Wolves in the Cascades

[longrangelead]

I'm curious to know how many of you have encountered wolves in Washington?

In 2023, a friend and I were hunting a wilderness and had 2 wolves come up behind us while we were glassing.
We never saw them, but the soil was loose and dry so tracks were plain to see. They came down a main trail, turned onto our trail, passed within feet of our packs/gear and continued on our tracks for another 100 yards before turning and disappearing into the timber.
I live in Montana so I see wolf tracks as often as I see any other track. These were big mature wolves in the middle of the afternoon.

Has anyone hunted an area long enough to see an impact on game yet?

 

[Hoodie]

There’s a small recognized pack on the east side of the Cascades in my area. They’ve been there a few years now. I hunt the west side. So far there’s still way more deer and elk in the area that has the wolves. I’d attribute that to better habitat. There’s a reservation in the area where there’s still quite a bit of logging going on so deer/elk numbers are higher than they are on surrounding federal lands, but still more animals on the dry side.

Also, don’t tell people you live in Montana but go back to WA to hunt! The Cascades have terrible hunting and no one should travel to hunt here. I’m only partially joking.

 

[longrangelead]

Also, don’t tell people you live in Montana but go back to WA to hunt!

have rifle, will hunt anywhere!
lol
A change of scenery is nice once in a while. Plus I just love to hunt. if time and money were unlimited...

 

[Thinkingman]

Not with my own two eyes, but if you're familiar with the I90 corridor, a friend and I were fishing the Middle Fork Snoqualmie during the Taylor Bridge fire in 2012.
His wife saw an animal come out of the woods onto the river bar then disappear back in.
She knows enough to recognize a coyote if it was one.
We theorized the Teanaway pack got dispersed during the fire and it's not that far over the spine to the Middle Fork.
He called it in and the next weekend, WDFW was out with locator apparatus.
There was a wolf road kill on Hwy 18 some years back.

 

[Hoodie]

For sure. What the Cascades lack in animal numbers they more than make up for in aesthetic appeal. Northwest Washington is about the best mountain scenery you can get in the lower 48.

At least in the more remote areas on the west side of the range I'm wondering how much of a foothold wolves will be able to get. It's pretty low density deer country and in Oregon, extremely low elk density. I could see things changing more on the coast once they make it there. Definitely a very different predator for the herds to adapt to though. I think of blacktail deer as really well adapted to avoiding lion predation. Wolves are a very different kind of threat.

 

[longrangelead]

For sure. What the Cascades lack in animal numbers they more than make up for in aesthetic appeal. Northwest Washington is about the best mountain scenery you can get in the lower 48.

At least in the more remote areas on the west side of the range I'm wondering how much of a foothold wolves will be able to get. It's pretty low density deer country and in Oregon, extremely low elk density. I could see things changing more on the coast once they make it there. Definitely a very different predator for the herds to adapt to though. I think of blacktail deer as really well adapted to avoiding lion predation. Wolves are a very different kind of threat.

it really sucks. WA is such a cool and diverse state to play in. The politics though...

 

[longrangelead]

Not with my own two eyes, but if you're familiar with the I90 corridor, a friend and I were fishing the Middle Fork Snoqualmie during the Taylor Bridge fire in 2012.
His wife saw an animal come out of the woods onto the river bar then disappear back in.
She knows enough to recognize a coyote if it was one.
We theorized the Teanaway pack got dispersed during the fire and it's not that far over the spine to the Middle Fork.
He called it in and the next weekend, WDFW was out with locator apparatus.
There was a wolf road kill on Hwy 18 some years back.

That sounds likely.

I've talked to other people including Park Service, WDFG and civilians that have seen wolves and G-bears as far south as Rainier.

We had a nearby pack lethaly reduced due to cattle predation. The collared female of the pack was located 27 miles away 24hrs later. They can cover ground in a hurry.