The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

SPOKANE—Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Kelly Susewind reauthorized WDFW staff to lethally remove wolves from the OPT pack on July 10. The OPT pack has repeatedly preyed on cattle on federal grazing lands in the Kettle River range of Ferry County.

In 2018, the pack was involved in a total of 16 depredations in under two months. At that time, the WDFW lethally removed two of the wolves. Action was paused in Nov. of 2018.

Between April and July 2019, WDFW staff counted a total of nine wolves in the pack. WDFW confirmed a total of 20 depradations since Sept. 2018 and 15 in the...