A bill in the State House would direct the state Department of Fish and Wildlife to work with local officials to create localized wolf management plans in counties where the wolf population goals have already been met. 7th District Representative Joel Kretz is a sponsor, says the wolf recovery plan hasn't gone the way it was expected to; the thought was that wolves would disperse across the state, but Kretz says they've kind of gotten bogged down in the northeastern corner:
Kretz says there's a strong desire by some on the west side of the state to keep the gray wolves under 'endangered' status, despite what that means for ranchers, cattlemen, and families in the 7th district. Kretz says they've proposed to releasing gray wolves into their native lands outside of Seattle, the Olympia Peninsula, and other west side locations, but he says the same people who want wolves in his backyard don't seem to want them in theirs, a situation he calls perplexing.