Last winter Biologists confirmed a grey wolf in Eastern Oregon near Joseph.  The source: Idaho’s reintroduced wolves.  So it only seemed natural that Washington state would be next.  The Cascade mountains are a remote location where a pack could establish without much human contact. 

As the grey wolf is removed from the federal endangered species list, it will certainly be interesting to see how the state management in Washington is similar or different in Washington State than Idaho or Wyoming.  With the majority of it’s population being urban and on the Western side if the Cascades there will more than likely be more preservation pressure in Washington state than in the more rural Idaho and Wyoming. 

I will keep an eye on new developments.  Until then, here is a news release from Washington Fish and wildlife:

7/14/08

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) biologists believe a gray wolf pack may exist in western Okanogan County, based on results of a howling survey there July 8.

During the recent survey-initiated in response to reports of wolf sightings, reports of howling and remote-camera photos of possible wolves-biologists heard multiple vocalizations indicating adult and juvenile wolves were in the area. The biologists visited several locations making wolf-like howls, and heard multiple adult and juvenile howls in response.
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