Guest Commentary

As the wolf population in Washington state reaches a population considered “recovered” in many parts of the state, the experience of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation managing wolves and wildlife offers lessons on how the state Department of Fish and Wildlife can best manage wolves in areas of the state where they have recovered.

A new video released by Washington Policy Center with cooperation from the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, sheds light on best practices for wolf and wildlife population management in Washington and explores some of the challenges of wolf management.

“Over the past decade, wolves have seen an amazing recovery in the state which is something to celebrate,” said Todd Myers, Environmental Director of the Washington Policy Center. “But the concentration of the growing wolf population is creating conflict that needs to be addressed. The Colville tribes’ approach has a great deal to teach us about how to handle that situation and find the right balance between stable wildlife populations and community members.”

Cody Desautel, Natural Resource Director for the Colville Tribes notes that the overall goal of the Colville Tribe’s Fish & Wildlife Department is, “to maintain and protect viable populations of native and desired non-native species of fish and wildlife, and their supporting habitats, while providing sufficient numbers to meet the cultural, subsistence, recreational and economic needs of the tribal membership. This includes wolves in balance with all other species.”

The video addresses the interaction between managing a growing wolf population, wildlife, and land management. Despite expecting two packs to live on reservation land, the Colville reservation is currently home to five separate packs. By providing a wide range of habitat, regular surveys, and limited hunting, the tribes say they have not seen negative impacts on elk or other wildlife populations. By providing insight into how the Colville reservation wolf packs are managed, this video aims to be a tool for better informing policymakers, media and the public about the challenges of growing wolf populations and best practices to apply elsewhere.

About the Colville Tribes: Today, more than 9,504 descendants of 12 Aboriginal tribes of Indians are enrolled in the Confederated Tribes of the Colville. The twelve tribes which compose the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation include: ščəl̕ámxəxʷ (deep water) or Chelan; wal̕wáma (Wallowa people) or Chief Joseph Band of Nez Perce; sx̌ʷyʔiɬp (sharp pointed trees) or Colville; šnt̕iyátkʷəxʷ (grass in the water) or Entiat; snʕáyckst (speckled fish) or Lakes; mətxʷu (blunt hills around a valley) or Methow; škwáxčənəxʷ (people living on the bank) or Moses-Columbia; nspilm (prairie) or Nespelem; uknaqin (seeing over the top) or Okanogan; palúšpam (people from Palouse) or Palus; sənpʕʷilx (grey mist as far as one can see) or San Poil, and šnp̓əšqʷáw̓səxʷ (people in between) or Wenatchi. The Colville Reservation encompasses approximately 1.4 million acres in North Central Washington.

-Myers is Director, Center for the Environment, Washington Policy Center. The Washington Policy Center is a free market oriented, public policy think tank that offers market-based solutions for Washington state.