Field Reports: Wolf from pack near Colville killed

From staff reports

A wolf from a pack near Colville has been killed in response to a series of attacks on cattle.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife announced this week that its staff had killed an adult male from the Dominion pack in Stevens County.

The pack had been deemed responsible for killing five livestock and injuring another 13 since July 19. WDFW OK’d killing a wolf in response on July 31.

This week, WDFW director Kelly Susewind gave approval for killing up to two wolves in a separate pack in far northern Stevens County. The Leadpoint pack has been blamed for killing two cattle and injuring two others.

Idaho Fish and Game Commission to meet Thursday

The Idaho Fish and Game Commission will hold a conference call Thursday to discuss a handful of items, including temporary rules on managing the use of bait for black bear hunting.

A news release detailing the meeting says the panel will discuss correcting elk zone numbers, an update on its chronic wasting disease program and temporary rules addressing “mandatory education, taking of wildlife, and the use of bait in relation to managing black bear hunting while seeking to delist grizzly bears.”

The meeting comes about a month after a coalition of environmental groups threatened to sue Idaho over allowing hunters to use bait while hunting black bears. They argue that bait sites pose a threat to grizzly bears, which are protected under the Endangered Species Act.

Earlier this summer, a hunter shot a grizzly bear over a bait site after Idaho Fish and Game officials misidentified it as a black bear.

The commission meeting will begin at 9 a.m. People can attend at the Idaho Fish and Game headquarters in Boise or at a regional office.