First, my apologies if you get this more than once.  Second, please send this onward to anyone who you believe may wish to learn more about recent experience with wolves that have been introduced or have moved into territory with human and domestic animal populations.

The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission will meet later this week, on December 2^nd and 3^rd.  During that meeting, they are expected to vote on the WDFW Wolf Plan.

One aspect of living with wolves in your neighborhood that they have not adequately considered is what happens when wolves become habituated to human presence in the territory they inhabit or move through.  The new behaviors that begin happening are amplified when wolves are neither hunted nor harassed.  Under ESA and other species of concern rules and regulations, the wolves moving into Washington generally cannot be harassed or hunted.

I’ve attached a discussion by Dr. Valerius Geist on his experience with habituated wolves.  I ask that you read the document and consider what implications wolves in your neighborhood have for your family, neighbors, pets, and livestock.  Dr. Geist lives on Vancouver Island, and has worked throughout the west, including professional observation of the full range of wolf behavior, how they interact with wildlife and domestic animals and humans.

It’s likely that our Fish and Wildlife Commissioners have not read Dr. Geist’s discussion.  Perhaps it would be helpful to them if they have the opportunity to do so this week.  To make it more helpful, I suggest that you forward it to them with your personal concerns as to what this means to you, your family, and your neighbors.  The Commission’s email address is:

commission@dfw.wa.gov

Thank you for taking the time to read Dr. Geist’s document and for passing it around the state so that others can make their feelings known.

Gaelic Wolf | Natural Resource Policy Design
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