Should Wolves be Reintroduced into Olympic National Park and Surrounding Lands?

A White Paper from Olympic Natural Resources Center

Revised October 1998

Introduction

Congressman Norm Dicks (D, Washington) and Defenders of Wildlife, a non-governmental organization, have taken the lead in promoting consideration of the reintroduction of gray wolves (Canis lupus) into Olympic National Park and surrounding lands. Congress has responded by appropriating funds for an assessment that will include a feasibility study, a prey base study, and a public opinion study. The results of these studies will provide Congress with information on which to base further funding decisions. While consideration of the idea has garnered proponents and opponents, a government decision whether or not to officially propose reintroduction will be based upon the results of the assessment, which will be completed in 1999. At that time Congress will control the process by either funding additional development of the idea, including a possible Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), or by choosing not to fund further study of the idea.

This White Paper, developed by the Olympic Natural Resources Center (ONRC), describes the assessment process, the decision-making process, and the roles of the various players in determining whether a proposal will be made to reintroduce wolves to the Olympic National Park and surrounding lands.

What is the Assessment Process?

The assessment process has three main components: A feasibility study; a prey base study, and an evaluation of public attitudes and opinions regarding wolf reintroduction. All parts of the assessment process will be completed before a decision is made whether or not to propose reintroduction. The public opinion evaluation will be completed by February 1999. The feasibility and prey base studies will be completed in early 1999.

Feasibility and Prey Base Studies

Congress has appropriated $300,000 to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to conduct both the feasibility and prey base studies. The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service is coordinating the feasibility study in cooperation with the U.S.G.S.  Biological Resources Division, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympic National Park, and the Olympic National Forest. These agencies will use scientific methods to evaluate various aspects of possible wolf reintroduction.

The feasibility study will consider issues such as: 1) current and historical status of wolves on the Peninsula, 2) the capacity of the potential prey base to support a population of wolves, 3) distribution, density, trends, and mortality factors of primary prey species, 4) the expected effects of wolves on other predators in the introduction area, 5) the general health and condition of natural habitat, and 6) any other factors relevant to the feasibility of successful reintroduction of wolves. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will administer and supervise the scientific research activities. A contract with researchers at the University of Idaho has been executed to do this work.

The prey base study will focus on estimating the population of black-tailed deer, a key prey animal of wolves, in the Olympic National Park and on the surrounding lands. The Olympic National Park and the U.S. Geological Survey Biological Resources Division will conduct the study on the park lands and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife will conduct the work on surrounding lands. There is currently no method for reliably estimating deer populations in western Washington.

Public Involvement Process

An additional Congressional appropriation of $50,000 to the Olympic Natural Resources Center (ONRC), through the U. S. Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, has been made to provide a review of the opinions and attitudes regarding wolf introduction of those who live in the immediate area, and would be most likely to have direct contact with the wolves. Preliminary evaluation of public attitudes and opinions will be completed by February 1999. ONRC will produce a report documenting the results of the evaluation process, consistent with congressional appropriation language.

How will ONRC conduct a public involvement process?

ONRC will contract and work with Battelle Seattle Research Center and Elway Research to conduct a public involvement process to discover the opinions and attitudes of Olympic Peninsula citizens. Electronic town meetings will be held using the Electronic Group Interaction System (EGIS). ONRC will solicit input from several focus groups in the development of specific questions, concerns,  or interests.  ONRC will also consult with the interagency cooperative group doing the assessment.

Each town meeting room will have (a) a body of fifty citizens, chosen randomly from voter lists, linked to one another by the EGIS system; (b) a panel of resource people with diverse interests, who will have the opportunity to respond to questions posed by the facilitator and citizen participants; and (c) an audience of observers, limited only by the size of the room.

The public meetings will be constructed so that the citizens will interact in discussion by means of individual handsets connected to computers. They will be able to respond in complete confidence to questions and statements about wolves, and the Olympic environment. The goal of these town meetings is to identify and define the interests and concerns of citizens who live in the immediate area of potential wolf reinroduction, and would be most likely to have direct contact with the wolves. Resolution of the wolf reintroduction question is not the goal of the process.

A summary of the responses and proceedings will be organized, documented, and made available to elected officials, government agencies and the public.

Assessment Evaluation

Results of the assessment process, including both ecological and public opinion aspects, will be evaluated by an interagency cooperative group before a decision to propose reintroduction of wolves is made. The cooperative group includes:

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW)

Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR)

Olympic Natural Resources Center (ONRC)

U.S. Forest Service (USFS)

Olympic Natural Park (ONP)

Olympic Natural Forest (ONF)

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)

All Olympic Peninsula Tribes

A final decision whether or not to propose reintroduction will not be made until the year 2000. If reintroduction is finally proposed, an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will need to be developed. Information gathered in the assessment process will be useful in the development of the EIS. Public comment on the draft EIS will be required.

What is the role of the various players in the assessment process?

Congressional funding to conduct an assessment of the feasibility of reintroducing wolves into Olympic National Park and surrounding lands has sharpened the focus of various agencies and organizations on this issue. What may we expect from these agencies and stakeholders over the next year?

