The real problem isn't the wolves — it's us

On Wednesday, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife killed an adult male wolf from the Togo Pack — the fifth time this pack has been targeted since 2018. The reason? Three cattle depredations in Ferry County. But after nearly two decades of wolf recovery, why are we still responding with rifles rather than solutions?

We already know what works. In Idaho's Wood River Valley, the Wood River Wolf Project has successfully grazed 20,000 sheep annually for 17 years with proactive, non-lethal methods, and kept livestock loss to less than 0.01%. In Montana's Tom Miner Basin near Yellowstone, Hilary Zaranek-Anderson has safeguarded cattle for over a decade using behavioral deterrents, camp placement, and trained livestock guardian dogs. Depredation rates there are below 0.02%. And in Oregon, rancher Cameron Krebs — once a skeptic — now mentors others after reducing total herd mortality to just 1.4% across tens of thousands of acres.

Krebs didn't get there alone. Before setting foot on high-conflict rangelands, he reached out to Suzanne Asha Stone and the Wood River team. They trained him in fladry, Foxlights, camp placement, herding techniques and predator behavior. His calves are trained to stay cohesive, his herds are monitored with GPS and his dogs are equipped with bark-activated lighting systems that deter predators and alert herders.

"If we eliminate the resident pack, we open the door to strays and migrators. But we can manage the known pack. We know where their dens are. We work around them."

His system is now a national model. He's partnered with USDA scientists, received the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's Genius Prize for Conservation Technology, and leads training workshops for ranchers across the West. His message is simple: coexistence isn't idealism — it's profitable, scalable, and replicable.

So why has Washington fallen behind?

In the northeast part of our state, we've seen chronic failure — not because of wolves, but because of people. A 2020 WDFW investigation confirmed that two range riders, contracted to patrol conflict zones in Stevens and adjacent Ferry County during depredation season, were instead staying at the Davenport Hotel in Spokane while wolves killed cattle. Trail camera footage and phone records showed they weren't where they said they were. Yet WDFW still counted their claimed presence as a fulfilled "non-lethal deterrent" requirement and issued kill orders based on that paperwork.

These weren't isolated lapses — they were systemic failures of oversight and accountability. And they matter. According to WDFW, more than 80% of Washington's wolf packs have never been involved in livestock depredation. In 2023 alone, 79% of known packs had no conflicts with livestock at all. That means most wolves are doing precisely what we say we want: coexisting.

Yet we continue killing them.

If WDFW wants to prevent conflict, it must first clean its own house. That means independent verification of range rider activities, real standards for deterrents, and enforcement against fraud. It means supporting the ranchers, field teams, and conservationists who are already making coexistence work, not rewarding those who resist it.

This isn't a science problem. Numerous peer-reviewed studies show that lethal removal often disrupts pack structure and worsens conflict. This is a human problem — one rooted in outdated assumptions, political pressure, and a refusal to evolve.

The killing of another Togo Pack wolf is tragic. But the real tragedy is that it was avoidable. Washington can do better. We have the tools. We have the models. What we lack is the will.

The wolves are not the problem. We are. And we need to change. ■