The Seattle Times on the urban/rural divide

Most of what's in this article has already been covered below, but it's worth a read for some interesting insights into the urban/rural divide where wolves are concerned.  The fact that townspeople tend to get a little more cautious about wolf reintroduction once wolves show up in the neighborhood, lends weight to the idea that rural opposition to reintroduction isn't only about land-use and property rights.

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/wolves-thriving-in-washington-but-only-in-the-east/

Oregon Country "Wolf Meetings" of 1843 establish policy on predators in the Pacific Northwest

     "The ostensible purpose of (the wolf meetings) was to adopt measures for the extermination of predatory animals, a suggestion of practical character, on which all might unite, for there was perhaps not a settler possessing livestock in the whole country who had not suffered loss from this cause."

--Charles H. Carey, "General History of Oregon," 1971




The Oregon Country "wolf meetings," so-called because while they were certainly to do with setting up a regional (European) government of some sort, they were ostensibly about predator control which was an issue of immediate concern to any of the less than 500 European settlers then in the Willamette Valley.  Right away, what one notices is that there is no thought of living with predators, nor, and this is understandable since anything like a modern understanding of ecosystems and trophic cascades must have been embryonic at best, is there any notion that there may be long-term and totally unpredictable consequences.

The first meeting was held on February 1, 1843 at the Oregon Institute in Salem.  Again, the idea was to use the pressing issue of predation, something that all of the settlers could get behind, as an excuse to convene a meeting who's real purpose was to form at least the outlines of a provisional government.

The second meeting occurred on February 6, 1843, and instituted a system of bounties for wolves, mountain lions and bears.  Notably, the settlers made their opinion of the indigenous peoples clear when they established that they would receive half the pay-out on bounties.

On May 2nd, 1843 the last "wolf meeting" happened and the beginnings of a provisional government were established.

For the purposes of this blog, what's most telling about the very existence of the wolf meetings is not just that they were wholeheartedly all about killing off as many predators as possible, but rather, that they were never questioned at all, by anyone inside that community.  It was a given that predators were bad; it was an obvious position that was so ingrained in the world-view of the people who lived in that particular place and time, that they could no more imagine someone wanting to defend predators then could a contemporary American imagine someone wanting to defend terrorists.

Wolves must die!  It's a no brainer, right?

Anyhow, here's the Oregon Historical Society's page on the subject.   

18 wolves shot near Interior village to boost moose population

From Alaska, this article is on its face a simple story reporting a pretty straightforward wolf cull in the interior, executed at the behest of local indigenous Alaskans.  However, reading between the lines and especially in the comments section, we can clearly see that the story is also about land use and who gets to make decisions about wildlife management.  It is, of course, worth mentioning that clearly Alaska is a very different case from that of the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies, but even there, where there are no issues with endangered or reintroduced populations, the wolf engenders strong feelings.  As to whether these wolves did or did not need to die, I don't feel that I know enough about it to have an opinion.  That said, as I've mentioned elsewhere, I am generally inclined to trust Native American communities when it comes to wildlife management since their cultural heritage is so different from the Northern European heritage that informed the eradication of the wolf in the lower 48.  Again however, I do not take a position in this instance.

Wolf Totem/ Le Dernier Loup (2015) Trailer

The story here is that this is a French film telling a semi-biographical story of a Chinese student during Mao's cultural revolution (1967 I believe) who is sent to teach among remote Mongolian nomads.  Said student is fascinated by the nomad's long-standing enemy, the wolf, and decides to capture and raise a pup of his own.  I would like to say that hilarity and hi-jinks then ensue, but no, the pup becomes increasingly ungovernable and it appears that further drama unfolds.  No doubt it is a decent movie, but what really jumps out at me is the cinematography involving Mongolia's dramatic landscape together with close-up action shots of wolves.

Two Canadian Wolves Visit Isle Royale NP but Choose not to Stay

According to John Flesher of the Associated Press, two wolves, a breeding-age female and a smaller individual --possibly her offspring-- visited Isle Royale National Park for five days this winter.  The two crossed Lake Superior from Canada over an ice-bridge during a hard freeze.

For wolf proponents, it was disappointing that the two did not stay in the park, as the small existing wolf population of Isle Royale lacks genetic diversity.

On the plus side, the visit confirms what scientists have long suspected; that Isle Royale National Park was originally colonized by wolves travelling across ice bridges.

Here is the original AP article.

Not wolves, but furry, carnivorous and entertaining regardless...

