Demise of The Methow Pack
It’s getting heated in the Methow Valley and there are a lot of folks pointing fingers, once again Canis lupus creates controversy. I’m Susan Allen stay tuned for Open Range. Having traversed on horseback the mountain dissecting Washington and Canada it’s hard to fathom that the wolves that arrived two an a half years ago and dubbed the “Look Out Pack” could be even be tracked given the rugged terrain yet biologist believe the pack no longer exists having been decimated by poachers after a recent carcass finding and the packs breeding female mysterious disappearance. Conservation groups are offering a $7,500 reward for information then there was the case of the disgusting father and son who environmentalists labeled ranchers and are anything but, caught poaching not only a wolf but bear and other game in the Okanogan.. Obviously because ranchers oppose the re-introduction of wolves they become prime suspects in any deaths. In late February another calf was lost to a wolf attack in Wallowa County. Over fifty concerned farmers and ranchers met with Fish and Wildlife to discuss how to “legally” handle the issue. All the ranching community asks for is the right to protect their livestock and working dogs from wolf attacks. The penalty for illegally killing a wolf is one year in jail and up to $100,000 fine. In the words of Jack Field president of the Washington Cattlemen’s Association. “If we’re not careful we’re going to make a lot of hardworking folk’s criminals.”
