SPOKANE, Wash. – The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission held a three day meeting in Spokane from Thursday to Saturday and discussed how to regulate the state’s predatory wildlife populations.
Stevens County Sheriff Brad Manke expressed concern that wolves and cougars are hurting eastern Washington’s economy by killing off livestock.
“Wolves have saturated Northeast and Southeast Washington, Cougars have saturated an even larger area than this, and bear numbers are higher than they’ve been in years,” Manke said.
Manke went on to say that livestock producers are suffering from the increased pressure caused by predatory animals who are capable of killing sheep and cows.
“A young cow killed by a wolf not only represents the cost of the loss of that cow, it also represents multiple generations of calves being lost,” Manke said.
The three day Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting was televised on TVW and took place amidst contentious conversations as to whether gray wolves should retain endangered species protections.
The Biden Administration is in the process of . Environmentalist groups have pushed back against the move, arguing that the populations are still in need of protection due to their critical role in forest ecosystems.
Manke argued that wolves should no longer be shielded by endangered species protections, and concluded his remarks by accusing the Department of Fish and Wildlife of failing to listen to expert advice.
Drs. Donny Martorello and Ben Maletzke, two wildlife experts who specialize in researching wolf populations, presented their findings on how to keep both wolf and livestock populations safe during the same meeting at which Manke appeared.
The presentation broached the possibility of lethal deterrence measures against wolf packs harming livestock if at least two nonlethal options are attempted and have failed.
Throughout the Wildlife Commission meeting, it was clear that emotions ran high amongst both environmentalists and farmers as the state considered how to approach wolf, cougar and bear regulations.