A pair of lynx (lynxes?) having a passionate verbal altercation in Northern Maine.  Presumably it's to do with territory or perhaps a local female.  In any case, unlike the guy who took the video, I am not at all convinced that they are preparing to fight.  To my eye this is a sort of display-based confrontation, not uncommon in carnivores, that allows them to determine who is tougher without actually having to risk a real fight in which one or both of them might easily sustain life-threatening injuries.  I post it because it is a slow news day on the wolf front here in the Pacific Northwest, and also because it warms the cockles of my heart.          

Lolo wolves killed to give famous elk herd a break

Rich Landers of the Spokesman Review in Spokane reports on the Federal Wildlife Service, at Idaho Department of Fish and Game's request, killing 19 wolves last month in Idaho's Lolo region, near the Idaho Montana border.  This in a bid to partially restore the area's once huge elk population.  

Washington reports Wolf Numbers up 30% for 2014

According to a March 2nd news release from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), Washington's wolf population grew by 30% and formed four new packs last year.  As of December 31st 2014, there are at least 68 wolves in Washington, up from 52 in 2013.
    
According to Donny Martorello of the WDFW, "while we can't count every wolf in the state, the formation of four new packs is clear evidence that wolves are recovering in Washington.  Since 2011, the number of confirmed wolf packs has more than tripled in our state."  

Martorello said the number of packs would have been higher if not for the loss of a pack last spring; one of its two members was struck and killed by a vehicle while the other was accepted for care by Wolf Haven International in Tenino after it was found living among domestic dogs in a small town in Pend Oreille County, according to the release.  

At least nine other wolves died in Washington last year.  Three were killed by poachers, three died of natural causes, two died of unknown causes while one breeding female was obliged to be killed in an effort to stop the Huckleberry pack from preying on Stevens County sheep.  

The Huckleberry pack raised the number of livestock killed by wolves to a new record, accounting for 33 of the 35 sheep killed or injured in 2014.  

WDFW's new director, Jim Unsworth said, "I've been involved in wolf management for more than a decade, and the issues are much the same from state to state.  Conflicts with livestock are bound to rise as the state's wolf population increases, and we have to do everything we can to manage that situation. So far, wolf predation on livestock has been well below levels experienced in most other states with wolves."

Also of note from the release:

Stephanie Simek, WDFW wildlife conflict manager, said WDFW continues to emphasize the importance of preventive actions in minimizing wolf attacks on livestock. She said WDFW is:

• Expanding partnerships with ranchers to avoid conflicts with wolves. The department has stationed wildlife conflict specialists in communities where wolves are recovering to work with individual producers.
• Expanding its "range rider" program, where ranchers can turn for help if they need assistance guarding their livestock. Range riders have been used by several producers, and the state program will provide an increased human presence in grazing areas.
• Informing livestock owners of the availability of a new carcass pit in Ferry County where they can dispose of dead livestock and other attractants.
• Continuing to offer cost-sharing agreements for ranchers who seek help in funding preventive measures to protect their animals.

 Martorello said the scarcity of snow made it more difficult to track wolves late last year, complicating the 2014 survey. As a result, the survey likely underestimates the number of wolves, packs, and breeding pairs, he said.
Martorello noted that the number of confirmed successful breeding pairs in the annual wolf survey has remained the same for the past three years, despite a significant increase in the number of individual wolves. Since 2012, WDFW has documented a total of five breeding pairs between the Eastern Washington and North Cascades recovery regions.

"Given the continued growth of the state's wolf population, there's a good chance that we have breeding pairs east of the Cascade Range we haven't found yet," he said.

No wolf packs or breeding pairs have yet been documented in the South Cascades/Northwest Coast recovery region.

Under the state's Wolf Conservation and Management Plan, wolves can be removed from the state's endangered species list once 15 successful breeding pairs are documented for three consecutive years among the three designated wolf-recovery regions.  

Mission statement:

NWLobos is a blog about wolf reintroduction in the Northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest.  While its primary purpose is as an information clearing house, it does not purport to be purely objective on the subject and instead, approaches the matter from a perspective that questions traditional American attitudes about land-use and entitlement in the west.  Since these issues are fraught, it's worth making clear that it is not my intention to ever treat anyone, or their opinions, with disrespect.  To the contrary, what's wanted and needed here is a civil discourse wherein thinking and intelligent adults can agree that other thinking and intelligent adults are perfectly capable of arriving at a different opinion without resort to moral obloquy or self-delusion.  Thanks for reading.  -James Morgan