WDFW kills two wolves in Asotin County

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife killed two wolves — an adult male and a yearling female — in Asotin County following repeated attacks on cattle.

Known officially as Washington Group 139 (WA 139) because it hasn’t yet cleared the one-year-of-existence threshold to be declared a pack, the animals were blamed for killing six cattle in four separate attacks. Three of the attacks were confirmed to be by wolves and one was determined to be a probable wolf attack.

The group, known locally as the Anatone Pack, broke off from the nearby Tucannon Pack in January and moved south into northeastern Oregon, where it was blamed for several lethal attacks on livestock, according to the department. In March, the animals began splitting time between Wallowa County in Oregon and Asotin County in Washington.

The killing of up to two wolves was authorized by the department last week after it said nonlethal measures implemented by four separate ranchers failed to deter the attacks. Under the state’s wolf management plan, lethal control of wolves can be considered following four confirmed depredation events within a 10-month period and after nonlethal methods have proved unsuccessful. The department determined three of the four attacks were by members of the wolf group and one was declared a probable wolf attack. One of the males in the group is wearing a tracking collar.

Anatone rancher Jay Holzmiller commended the department for authorizing the control action and quickly executing it.

“It's a long ways from making these producers whole because they spend an unbelievable amount of time out checking cattle, riding around on four- and five-dollar-a-gallon diesel and then just the stress of having to contend with this,” he said.

Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2273. Follow him on Twitter @ezebarker.