Congressman Dicks: Olympic National Park and the surrounding lands lie within the 6^th District in Washington State, which is represented by Congressman Dicks. He has a keen interest in the proposal and has initiated funding for the assessment process. Congressman Dicks has gone on record as favoring a ". . . bottom up approach" to public involvement and supports ". . . opportunity for the people of the Olympic Peninsula to be involved." Congressman Dicks, and Defenders of Wildlife, a non-governmental environmental organization advocating wolf reintroduction, co-sponsored a workshop in April 1997 to discuss the issue. This event advanced the idea of reintroduction and led to congressional funding to assess its feasibility.

Based upon the results of the assessment process, and after careful consideration of the opinions and attitudes of various stakeholders, Congressman Dicks will determine whether or not to support further funding.

Senator Slade Gorton: The proposal to fund an assessment of the feasibility of reintroducing wolves into Olympic National Park and surrounding lands was supported by Senator Gorton. His position as chair of the Senate Interior Appropriations Committee ensured funding was available in the budget.

In addition to the ecological feasibility, Senator Gorton is concerned with the opinions and attitudes regarding wolf introduction of those who live in the immediate areas and would be most likely to have direct contact with the wolves. Senator Gorton has indicated that he will base further funding decisions upon the findings of both the ecological feasibility study, and on opinions and attitudes of local constituents.

Olympic National Park: Wolf restoration is in keeping with National Park Service policy, which supports restoration of extirpated species where feasible. Gray wolf restoration has been listed as a long-term goal on the Olympic National Park's Resource Management Plan, but no work had been done on it prior to 1997. Olympic National Park is responding to the reintroduction initiative by Congressman Norm Dicks and Defenders of Wildlife.

Olympic National Park is cooperating with other federal and state agencies in the production of the feasibility and prey base studies funded by Congress. Olympic National Park will make a decision whether or not to support a proposal to reintroduce wolves into the Park based on the results of the two studies. This decision will be made jointly with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. If the agencies decide to propose reintroduction, the two agencies would act as co-leads in the subsequent National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review, which would include an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service: The Gray Wolf, (Canis lupus) is listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, and as such comes under the regulatory authority of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In a broad sense, conservation and restoration of wildlife is the mission of the Service. In the case of species listed under the Endangered Species Act, recovery and maintenance of viable populations in natural habitats is the goal.

The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, responding to Congressional funding, is coordinating the effort between state and federal agencies, to assess the feasibility of the proposal to reintroduce wolves into Olympic National Park and surrounding lands. Together with Olympic National Park, they will evaluate the results of the feasibility and prey base studies, and determine whether or not to propose reintroduction. If reintroduction is proposed, and Congress appropriates funds, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service would be co-lead with Olympic National Park, in the NEPA assessment of the proposal.

Olympic Natural Resources Center: Olympic Natural Resources Center (ONRC) located in Forks, Washington, is a research and education Center administered by the University of Washington's College of Forest Resources. Part of ONRC's strategic mission includes the "Creation of a neutral forum where parties with diverse interests are encouraged to address and resolve their conflicts." Congressman Dicks proposed additional funding for ONRC in order to undertake a public involvement process regarding the question of whether or not wolves should be reintroduced into Olympic National Park.

The public involvement process will be complete by February 1999 and will be available for consideration by federal agencies, Congress and the public. It is expected that the results will be valuable to Congress as they consider additional funding should the federal agencies decide to propose reintroduction. If reintroduction is proposed and Congress provides funding, the public involvement process results could be included as part of the NEPA review and EIS.

ONRC will not be involved with the feasibility and prey base studies being conducted by federal and state agencies.

Tribes: All Olympic Peninsula tribes are interested in the question of reintroduction of wolves as it relates to their treaty rights, cultural heritage and economic well being. Representatives from tribes have been meeting with federal agencies responsible for assessing the feasibility of reintroduction. Tribes have valuable data regarding some prey base animal populations in certain areas of the peninsula. Tribes will be involved in the ONRC's public involvement process.

Washington State Department of Natural Resources: The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) manages significant amounts of forest lands adjacent or near Olympic National Park. These lands may provide suitable habitat for wolves in the event they are reintroduced. The DNR is cooperating with other agencies and tribes in the assessment process.

Olympic National Forest: Olympic National Forest (ONF) is participating in the cooperative group doing the assessment work. Much of the lands managed by ONF may be suitable habitat for wolves. ONF is contributing resource information and expertise. Staff will help to evaluate data generated the assessment process.

Community-Based Groups: Various locally based organizations, such as the Washington Commercial Forest Action Committee of Forks, or Olympic Park Associates (with members in the Puget Sound area, as well as on the Olympic Peninsula), are interested in the issue. These groups may establish positions, seek information from a variety of sources, and provide information to the public and to government agencies. They may seek to influence public opinion and the decisions of elected officials and government agencies. Community-based groups will be involved in ONRC's public involvement process.

Non-governmental Organizations: Defenders of Wildlife have been promoting the idea of reintroducing wolves into Olympic National Park as part of a wider effort to restore wolves to natural habitats throughout North America. Defenders have been working closely with Congressman Dicks on the issue, culminating with the joint sponsorship of a "wolf summit" in Port Angeles in April of 1997. Defenders of Wildlife and other non-government groups may provide information and seek to influence the public, government agencies and elected officials. They are not directly involved in either the ecological feasibility study, or the public involvement process.

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