Aug. 12, 2009 By Joyce Campbell “I saw it twice and I really think it’s a wolf,” said Michelle Mondot, who learned the hard way that protecting her chickens from predators starts with prevention, not with scaring them off. She went out to do chicken chores on the morning of Sunday, Aug. 2, and found […]
Weatherwatch: August 2009
AUGUST By Bill Biddle Rejoice! ye fields, rejoice! and wave with gold, When August round her precious gifts is flinging; Lo: the crushed wain is slowly homeward rolled: The sunburnt reapers jocund lays are singing. John Ruskin wrote this in the mid-1800s. Somehow or other he must have read the July Weatherwatch. He caught […]
Lookout Pack has new litter; wolves confirmed in Pend Oreille County
July 15, 2009 By Joyce Campbell Two breeding gray wolf packs with pups have been confirmed in Washington state after state and federal wildlife researchers conducted howling surveys in Okanogan and Pend Oreille counties last week. A howling survey by a state wildlife biologist at dusk on Friday (July 10) confirmed that the Methow Valley’s […]
Weatherwatch: July 2009
JULY By Bill Biddle There is a saying that the Methow Valley has two seasons: Winter and the Fourth of July. Weatherwatch concurs. The Wolf Creek weather station had winter-like temperatures in the low 40s in the early morning hours of the last Monday in June. Snow still speckles the slopes of Gardner Mountain, vast […]
Wolf poaching investigation continues
June 24, 2009 By Joyce Campbell The federal investigation into an alleged gray wolf poaching by members of a Twisp family is still ongoing. “Due to the nature of the investigation, I can’t talk about where the focus of the investigation is or what we’re looking at,” said Joan Jewett, spokesperson for the U.S. Fish […]
PUD to re-file eminent domain claims
June 24, 2009 By Marcy Stamper The PUD commissioners unanimously approved their chief engineer’s recommendation that the district issue a new resolution to acquire 30 properties by eminent domain for their Pateros-Twisp powerline. The decision came at their Tuesday (June 23) meeting. In May, after lawyers for property owners claimed that the Okanogan County Public […]
Living among predators
June 17, 2009 By Joyce Campbell Black bears, cougars coyotes and gray wolves, though seldom seen, are our neighbors in the Methow Valley and however unlikely, surprise encounters with these large predators could potentially present dangers to people. “Try to avoid sudden encounters,” said Dennis Ryan, Okanogan County Field Coordinator for the North Cascades Grizzly […]
Powerline route debated amid delays and easement costs
June 10, 2009 By Marcy Stamper The PUD commissioners turned their attention once more to the Pateros-Twisp transmission line, three weeks after the district voluntarily dismissed its petitions to condemn property for the project. Taking up the issue at their June 9 board meeting, the Okanogan County Public Utility District commissioners heard testimony from several […]
Cows may graze in wolf area
June 10, 2009 Cattlemen must take measures to limit conflict By Joyce Campbell Cattle and wolves are home on the range together in Okanogan County where ranchers and federal agencies have agreed to new conservation measures to reduce risks to livestock without adversely affecting the wolves. Ranchers have turned out cattle on Forest Service grazing […]
Report inconclusive; rancher said he saw wolves near dead cow
June 3, 2009 By Joyce Campbell While a government report has found no conclusive evidence that wolves were involved in the death of a Methow Valley cow last month, the rancher who owned the animal is certain that his new canine neighbors are responsible. Preliminary results of an investigation into the cause of the cow’s […]
