December 15, 2017
CapitalPress.com
5
Wolves
WDFW: No sign wolves
diminishing deer, elk
Hunter, rancher:
Report lags reality
Agents seek tips
from public
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
Wolves are not noticeably
reducing the number of deer
and elk in northeast Washing-
ton, according to an assess-
ment by the state Department
of Fish and Wildlife,
The study, which was
completed a year ago but only
released Dec. 8, found that
hunter success suggests herd
populations are stable, even
where there are many wolf-
packs.
“This is not a conclusive
statement that there are no
impacts, but from the harvest
data, we’re not seeing an in-
dication,” WDFW wolf policy
coordinator Donny Martorello
said Thursday.
Wolves are a state-pro-
tected species, but WDFW’s
wolf recovery plan allows
the department to cull packs
if wolves reduce deer and elk
herds or harvests by 25 per-
cent.
WDFW authorized the as-
sessment in its current game
management plan, partly be-
cause of public interest in
whether wolves are reducing
the prey base, a question of
keen interest to livestock pro-
ducers and wolf advocates,
as well as hunters. Martorel-
lo said that he only recently
learned of the study and want-
ed to make it available to the
public.
WDFW Game Division
Manager Anis Aoude said that
the study was an internal re-
port and not publishing it ear-
lier was an oversight. He said
he believes the findings are
still current.
The assessment looked at
deer and elk herds throughout
the state, as well as moose and
bighorn sheep.
WDFW researchers large-
WDFW probing
killing of 2 wolves
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
A mule deer in Washington. A state Department of Fish and Wildlife report released Dec. 6 found that
wolves are not driving down deer and elk populations. The study was based mostly on hunting figures
through 2015.
ly relied on hunting trends
through 2015. “Using the data
at our disposal, none of the
ungulate populations in this
assessment appear to show
clear signs of depredation,”
according to the report.
Hunters Heritage Coun-
cil President Mark Pidgeon,
a member of WDFW’s wolf
advisory group, said the re-
port conflicts with hunter an-
ecdotes.
“They’re telling me the op-
posite,” he said. “They tell me
horror stories about northeast
Washington.”
Some 17 of the state’s 20
wolfpacks are in four north-
east counties. The state’s wolf
population grew by 32 per-
cent in 2015 and 28 percent
in 2016, according to WDFW.
State officials say they expect
the growth to continue at that
pace.
Cattle Producers of Wash-
ington President Scott Niel-
sen, a northeast Washington
rancher, questioned whether
the assessment reflects the
current state of the prey base
for wolves.
“There are going to be
damn few people around
here who believe it,” he said.
“We’ve had a 30 percent in-
crease for the last two years.
“When their native prey
base gets difficult to get, that’s
when they move to cows,” he
said.
According to the WDFW
assessment, population esti-
mates of white-tailed deer in
the rugged northeast corner
of the state are not practical.
But ground surveys provide a
rough estimate of population
trends. Along with harvest
data, the surveys indicate the
deer population is increasing,
even though the area had nine
wolfpacks when the report
was written.
“It doesn’t surprise me
because of what I see on the
ground,” said Tim Coleman,
executive director of the Kettle
Range Conservation Group.
Coleman, also a mem-
ber of WDFW’s wolf ad-
visory group, lives in
northeast Washington and
said he spent a lot of time
camping in the region this
summer.
“I’m not seeing much of a
change in the ungulate popu-
lation,” Coleman said. “The
two (wolves and ungulates)
have lived together for mil-
lennium.”
WDFW started a long-
range study last winter to take
a closer look at how wolves
are affecting deer and elk in
northeast Washington. The
study includes putting radio
collars on deer and elk where
wolves roam and seeing what
happens to them.
“This is an ongoing thing
for us,” Martorello said.
“Looking at harvest data is
just one indicator and likely
not the best indicator.”
Washington wildlife en-
forcement officers suspect
two wolves found dead in
northeast Washington were
killed illegally, state Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife
Capt. Dan Rahn said Mon-
day.
The wolves, both fe-
males, were killed in early
November, one in Stevens
County and the other in Fer-
ry County, he said.
“From the evidence we
have, they were not killed
lawfully,” Rahn said. “We
do know they did not die
naturally.”
Although increasingly
common in the northeast
corner of the state. wolves
are a state-protected species.
Illegally killing a state en-
dangered animal is a gross
misdemeanor and punish-
able by up to one year in jail
and a $5,000 fine.
Wolves are not federally
protected in the eastern one-
third of Washington, where
the two wolves were killed.
Conservation Northwest,
a Washington-based envi-
ronmental group, offered a
$10,000 reward for informa-
tion leading to a conviction
in either case.
The Center for Biologi-
cal Diversity and Cascadia
Wildlands jointly announced
they were offering a $20,000
reward.
WDFW did not disclose
how the wolves were killed.
Rahn said that officers hope
that withholding the informa-
tion will help the investigation.
WDFW asked anyone
with information to call
(807) 933-9847 or (360)
902-2936.
WDFW
Washington Department of
Fish and Wildlife officers are
investigating the illegal killings
of two wolves in northeast-
ern Washington last month.
Conservation groups have put
up rewards totaling $30,000
for information leading to an
arrest.
“We need any tips we can
get,” Rahn said.
