Donny Martorello
said.
WDFW officials say they
will resume the hunt this
year if the pack attacks more
livestock, but they rated the
chances of that as low.
Investigators have not
confirmed an attack on cattle
since Oct. 3, and cows are
coming off grazing allotments
in the Colville National For-
est, where most of the attacks
have occurred.
Ferry County Commis-
sioner Mike Blankenship said
Oct. 20 he is frustrated that
WDFW didn’t eliminate the
pack, as planned.
“I just don’t see the de-
partment’s fortitude there,” he
said.
Commissioners in August
raised the possibility of chal-
lenging the state’s authority
over the state-protected spe-
cies by passing a resolution
authorizing Maycumber to
spend the resources to remove
the entire pack.
WDFW calls off hunt for
Profanity Peak wolfpack
Eight wolves dead;
four remain
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
Washington wildlife man-
agers have ended their hunt
for the Profanity Peak pack,
unless the surviving wolves
attack more livestock, accord-
ing to the Department of Fish
and Wildlife.
WDFW suspended the
search for the pack’s lone sur-
viving adult and three pups
with the start of hunting sea-
son last week in Ferry County.
The department clarified
that it does not plan to come
back after hunting season
ends.
Investigators have not con-
firmed an attack on livestock
since early October.
With cows coming off
summer grazing grounds in
Ferry County, the likelihood
of depredations in the near
future is low, according to
WDFW.
“If we see this pack con-
tinue to prey on livestock this
year, we’ll go back,” WDFW
policy lead Donny Martorello
said in an interview.
WDFW halted the op-
eration after killing seven
wolves — six adults and
one pup. Another pup in the
pack presumably died of
natural causes, according to
WDFW.
Martorello said it’s un-
known whether the pack’s
survivors will link up with an-
other pack.
Counting the Profanity
Peak pack, there are 15 doc-
umented packs in the north-
eastern corner of Washington.
“There are lots of un-
knowns. We don’t know what
will play out in the coming
months,” he said.
The hunt for the Profanity
Peak pack began Aug. 4 and
proved to be another flash
point between wolf advo-
cates, wildlife managers and
ranchers.
WDFW says the pack has
attacked at least 10 cattle
and probably at least five
others since early July.
Research That Matters
Society grants have supported Mary-Claire
King’s groundbreaking work in genetics.
When Mary-Claire King, PhD, now an American
Cancer Society Research Professor at the University
of Washington, discovered the genetic mutation
that’s responsible for 5–10% of all breast cancers,
the world was changed. Women who had
suspected a genetic cause for the increased risk
within their families had an answer, and the
scientific world was enlightened to the link
between genetics and other cancers and
diseases—leading to more advancements in
research.
King’s two decades of work (1974–94) culminated
in her discovery of BRCA1, the “inherited breast
cancer gene.” In 1995, the Society encouraged her
continued work by naming her an American
Cancer Society Research Professor, a status made
possible with an endowment by the Walt Disney
family.
“I was overwhelmed to be selected,” says King.
“The funding has allowed me to strike out in ways
that are far more risky than federal funding
would permit. Private foundation support, in
general, celebrates risk-taking. I think that’s why I
was selected in the first place. And Society support
has been an important part of that.”
King’s recent work has focused on “inexpensive,
complete, accurate ways of finding and
characterizing every mutation in every known
breast cancer gene—now there are about 20—and
ensuring testing is available to women in general.”
She adds, “I’ve been able to keep going and it’s
been enormously successful; we’re saving tens of
thousands of lives.”
In 2013, moviegoers in select theaters across the
United States and Canada could see how King’s
findings translated to real lives via Decoding Annie
Parker. The film ties King’s work to Parker’s real-life
experience with BRCA1, which included the loss of
her mother and sister as well as her own diagnosis.
It’s a dramatic, traumatic story, but one with a
glimmer of hope that conveys the nature of
research: “If we have learned anything in the
history of science in the Western world, it’s that
science is immensely beneficial to solving problems
of health, but that does not happen quickly,” says
King. “And research grants matter enormously—we
couldn’t get anywhere without donors.
“I think of Society grants the way I think of money
that I earn,” continues King. “Every dime, every
dollar is accounted for, is used very frugally and
goes to research that matters.”
by Susan Newell
For more on the types of research being funded
through Society grants, visit cancer.org/research.
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