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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Think twice before taking Stevens County advice on shooting wolves

Sept. 17 is the day Americans celebrate the U.S. Constitution and its Bill of Rights.
Sept. 17 is the day Americans celebrate the U.S. Constitution and its Bill of Rights.

ENDANGERED SPECIES -- Some muddy legal waters have been flowing out of Stevens County in recent weeks.

Last week, Stevens County Commissioners passed a resolution condemning the state Department of Fish and Wildlife's management of gray wolves in northeastern Washington.

There's a conflict of interest in the 3-0 vote on the resolution, since commissioner Don Dashiell is the brother of Hunters rancher Dave Dashiell, who owned the 24-plus sheep confirmed to have been killed by the Huckleberry Pack in August and early September before the sheep were relocated. 

Apparently there's also some misinformation coming from official channels that reported the sheep were on leased private land owned by Hancock timber.  That's true to some extent, but Andy Walgamott of Northwest Sportsman blogged that West Side legislators got maps showing that some of the sheep were on leased state land.

That makes little difference except to factions that argue livestock shouldn't be on public land...  a case that's certainly debatable.

But the misinformation from Stevens County groups and the lack of candor from the WDFW is troubling.

Stevens County officials were even more flagrant in August when the commissioners passed a resolution advising county residents of their "constitutional rights" to shoot wolves under some circumstances.

"The citizens of Stevens County may kill a wolf or multiple wolves if reasonably necessary to protect their property," the commissioners said.

My first thought: rely on the courts rather than politicians for judgments on constitutional rights.

  • See the documents attached to this post to read the entire Stevens County resolution -- and the response to the resolution from WDFW director Phil Anderson, who spells out the narrow window of legality for someone to kill a wolf, which is listed as as state endangered species.

For another angle to the wolf depredation debates in northeastern Washington, see The S-R story about a national award given to a different Stevens County ranch for “the family’s progressive approach to facing challenges associated with livestock grazing on federal lands.”



Rich Landers
Rich Landers joined The Spokesman-Review in 1977. He is the Outdoors editor for the Sports Department writing and photographing stories about hiking, hunting, fishing, boating, conservation, nature and wildlife and related topics.

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