Engell Introduces Bill To Address Washington Wolves

Ask the Washington ranching community, and they’ll tell you about the struggles they continue to have with gray wolves.  In response, NE Washington Representative Andrew Engell has introduced legislation he says will manage the animals properly.  The Freshman from Colville said wolves have been a problem for those living in Stevens, Ferry and Pend Oreille counties since they were reintroduced in 2008.  He added the wolf population has steadily increased in that time, increasing at least 20% annually.  That, he said, is where House Bill 1311 comes in, which went before the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee last week.

“It won't solve the problem, but it's a step in the right direction," Engell said.  "It down list them. Currently [wolves] are listed as ‘endangered’ and then this would drop them down to ‘sensitive’, which doesn't give people the ability to hunt them, but it does give the agency flexibility for authorizing lethal removals or other controls that are really tightly regulated when they're on that ‘endangered’ list.”

Engell acknowledged while there were individuals speaking out against his legislation, several key groups spoke in favor of HB 1311, including the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Colville Confederated Tribes.  During last week’s hearing, leaders with the tribe said they thought when the wolves were reintroduced in 2008 the Reservation could handle one to three packs.

Currently, they have nine packs on the Reservation.

“And they would like to get down to five or less packs on the reservation because it's negatively impacting other wildlife populations; deer, elk, moose, and explained all of that. I think they just did a fantastic job of explaining that they're not anti-wolf," he added.  "They said ‘Others have tried to extricate the Tribe from the landscape, and they certainly don't want to do that to the wolves, but they need to be in balance’.”

Engell said even though the bill’s hearing has come and gone, he still plans to meet with as many conservation groups as possible to continue communication about wolves and what they are doing to the people and environment of the 7th district.

Click Here to learn more about HB 1311.

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