Wolf Population on the Rise

The wolf population continues to increase in Washington with a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife report noting that there were at least 28 percent more wolves in 2016 than 2015. Bruce Botka with Washington's Department of Fish and Wildlife says there are now 115 wolves, 20 packs and 10 successful breeding pairs, mostly in Northeastern Washington.

"The primary reason for that and for the effective reproduction in those areas is that so much of it is quite remote and it's wolf habitat in a lot of cases."

The increase continues a recent trend, not only in Washington but in the Northern Tier of the U.S. where wolfpacks are increasing. WDFW's Bruce Botka says with increasing numbers, they have a lot of work to do.

"Becomes increasingly important for us to work closely with livestock producers and local residents to do everything we can to prevent conflict between wolves and livestock, domestic animals and that has been and will remain one of our biggest challenges."

You can find the full report on the WDFW website.