State hires wildlife-conflict specialist

The state of Washington has hired an internationally known wildlife-conflict specialist to help diffuse tensions over the state’s expanding wolf population. Francine Madden is the executive director of the nonprofit Human Wildlife Conflict Collaboration in Houston, which also does work in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The nonprofit works to resolve conflicts that arise when protecting animals such as lions, leopards and elephants leads to problems in local communities. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife hired Madden on a $83,000 contract to prepare an assessment of conflicts between people and wolves in Washington. She’ll also work with the 18-member citizen Wolf Advisory Group, which provides input to the state Fish and Wildlife Commission, and other stakeholders affected by wolves. “This issue has become so polarized that it’s difficult for us to move forward with managing wolves,” said Dave Ware, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife’s policy lead on wolves.