ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2771
| | |
State of Washington | 65th Legislature | 2018 Regular Session |
By House Agriculture & Natural Resources (originally sponsored by Representatives Kretz, Maycumber, Taylor, Buys, and Shea)
READ FIRST TIME 02/02/18.
AN ACT Relating to wolf management using translocation; adding a new section to chapter
77.36 RCW; and creating a new section.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that the wolf conservation and management plan of 2011 identifies translocation of wolves as an important conservation tool and as a method to facilitate the state's ability to attain recovery goals. According to the wolf conservation and management plan, the translocation process includes review in accordance with either the state environmental policy act or national environmental policy act. The eastern Washington region has a multitude of thriving wolf packs and there is an urgent need for greater wolf management flexibility to provide relief to residents living in areas where those wolves are concentrated. Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature that the department use translocation to better manage the current packs.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 77.36 RCW to read as follows:
(1)(a) The department is directed to immediately initiate the state environmental policy act process in order to use translocation as a method to provide relief to residents living in areas where multiple packs of wolves range. The department must initiate translocation of wolves, consistent with the findings from the state environmental policy act analysis, to regions with fewer wolves. The department shall use best available science to determine which locations are unoccupied by wolves to become recipient sites and verify that any potential recipient sites contain stable prey populations.
(b) The department may not translocate wolves that are known to depredate livestock or have shown signs of being habituated to livestock or the presence of humans.
(2) When the department moves wolves to one of the other regions within the wolf conservation and management plan, the translocation process must be expedited by all state agencies involved in the process.
(3) By December 31, 2020, the department must provide a written report to the appropriate legislative committees regarding the progress made using translocation as part of the conservation and management of the state's population of wolves.
--- END ---