A breeding female pre-
sumed to be a member of the
Dirty Shirt pack was found
dead Nov. 12 by hunters
about 10 miles southeast of
Colville in Stevens County,
according to WDFW.
The carcass of the other
wolf was found Dec. 5 by a
WDFW biologist and offi-
cer approximately 15 miles
southwest of Republic,
though the wolf was prob-
ably killed the first week of
November, Rahn said.
WDFW trapped and
fitted the breeding female
with a radio-transmit-
ting collar in 2016 while
she was a member of the
Profanity Peak pack. The
collar on the wolf, who
wildlife managers suspect
was no longer in the pack,
stopped transmitted in ear-
ly November.
Rahn said investigators
have not established a link
between the two incidents.
“We don’t have any in-
formation to think that, but
there’s always the possibili-
ty,” he said.
Owner of dead llamas questions
ODFW wolf investigations
Local Money Working For Local People
Separate alpaca
death confirmed
as wolf kill
Contact a Loan Officer Today
to Discuss Your Financing Needs!
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
Courtesy of Howard Cantrell
Howard Cantrell, who owns property near Five Points Creek west
of La Grande, Ore., has moved his llamas into a pen closer to his
house after two of the animals were found dead in a nearby pas-
ture. ODFW has ruled one of the deaths a “probable” wolf attack.
predator attack including bite
marks and at least two sets
of wolf tracks in the mud on
a road about 20 yards away,
which appeared to be a day or
two old.
Wolves were also spotted
in several photos taken by
a trail camera mounted 300
yards from where the carcass
was found. But according
to ODFW, the wounds were
not consistent with extensive
wolf-caused injuries and the
death was ruled a “probable”
wolf attack.
“There was sufficient evi-
dence to confirm predation on
the llama by a large predator,
but not enough evidence to
confirm which predator,” the
investigation report states.
Michelle Dennehy, ODFW
spokeswoman, said the inju-
ries were “somewhat atyp-
ical” from what is usually
seen in wolf depredation. She
said the agency has investi-
gated more than 300 poten-
tial wolf-livestock conflicts,
and uses an evidence-based
process to arrive at a conclu-
sion.
The “probable” ruling still
means Cantrell is eligible for
compensation, Dennehy add-
ed. But Cantrell said he just
wants to ensure ODFW is be-
ing truthful to the public.
“I’m not going to let this
lie,” he said. “I want them to
tell it like it is.”
Cantrell said he has moved
his llamas from the pasture
and into a 10-acre pen closer
to the house. Wolf attacks on
llamas are not unheard of in
Oregon — ODFW did con-
firm members of the Sham-
rock pack killed a llama last
year in Wallowa County.
In a separate incident,
ODFW has confirmed wolves
killed an alpaca Sunday on
private land in Union County.
Investigators found tracks
and blood in the snow as ev-
idence of an attack by three
wolves in the Starkey area
southwest of La Grande. GPS
data also placed OR-30, a col-
lared male wolf, about 130
yards from the carcass at 5
a.m. the same morning.
The OR-30 pair was most
recently documented in 2016,
occupying a large territory
spanning the northern Star-
key and Ukiah units south of
Interstate 84. OR-30 original-
ly dispersed from the Snake
River pack and spent most
of 2015 in the Starkey, Uki-
ah and Mount Emily units of
northeast Oregon.
This is the first livestock
predation attributed to the
OR-30 pair.
Adrian Harguess
Joseph, OR
Mollie Hulse
La Grande, OR
Cliff Schoeningh
Baker City, OR
541-432-9050
541-963-3434
541-524-7667
Christina Smith
Pendleton, OR
John Ngo
Hermiston, OR
Todd Wood
College Place, WA
541-278-9000
541-289-4480
509-525-9860
Heidi Zellerhoff
Clarkston, WA
John Gass
The Dalles, OR
509-758-6878
541-296-0779
1-800-472-4292
Member FDIC
www.communitybanknet.com
50-3/108
The Union County, Ore.,
landowner who recently dis-
covered two of his llamas
killed in a forested pasture
near Five Points Creek is con-
fident wolves are to blame for
their deaths.
Howard Cantrell, a retired
fifth-generation rancher who
owned the llamas, believes
the ODFW erred when in-
vestigators stopped short of
ruling either incident a con-
firmed wolf kill, based on ev-
idence including trail camera
photos of wolves in the area.
“It’s very frustrating,”
Cantrell said. “People in
northeast Oregon, they’re get-
ting tired of all this stuff get-
ting shoved under the table.”
Cantrell, whose property
is about 12 miles west of La
Grande, began rescuing lla-
mas in 2006. He now owns 13
llamas, along with three hors-
es, six goats and 25 chickens.
The first dead llama,
named Sabra, was found dead
Nov. 13 on a slope above
Cantrell’s house. ODFW ar-
rived the next day to inves-
tigate, reporting that most of
the carcass was consumed
except for the neck, head and
shoulder. There was no sign
of a chase or struggle, and
without further evidence the
death was ruled a “possible/
unknown” attack.
After that, Cantrell said he
began checking on his llamas
every day. A second llama,
Chrisy, was found dead Nov.
24 approximately 150 yards
from the house, and ODFW
again came the next day. This
time, investigators found
much more evidence of a